Review: We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes

 

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes

Publication Date: February11th 2025 by Pamela Dorman Books

Pages: 464

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★★

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

My Thoughts:

Lila’s life is not what she pictured for herself at forty-two. Her husband left her for the neighbor down the street, her stepfather has moved in after her mother died in a tragic accident.  Lila’s house is constantly in need of repair, and her biological father, Gene, an eccentric, attention-seeking actor, has just shown up needing a place to stay. As if all of that isn’t enough, Lila sees the woman her husband left her for everyday at her daughter’s school pickup.

 

I was outraged for Lila and completely rooted for her! At the same time, she wasn’t perfect either. She made mistakes, as most of us do. There’s a romance with some bumps and I hoped it’d all work out!

 

We also have the POV of Lila’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Celie, who is going through some tough times, too. I loved that Gene, Lila’s MIA bio-dad, form a bond, and he helps with some of her trials. Gene definitely had a lot to answer for, but I couldn’t help but have a soft spot for him, especially when we get some that last insight.

 

We All Live Here portrayed a slice of messy, relatable life, and I felt all the emotions acutely! I was angry, I laughed and cried, but the story left me in such a wonderful place of joy and hope! A definite recommend!

5 Stars

Book Description:

The #1 New York Times bestselling author, whose books so many love, brings us a fresh, contemporary story of a woman and her unruly blended family

Lila Kennedy has a lot on her plate. A broken marriage, two wayward daughters, a house that is falling apart, and an elderly stepfather who seems to have quietly moved in. Her career is in freefall and her love life is . . . complicated. So when her real dad—a man she has barely seen since he ran off to Hollywood thirty-five years ago—suddenly appears on her doorstep, it feels like the final straw. But it turns out even the family you thought you could never forgive might have something to teach about love, and what it actually means to be family.

Review: The Specimen by Jaima Fixsen

 

The Specimen by Jaima Fixsen

Publication Date: October 15th 2024 by Poisoned Pen Press & Recorded Books

Pages: 416

Audio Book Length: 13hrs 3min

Narrator: Cathleen McCarron

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★★

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

My Thoughts:

It’s 1826 in Edinburgh, Scotland when Isobel’s seven-year-old son, Thomas, goes missing. She’s wild with grief and hounds the police daily, but there’s not sign of him anywhere. Months later, Isobel, at the urging of friends, is attending a museum of morbid curiosities when she starts to hear the beating of Thomas’ heart!

 

The Specimen was suspenseful and had me on the edge of my seat as Isobel searches for the truth and stumbles on a way to do it that puts her in danger! I was rooting for her as she uncovered the details and looked for a way to serve up justice! There’s a splash of spine-tingling supernatural here, too!

 

The writing was rich and vivid without sacrificing pace! Don’t miss reading the author’s note at the end which gives a bit of the history of the true story The Specimen was based on and how she came up with the story!

 

I alternately read and listened to The Specimen. The audio was fantastic! Cathleen McCarron’s Scottish accent was wonderful to listen to and there were pronunciations I wouldn’t have got right otherwise. She seamlessly performed both male and female voices. Loved!

5 Stars

Book Description:

Walk carefully, lest you become a part of Dr. Burnett's collection…

1826. Isobel Tait finds herself, by chance, staring at a tiny human heart floating in a jar. It should be of little consequence; Dr. Burnett is renowned for his collection of oddities and medical specimens, and this, a juvenile heart with a damaged mitral valve, is not the strangest thing on display. Except that the condition is rare, and that Isobel's young son, who has been missing for months, suffered from the ailment.

A phantom pulse beats in Isobel's ears. She knows something here isn't right.

Missing persons cases are all too common in Edinburgh, where people simply vanish like mist. But Burnett is obsessed with his specimens – how far would he go to acquire a new one? Determined to investigate, Isobel joins his staff as the keeper of his collection. What she'll unearth, though, is far worse than any of her nightmares…

Based on true crimes, The Specimen is a mesmerizing story about one woman's search for truth and vengeance in the darkest of places—where the deadliest secrets lie hidden in plain sight, on a freshly dusted shelf.

Review: Bittersweet in the Hollow by Kate Pearsall

 

Bittersweet in the Hollow (Bittersweet in the Hollow #1) by Kate Pearsall

Publication Date: October 10th 2023 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Pages: 384

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★★

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

My Thoughts:

In the little town of Cabal Hollow, Linden James, and her family run The Harvest Moon Diner, where they cook up delicious comfort food. But the James women also have special gifts that extend beyond the ability to make special tonics and teas. Linden can read the emotions of others, registering them as a particular taste. One year ago, she revealed her gift to Cole, her best friend and beau, causing a rift which led to a series of events that Linden still can’t recall. The only thing she does know is they found her after she’d gone missing one night and then turned up with a head injury.

Now a year later, one of Linden’s friends goes missing but her story doesn’t have a happy ending. Who murdered Linden’s friend and why? Linden’s last conversation with her has her questioning her own disappearance. Now snippets of memory start returning, and Linden starts to wonder if it wasn’t just an accident that had her barely surviving her misadventure in the woods.

I adored the James’ women and was fascinated by their powers! They were a close-knit, loving family, sometimes it was tough love, especially in the case of Gran, but there was no doubt they had each other’s backs. This is a small point, but I loved their names! They were fanciful but also a bit old-fashioned: Linden, Rowan, Sorrel, Juniper, Odette, Salome, and Zephrine.

Oh, this was sooo good! I don’t read much YA anymore, but I loved Bittersweet in the Hollow! Kate Pearsall’s writing was magical, bringing Cabal Hollow and its inhabitants to life! A dreamy, lush small mountain town with plenty of secrets! The mystery had me glued to the pages, and there’s a few to unravel! Spooky and tense in places! There’s a bit of a second chance romance, as well! Linden’s story and the mystery wraps up, but there’s a second story coming. I can’t wait! A definite recommend!

5 Stars

Book Description:

In this beautifully dark and enthralling YA, four sisters with unusual talents investigate a mysterious disappearance in their secluded Appalachian town. For fans of House of Hollow and Wilder Girls!

In rural Caball Hollow, surrounded by the vast National Forest, the James women serve up more than fried green tomatoes at the Harvest Moon diner, where the family recipes are not the only secrets.

Like her sisters, Linden was born with an unusual ability. She can taste what others are feeling, but this so-called gift soured her relationship with the vexingly attractive Cole Spencer one fateful night a year ago . . . A night when Linden vanished into the depths of the Forest and returned with no memories of what happened, just a litany of questions--and a haze of nightmares that suggest there's more to her story than simply getting lost.

Now, during the hottest summer on record, another girl in town is gone, and the similarities to last year's events are striking. Except, this time the missing girl doesn't make it home, and when her body is discovered, the scene unmistakably spells murder.

As tempers boil over, Linden enlists the help of her sisters to find what's hiding in the forest . . . before it finds her. But as she starts digging for truth--about the Moth-Winged Man rumored to haunt the Hollow, about her bitter rift with Cole, and even about her family--she must question if some secrets are best left buried.

About the author:

Kate Pearsall is a creative thinker, an award-winning copywriter, and a storyteller. She has a degree in business and public relations and has written for magazines and newspapers. Her debut novel, Bittersweet in the Hollow, was inspired in part by a childhood listening to her mom’s stories about growing up in the Appalachian Mountains and visiting family in West Virginia. 

Connect with Kate Pearsall:

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Review: Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller

 

Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller

Publication Date: March 28th 2023 by St. Martin's Griffin  & Dreamscape Media

Pages: 416

Audiobook Length: 13hrs 31min

Narrator: Carlotta Brentan

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★★

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

My Thoughts:

Maria Wallner is trying to keep her hotel running while turning it back into the dazzling gem it used to be. Not an easy task since her mother ran it into the ground, focused more on her love affair than the hotel or even her daughter. But sabotage and attempts on Maria’s life hinder her efforts.

Eli is sent from the US to Vienna to find out who leaked top secret codes. A suspicious letter was sent from the Hotel Wallner and so he goes there in an undercover mission to investigate. The codes aren’t the only mystery, though. When Eli saves Maria’s life he is compelled to find out who’s behind the attempts to kill her and rule Maria out as a suspect in the espionage plots, as well.

Hotel of Secrets was magical! The writing beautifully described an old world, glamorous Vienna. Maria and her tribe of friends and family were so much fun. Maria is independent and resourceful, forever working out a solution to the many problems that hinder her goals of restoring the hotel to its former glory. Loved that even though she had a mission, she didn’t forget her family and friends.

Eli was focused and methodical in his job and investigations. It was refreshing that Eli was the inexperienced one in the romance department, but that didn’t stop him from using his attention to details and focus into research and he was a quick, thorough study! Maria and Eli’s romance was fun, open, and honest, but also very passionate and sensual! It was spicy, but not overdone. Also enjoyed Eli’s relationship with Maria’s brother, Mac and the French spy, Claude. They were a hoot!

I alternately read an e-copy and listened to the audio version of Hotel of Secrets, and I highly recommend either version! Carlotta Brentan narrated the story, and her accents were lovely! Her performance definitely enhanced this captivating romance! I listened at my usual 1.5x normal speed.

5 Stars

Book Description:

During ball season, anything can happen, even love.

It’s ball season in Vienna, and Maria Wallner only wants one thing: to restore her family’s hotel, the Hotel Wallner, to its former glory. She’s not going to let anything get in her way - not her parents’ three-decade-long affair; not seemingly-random attacks by masked assassins; and especially not the broad-shouldered American foreign agent who’s saved her life two times already. No matter how luscious his mouth is.

Eli Whittaker also only wants one thing: to find out who is selling American secret codes across Europe, arrest them, and go home to his sensible life in Washington, DC. He has one lead - a letter the culprit sent from a Viennese hotel. But when he arrives in Vienna, he is immediately swept up into a chaotic whirlwind of balls, spies, waltzes, and beautiful hotelkeepers who seem to constantly find themselves in danger. He disapproves of all of it! But his disapproval is tested as he slowly falls deeper into the chaos - and as his attraction to said hotelkeeper grows.

Audio Review: The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

 

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

Publication Date: May 3rd 2022 by St.Martin's Press & Macmillan Audio

Pages: 320

Audio Book Length: 9 hrs 44 min

Narrator: Patti Murin

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★★

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

My Thoughts:

Hannah was going through a lot with mixed feelings over the death of her mother and then her boyfriend dumps her. Just when she needs the distraction of work to cope, her boss basically grounds her. That is until the famous movie start, Jack Stapleton needs protection. Hannah’s not thrilled with the assignment because it doesn’t seem like much of an escape being stuck in Texas and this assignment is much more up close and personal than she’d have liked it.

I loved Hannah so much! She wasn’t a knockout, just an average woman (like most of us) in an unexpected position of being a bodyguard. Yes, she’s only 5’5” but that’s not the key to being a bodyguard as I found out, and she was pretty badass even being pint sized! I’ve always dreamed of being a badass myself even though I’m only 5’2”. I looked up to female characters like Buffy and Wonder Woman, so I loved the idea of a woman bodyguard. Still, this story was way more about the personal aspects of Hannah’s life than a suspenseful protection situation. I loved Jack and his family! He was, for a big star, pretty normal, and his family was loving despite some of the hard knocks they’d been given. Absolutely loved Jack’s family!

All the stars for The Bodyguard! Katherine Center’s stories never fail to capture my heart! She writes imperfectly perfect, multi-layered characters like Hannah and Jack. Each had emotional turmoil to work through while trying to get by, battling an inconvenient attraction. This was definitely a romance of the slow burn variety, and I hung on every interaction between Jack and Hannah! That epilogue was oh-so-lovely!

I alternately listened and read The Bodyguard and I recommend both. The audio was fantastic with Patti Murin narrating and doing an excellent job with all voices, male and female.

5 Stars

Book Description:

She’s got his back.
Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindgerten teacher than somebody who could kill you with a wine bottle opener. Or a ballpoint pen. Or a dinner napkin. But the truth is, she’s an Executive Protection Agent (aka "bodyguard"), and she just got hired to protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton from his middle-aged, corgi-breeding stalker.

He’s got her heart.
Jack Stapleton’s a household name—captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, famous for, among other things, rising out of the waves in all manner of clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity. But a few years back, in the wake of a family tragedy, he dropped from the public eye and went off the grid.

They’ve got a secret.
When Jack’s mom gets sick, he comes home to the family’s Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn’t want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. And so Hannah—against her will and her better judgment—finds herself pretending to be Jack’s girlfriend as a cover. Even though her ex, like a jerk, says no one will believe it.

What could possibly go wrong???
Hannah hardly believes it, herself. But the more time she spends with Jack, the more real it all starts to seem. And there lies the heartbreak. Because it’s easy for Hannah to protect Jack. But protecting her own, long-neglected heart? That’s the hardest thing she’s ever done.

Audio Review: Dark Horse by Gregg Hurwitz

 

Dark Horse (Orphan X #7) by Gregg Hurwitz

Publication Date: February 8th 2022 by Macmillan Audio

Pages: 432

Audio Book Length: 14 hrs 30 min

Narrator: Scott Brick

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★★

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

My Thoughts:

I have been blazing through the Orphan X series loving every minute! Evan Smoak was taken from his foster home and trained as an elite assassin for a covert government operation and then left the program when his conscience demanded it. Now Evan operates as The Nowhere Man helping the helpless when they have nowhere else to turn. In Dark Horse the case is a little different since Aragon Urrea isn’t a completely good man either. However, his eighteen-year-old daughter is kidnapped by a ruthless and violent drug cartel and he’s desperate to get her back.

Dark Horse, like the previous installments was exciting and action-packed! Evan gets himself through seemingly impossible situations, always coming out on top, but I wondered how he’d pull off this mission since the drug cartel was a scary bunch of crazies!

Through all the books we’ve seen Evan help the helpless, champion the underdog, all while he navigates life out of the Orphan program. Despite trying to remain separate he’s established connections and I’ve loved seeing them evolve and grow through the series. Tommy his weapons/gun supplier, Joey the young cast-off from the Orphan program, and of course Mia and Peter from 12B. Evan’s relationship with Mia is at times confusing to Evan, her life is so full and messy with her nine-year-old son, Peter, but Evan can’t help but be drawn in by her. I have to laugh at Evan’s “exchanges” with Vera II and III, his aloe vera plants! Yes, there are bits of dry humor here and there that have me cracking up.

Each of the Orphan books has a mission/problem that solved, but the repercussions of Evan’s decision to leave the Orphan program and his relationships are ongoing and progressive, so I think it’s best to start the series from the beginning.

From the first book I’ve been “reading” by audio. Scott Brick is a fantastic narrator, bringing Evan to life. He IS Evan Smoak to me even now. His female voices and accents are spot on, and his comedic timing is wonderful! I listen at my normal 1.5x-1.75x normal speed.

5 Stars

Book Description:

Gregg Hurwitz's New York Times bestselling series returns when Orphan X faces his most challenging mission ever in Dark Horse.

Evan Smoak is a man with many identities and a challenging past. As Orphan X, he was a government assassin for the off-the-books Orphan Program. After he broke with the Program, he adopted a new name and a new mission—The Nowhere Man, helping the most desperate in their times of trouble. Having just survived an attack on his life and the complete devastation of his base of operations, as well as his complicated (and deepening) relationship with his neighbor Mia Hall, Evan isn't interested in taking on a new mission. But one finds him anyway.

Aragon Urrea is a kingpin of a major drug-dealing operation in South Texas. He's also the patron of the local area—supplying employment in legitimate operations, providing help to the helpless, rough justice to the downtrodden, and a future to a people normally with little hope. He's complicated—a not completely good man, who does bad things for often good reasons. However, for all his money and power, he is helpless when one of the most vicious cartels kidnaps his innocent eighteen year old daughter, spiriting her away into the armored complex that is their headquarters in Mexico. With no other way to rescue his daughter, he turns to The Nowhere Man.

Now not only must Evan figure out how to get into the impregnable fortress of a heavily armed, deeply paranoid cartel leader, but he must decide if he should help a very bad man—no matter how just the cause.