Final Check-in 2024 Challenges & 2025 Sign-ups

I'm a little late posting my challenge check-ins and setting my new goals, but here they are. I made all of my goals. Here's my totals:

The challenge is hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer  again & That's What I'm Taking About. Thank you ladies!

I signed up for 125-150 I Can't Hear You (earbuds are always in) books and managed 149 books.  Here are a few of my standout listens:

(Click on cover for Goodreads link/title below for my review)

Pitch Dark (Mike Bowditch #15) by Paul Doiron narrated by Henry Leyva

You'll Never Find Me by Allision Brennan narrated by Hillary Huber

Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister narrated by Lesley Sharp

My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland narrated by Allison McLemore

Mind Games by Nora Roberts narrated by January LaVoy

Winter Lost (Mercy Thompson #14) by Patricia Briggs narrated by Lorelei King

I'm signing up for I Can't Hear You (earbuds are always in) 125-150 books again. Click HERE for details if you'd like to join in, too!

Library Love Challenge is hosted by Anne @Books of My Heart and Angel's Book Nook. Thank you ladies! 

You can sign up for the 2025 Challenge HERE.  

I signed up for Library Card on Fire 60+ books and made it with 71.

Here are some of my favorites:

Fated (Alex Verus #1) by Benedict Jacka

The Bitter Past (Porter Beck #1) by Bruce Borgos 

Death in Kew Gardens (A Below Stairs Mystery #3) by Jennifer Ashley

I sign up for the Goodreads Challenge every year. My goal was 175 books and I surpassed it with 191 books. I signed up for 175 again for 2025. 

I am signing up for Susan's Bookish Books Reading Challenge. Thank you Susan! (click HERE for info on the challenge) this year with:

Toe in the Door 1-10 Books

I need to make a list of books to read for this one. Any ideas?

Well, that's the end of my challenges. Are you participating in any challenges this year?

Review: The Holiday Honeymoon Switch by Julia McKay

 

The Holiday Honeymoon Switch by Julia McKay

Publication Date: October 8th 2024 by G.P. Putnam's Sons

Pages: 352

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

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

My Thoughts:

The Holiday Honeymoon Switch was a sweet romance with two best friends, Holly and Ivy switching vacations when Holly’s fiancé dumps her the night before their wedding.

 

Ivy goes on Holly’s honeymoon trip to paint picturesque scenery in Kauai, which doesn’t go exactly as planned and instead of painting and drawing alone, she ends up making friends with a sexy bartender and his bestie.

 

Holly takes Ivy’s artist retreat vacation in the Hudson Valley mountains in an idyllic, small winter-wonderland-of-a-town. She intends to heal and binge watch Christmas movies, but her plans change when an old high school academic rival shows up, all grown up and gorgeous.

The story is reminiscent of the movie The Holiday with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz, a movie I now want to watch all over again!

4 Stars

Book Description:

When doppelgänger best friends trade one’s cabin Christmas vacation for the other’s Hawaiian would’ve-been-honeymoon, both might just find love they weren’t expecting.

Holly Beech and Ivy Casey are bury-the-body besties. They’re so in sync, they even look alike. So when Holly’s fiancé jilts her, leaving her in shock and with a nonrefundable honeymoon, Holly convinces Ivy to switch places. Ivy will go on the Hawaiian honeymoon her best friend can’t bear to take alone, while Holly escapes to Ivy’s rented Hudson Valley cabin to binge-watch holiday movies and heal.

But Holly’s wallowing is interrupted when her rugged Airbnb host turns out to be her high school academic rival who’s had a major glow-up. Meanwhile, Ivy’s (now Hawaiian) annual solo art retreat is upended when Holly’s ex-fiancé checks into the honeymoon suite—with a new woman. Raging and bedless, the last thing Ivy expects is for the hot hotel bartender to come to her rescue. Against all odds, this Christmas might prove the most magical yet.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Julia McKay is the pen name of Marissa Stapley, a former magazine editor and New York Times bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club Pick Lucky, as well as international bestsellers Mating for Life, Things to Do When It’s Raining, and The Last Resort. She is also one half of the writing duo behind The Holiday Swap and All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox, and co-author of Three Holidays and a Wedding. Many of her novels have been optioned for television and her journalism has appeared in The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Elle, Today’s Parent, and Reader’s Digest. She lives in Toronto with her family and a pre­cocious black cat named Oscar.

Review: No Ordinary Duchess by Elizabeth Hoyt

 

No Ordinary Duchess (Greycourt #3) by Elizabeth Hoyt

Publication Date: December 10th 2024 by Forever

Pages: 352

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

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

My Thoughts:

Lady Elspeth de Moray is on the hunt for an ancient book, rumored to be in one of the Greycourt libraries, to help once again unify the Wise Women, a group of unconventional, educated and skilled in many lethal ways.

 

Julian Greycourt is heir to the dukedom, but his tyrannical uncle is gunning for him and has kept him and his sisters under his cruel dominion since his father and mother died. However, Julian receives word that there may be proof to string his uncle up and set their family free. Uncle Augustus was a horrid man with diabolical plans, so Julian needed to find that evidence quickly!

 

Lady Elspeth’s and Julian’s searches intersect throwing them together constantly as a steady undercurrent of attraction simmers between them. There was quite the buildup and very, very spicy! Julian had some edgy desires. Lady Elspeth, with the way she was raised, wasn’t a wilting flower shocked by any of this. They were well matched!

 

No Ordinary Duchess was a great combo of suspense and romance, with heavier topics and some lighthearted humor. Elspeth was very much a positive ray of sunshine to Julian’s broody and serious demeanor. As Julian’s past is revealed this is completely understandable!  

 

I’m a big fan of Elizabeth Hoyt, her writing is beautiful, clever and very sensual! It’s been a while since she released her last book, so I was thrilled to hear about this newest installment of the Greycourt series!

4 Stars

Book Description:

From a New York Times bestselling author, the much-anticipated third novel in the Greycourt series.

Cold and brooding, Julian Greycourt, the heir to the Windemere dukedom, has always known that his uncle the duke was responsible for his mother’s death. Now he’s determined to exact revenge against his uncle—if he can find the proof. But Julian hides a secret so explosive it will destroy him if it’s ever revealed, and the duke is watching. The last thing he needs is a distractingly sensual woman whose very presence threatens to destroy his plans.

Sunny and cheerful, Lady Elspeth de Moray doesn’t know why her brother and Julian fell out all those years ago, but she can’t let the autocratic man get in the way of her mission: to retrieve an ancient family text that she believes is in one of the Windemere libraries. Locating the tome, however, proves trickier than she anticipated, and at each turn, she’s thrown together with the maddingly mysterious Julian. And the temptation to give in to her family’s greatest enemy grows stronger with each intriguing encounter…

Review: Under Loch and Key by Lana Ferguson

 

Under Loch and Key by Lana Ferguson

Publication Date: December 3rd 2024 by Berkley & Penguin Random House Audio

Pages: 416

Audio Book Length: 12hrs 18min

Narrator: Samantha Summers & Flint Park

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★½

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

My Thoughts:

Keyanna “Key” MacKay has come to Scotland to her father’s family farm after he dies, searching for a connection and roots. She doesn’t receive the warmest welcome from her grandmother or their farmhand, Lachlan Greer, but she’s determined to stick it out.  However, things slowly thaw as Key gets to the bottom of her family history. There’s a mystery and an ancient curse involving both Lachlan and her family and it becomes Key’s mission to uncover the truth and break the curse before it ruins her newfound happiness and love.

 

Under Loch and Key is my favorite Lana Ferguson to date! I loved the combination of mystery, adventure, romance and a little danger! I’m pleased that the romance had chemistry and buildup! Yes, it was spicy, but it didn’t feel like it was just thrown in there for the sake of having spice. And the epilogue was so touching!

 

I alternated between an audio and e-copy and recommend either version. I loved the fact that not only did we get a female and male narrator for Key and Lachlan, but they also performed their own parts throughout the story, even when the story switched POVs! Samantha Summers and Flint Park did an excellent job with all the voices and accents! Flint Park’s Scottish accent was wonderful and sounded authentic!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

A woman discovers that not all monsters are her enemy—the opposite, in fact—in this new paranormal romance by Lana Ferguson, author of The Fake Mate.

Keyanna “Key” MacKay is used to secrets. Raised by a single father who never divulged his past, it’s only after his death that she finds herself thrust into the world he’d always refused to speak of. With just a childhood bedtime story about a monster that saved her father’s life and the name of her estranged grandmother to go off of, Key has no idea what she’ll find in Scotland. But repeating her father’s mistakes and being rescued by a gorgeous, angry Scotsman—who thinks she’s an idiot—is definitely the last thing she expects.

Lachlan Greer has his own secrets to keep, especially from the bonnie lass he pulls to safety from the slippery shore—a lass with captivating eyes and the last name he’s been taught not to trust. He’s looking for answers as well, and Key’s presence on the grounds they both now occupy presents a real problem. It’s even more troublesome when he gets a front row seat to the lukewarm welcome Key receives from her family; the strange powers she begins to develop; and the fierce determination she brings to every obstacle in her path. Things he shouldn’t care about, and someone he definitely doesn’t find wildly attractive.

When their secrets collide, it becomes clear that Lachlan could hold the answers Keyanna is after—and that she might also be the key to uncovering his. Up against time, mystery, and a centuries old curse, they’ll quickly discover that magic might not only be in fairy tales, and that love can be a real loch-mess.

Audiobook Review: The House at Watch Hill by Karen Marie Moning

 

The House at Watch Hill (The Watch Hill Trilogy #1) by Karen Marie Moning

Publication Date: October 1st 2024 by Harper Audio

Pages: 384

Audio Book Length: 11hrs 34min

Narrator: Amanda Leigh Cobb & Tim Campbell

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

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

My Thoughts:

Zo Grey is down on her luck with a terminally ill mother just trying to get by when she discovers she’s the heir to a vast estate and fortune in Divinity, Louisiana. However, there’s a catch: she has to live at the old imposing house for three years in order to inherit.

 

There was some waffling back and forth over whether she’d accept the terms, but to be honest who in their right mind wouldn’t accept and give it a go?  Especially someone like Zo in her financial situation. Yes, the house looked intimidating (and it was!) but sounded gorgeous as soon as you set foot inside!

 

Of course, anything that seems too good to be true usually is, and Zo starts to discover a darker side to the town, the house and her history. She’s known on a subconscious level there was something “extra” about herself, but her mother never shared anything about her past or powers.

 

The House at Watch Hill was more about setting this world up and didn’t have much in the way of action until the end. Still, it was an engrossing read and Moning has a way of setting up an enticing backdrop and mysterious characters. There are two potential love interests. Not sure how it’ll work out, but I did prefer one over the other. The story ended on a cliffhanger. I look forward to finding out what happens next after that last scene!

I listened to the audio version and really enjoyed Amanda Leigh Cobb and Tim Campbell’s performance! She has an appealing voice and Tim Campbell’s lent an air of mystery to his character.

4 Stars

Book Description:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning is back with a gripping, imaginative, and seductive new series in which a young woman moves to Divinity, Louisiana, to inherit a large fortune and a Gothic mansion full of mysteries and ominous secrets...

Zo Grey is reeling from the sudden death of her mother when she receives a surprising call from an attorney in Divinity, Louisiana, with the news she has been left an inheritance by a distant relative, the terms of which he will only discuss in person. Destitute and alone, with nothing left to lose, Zo heads to Divinity and discovers she is the sole beneficiary of a huge fortune and a monstrosity of a house that sits ominously at the peak of Watch Hill—but she must live in it, alone, for three years before the house, or the money, is hers.

Met with this irresistible opportunity to finally build a future for herself, Zo puts aside her misgivings about the foreboding Gothic mansion and the strange circumstances, and moves in, where she is quickly met by a red-eyed Stygian owl and an impossibly sexy Scottish groundskeeper.

Her new home is full of countless secrets and mystifying riddles, with doors that go nowhere, others that are impossible to open, and a turret into which there is no visible means of ingress. And the townspeople are odd…

What Zo doesn’t yet know is that her own roots lie in this very house and that in order to discover her true identity and awaken her dormant powers, she will have to face off against sinister forces she doesn’t quite comprehend—or risk being consumed by them.

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.

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 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.

Review: The Holiday Cottage by Sarah Morgan

 

The Holiday Cottage by Sarah Morgan

Publication Date: September 24th 2024 by Canary Street Press

Pages: 352

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★½

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

My Thoughts:

Imogen’s whole life revolves around her work. Growing up with an unstable mother and home environment makes the success and security she finds in her career calming. However, she’s felt pressured to make up an ideal life outside of work and backed herself into a corner with the stories she’s told. Add to that, her mother’s current crisis causes a problem with an important account, leading Imogen’s boss to enforce some time off.

 

Dorothy, a widower, business owner and longtime client of Imogen, hears of her predicament and insists Imogen come stay at her vacant cottage in the Cotswolds. Dorothy’s daughter Sara wasn’t pleased with her mother’s offer, and I was inclined to dislike Sara, but there’s more to that whole story.

 

I was stressed and hurt for Imogen. She put on a brave face, manufactured an idyllic life when she actually led a self-contained, lonely existence. I was outraged on her behalf as details were revealed about her mother and her upbringing! I was elated as things started going her way, and she found that she had people in her corner! The romance with Miles, the local veterinarian, was the icing on the cake.  I loved the way he immediately took up for Imogen and was there for support. Of course, with a veterinarian there were several sweet animals. All filled my heart with joy!

 

I love Sarah Morgan’s stories! She combines gorgeous settings with emotional stories that warm your heart! The Holiday Cottage was a feel-good story brimming with all the cozy winter vibes!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

USA TODAY bestselling author Sarah Morgan returns with a heartfelt story of friendship, finding yourself, and the surprising ties that bring us together.

To the outside world, Imogen is a marketing dynamo. Her colleagues don’t know that while her high-achieving professional image is real, the happy childhood stories she spins are as fake as her pretend enthusiasm for Christmas. Working 24/7 has always been her solution to surviving the festive season—until burnout leads to a catastrophic blunder.

Suddenly, Imogen is handed a holiday gift she definitely doesn’t want: enforced time off work to recuperate. Then an invitation arrives from her favorite client, Dorothy, to stay at her guest cottage in the Cotswolds. From the thatched roof to the cozy open fireplace, Holly Cottage is a picture-perfect haven… Can it provide the fresh start Imogen so desperately needs?

For Dorothy, helping Imogen offers a longed-for chance to make reparations for her own past. But as her daughter Sara keeps reminding her, it brings risks, too. Yet Dorothy knows that only a leap of courage will allow her family to grow and heal. And perhaps this Christmas, with Dorothy’s help, the new life that Imogen is slowly piecing together could be better than anything either of them could imagine…

Audiobook Review: The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave

 

The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave

Publication Date: September 17th 2024 by Simon & Schuster Audio

Pages: 298

Audio Book Length: 7hrs 48min

Narrator: Julia Whelan

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

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

My Thoughts:

The Night We Lost Him was more fiction with a bit of mystery, but engrossing even so.

 

I don’t get why Liam and Corey just didn’t get together years earlier. What was stopping them? Not anything that was explained properly, in my opinion. The chapters set in the past were my least favorite part of the story. I was more invested in Nora and her brother Sam’s present-day mission to discover what actually happened to their father the night of his death. Both are at a crossroads personally and I enjoyed them connecting over their shared grief and sorting out their futures together.

 

There is one twist that caught me off guard, and I had to re-listen to the spot just to make sure I was hearing right before it all came together.

 

I did enjoy the sound of all the places, décor and aesthetics mentioned. From Santa Ynez/Central Coast California to the neighborhoods in New York. What Sam’s girlfriend wanted to do to that gorgeous Brownstone was a crime!

 

Julia Whelan’s excellent audio performance enhanced my enjoyment for sure!  

4 Stars

Book Description:

Estranged siblings discover their father has been keeping a secret for over fifty years, one that may have been fatal...

Liam Noone was many things to many people. To the public, he was an exacting, self-
made hotel magnate fleeing his past. To his three ex-wives, he was a loving albeit distant family man who kept his finances flush and his families carefully separated. To Nora, he was a father who often loved her from afar – notably a cliffside cottage perched on the California coast from which he fell to his death.   

The authorities rule the death accidental, but Nora and her estranged brother Sam have other ideas. As Nora and Sam form an uneasy alliance to unravel the mystery, they start putting together the pieces of their father’s past—and uncover a family secret that changes everything.

With Laura Dave’s trademark combination of soulful suspense and evocative family drama, The Night We Lost Him is a riveting page-turner with a heartbreaking final twist you’ll never see coming.