Showing posts with label vanessa johansson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vanessa johansson. Show all posts

Thursday, July 10, 2025

Review: The Lost Book of First Loves by RaeAnne Thayne

 
The Lost Book of First Loves by RaeAnne Thayne

The Lost Book of First Loves by RaeAnne Thayne
Publication Date: June 3rd 2025 by Canary Street Press & Harlequin Audio
Pages: 352
Audio Book Length: 10hrs 7mins
Narrator: Vanessa Johansson
Source: Publishers
Rating: 
Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:
The Lost Book of First Loves was a moving, feel-good story of friendship and found family with a bit of romance mixed in!
 
Still reeling from the death of her beloved father, Carson Wells, a famous literary author, Alison is informed from a DNA search that she has a sister, Juniper Connolly. Why didn’t her father tell her?
 
In order to get to know her sister and tell her their connection, Alison takes an internship at Juniper’s company, but before Alison shares her bombshell, Juniper collapses. Alison suggests she recuperate at her ranch, The Painted Sky in Bridger, Wyoming.
 
Juniper’s reeling from the shock of what happened and isn’t sure why Alison would make such an offer.  However, the sound of recovering at the ranch of the late Carson Wells, a favorite author, is too good to pass up. She strikes up a reluctant friendship with another rancher, Beckett Hunter.
 
Alison needs to figure out how to tell Juniper and study for the bar exam, when she’s not sure she wants to be a lawyer. And then there’s Xander Scott, her best friend who’s back in town. Alison’s feelings for him are complex.
 
Both Alison and Juniper were at a crossroads in their life. I was invested in their journey, as they sorted out the mystery of the past and what they wanted for the future. I soaked in the gorgeous mountain setting, which was almost a character in itself!
 
I alternately read and listened to The Lost Book of First Loves and recommend either version. I’ve listened to and enjoyed Vanessa Johansson’s narration in the past and she did a wonderful job bringing all the characters to life!

4 Stars


Book Description:

From New York Times bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne comes a brand-new story about two women, a family secret and a lost manuscript that changes everything…

Raised by her literary icon father Carson Wells, Allison Wells always felt loved, even though her mother died when she was a teen. But when she takes a DNA test on a whim and discovers she has a sister that she’s never heard about before, it’s clear there are things her father never told her before he died. Determined to meet Juniper—her half sister—and unravel the truth of what happened all those years ago, Ali finds herself taking a job as Juniper’s intern. She’ll eventually figure out a way to tell Juniper the truth of their relationship. But she never could have imagined what would happen next…

Juniper Connolly has always been incredibly healthy…until she wakes up in the hospital after experiencing cardiac arrest, with her new—and recently fired—intern to thank for saving her life. It’s clear June needs to de-stress her life a little, so when Ali offers her the use of her family’s cabin in a small Wyoming town, June has no reason not to go. But when she arrives in the small town, her life will never be the same.

Under the wide-open spaces of the Wyoming summer sun, Ali and June will untangle the secrets and lies their lives were built on to discover who they really are and what family really means. But even more than that, they'll build a real relationship with one another and finally become sisters. 


Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Review: Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds by Allison Brennan

 
Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds by Allison Brennan

Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds by Allison Brennan
Publication Date: June 17th 2025 by MIRA & Harlequin Audio
Pages: 400
Audiobook Length: 12hrs 4mins
Narrator: Vanessa Johansson
Source: Publishers
Rating: 

My Thoughts:
Mia Crawford is on what most would consider a dream vacation in the Caribbean. Mia as a careful planner, wouldn’t have splurged on such an extravagance if her work didn’t insist.  Even so, she slowly unwinds and can’t help but soak in all the beauty, even with the news of a missing guest. Mia also can’t help but be drawn to the sweet and sexy bartender, Jason.
 
Things get interesting when she borrows a book for a beach read and finds notations about all the guests written in some kind of code. She starts to suspect that the notes are tied to the missing woman. Curiosity sparked, Mia starts asking questions about the missing woman, ruffling feathers in the process.
 
I enjoyed Mia’s friendship with eighteen-year-old Brie, a sort of sidekick in her mystery solving. In addition to finding out what happened to Diana, they teamed up to expose the gold-digging girlfriend of Brie’s father and I was really invested in their success. The girlfriend was awful! Mia had a methodical way of approaching the investigation I appreciated.
 
Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds was a fun and engrossing cozy mystery and romance! Mia’s romance with Jason gave her a fresh perspective on life, inspiring her to live with more gusto rather than always playing it safe. While the romance wasn’t front and center, it was spicy and just the right amount, IMO.
 
I alternately read and listened to Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds and can recommend either version. I’ve listened to and enjoyed Vanessa Johansson’s narration in the past and I thought she performed all voices, male and female wonderfully!

4 Stars


Book Description:

In this sun-dappled mystery from New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan, a risk-averse bibliophile gets in over her head when strange notes in a book draw her into a real-life investigation.

Mia Crawford is responsible to a fault. She has to be. Between her high-demand job and taking care of her grandmother and her cats, she has little time for anything else. What time she does have, she pours into reading. Mysteries, romances, thrillers…books filled with women who are far more impulsive than she would ever dream of being. Now, forced into taking a long-overdue vacation, she finds herself on a luxurious private island where she just might have a chance to reinvent herself—for a little while, anyway. She can explore the island. Flirt shamelessly with a cute bartender. Have a vacation fling. Live like a heroine in one of her favorite novels.

Or she can curl up with a good book on the beach. Turns out reinventing yourself is easier planned than done. But when gossipy notes written in the margins of an old book turn out to be clues to the disappearance of another guest, Mia finds herself diving headfirst into a dangerous adventure. With everyone at the resort hiding secrets of their own, she’ll have to solve this real-life mystery before she becomes the next target. 

Photo Credit: Brittan Dodd


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


ALLISON BRENNAN is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling and award-winning author of over forty novels. She lives in Arizona with her husband, five kids and assorted pets.

Connect with Allison Brennan:



Thursday, August 15, 2024

Review: 15 Summers Later by RaeAnne Thayne

 

15 Summers Later by RaeAnne Thayne
Publication Date: June 18th 2024 by Canary Street Press
Pages: 352
Source: Publisher 
Rating: ½
Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:
Ava and Madison survived and escaped a cult/prepper group when they were teenagers. Both have moved on, but Ava’s book detailing the experience brings unwelcome attention and Madison is furious. Why would Ava write this book? Ava’s not comfortable with sharing the past either, so I wasn’t sure why she wrote the book, but all is revealed as the story goes on.
 
Madison sustained lasting physical damage but has worked hard to overcome her trauma. I loved that her main focus in life was helping animals by running a rescue shelter.  Ava’s book has become a national best seller, but she’s put her book tour off because her marriage is in trouble. She needs time back home to lick her wounds and figure out what to do next.
 
The sisters really had a traumatic experience, and it was lucky they had each other to help them get through it and survive the escape! My heart went out to them, and I was enraged over how they came to be in the situation in the first place!
 
15 Summers Later was part romance, with Madison finding love and Ava sorting out her marriage-in-crisis, and part women’s fiction with the sisters reconciling the past and mending their relationship. I adored every minute!

4.5 Stars


Book Description:

15 summers ago, everything changed…

Ava Howell seemed to have it all. She moved away from Emerald Creek, Idaho, married the love of her life and published a bestselling memoir. But she never expected that her husband would feel so betrayed by a secret from her past—the truth of what happened to her and her sister all those years ago—that he’d walk away. Now Ava is back home and trying to move on with the only person who can truly understand…

Following years of healing, Madison Howell is finally happy. After college she built a no-kill shelter where she works with animals every day, and she’s in love with the town veterinarian, Dr. Luke Gentry. But she can’t ever bring herself to tell him. Years ago, his dad died protecting Madi and her sister, so how could he ever love her back?

With the truth laid bare, and the past that Ava and Madison have worked so hard to leave behind threatening everything they have built for themselves, the Howell sisters’ reunion is bittersweet. And as Ava and Madi attempt to remedy the rifts in their lives and reconcile their futures, they must face the demons of their past together.