BLOG TOUR - The Bitter and Sweet of Cherry Season

Please join me on this Blog Tour For The Bitter and Sweet of Cherry Season by Molly Fader. 

DESCRIPTION:

For fans of Robyn Carr, commercial women's fiction about three generations of women who come together at the family orchard to face secrets from the past and learn to believe in the power of hope and forgiveness.

In cherry season, anything is possible...

Everything Hope knows about the Orchard House is from her late-mother's stories. So when she arrives at the Northern Michigan family estate late one night with a terrible secret and her ten-year-old daughter in tow, she's not sure if she'll be welcomed or turned away with a shotgun by the aunt she has never met.

Hope's aunt, Peg, has lived in the Orchard House all her life, though the property has seen better days. She agrees to take Hope in if, in exchange, Hope helps with the cherry harvest—not exactly Hope's specialty, but she's out of options. As Hope works the orchard alongside her aunt, daughter, and a kind man she finds increasingly difficult to ignore, a new life begins to blossom. But the mistakes of the past are never far behind, and soon the women will find themselves fighting harder than ever for their family roots and for each other.

BUY LINKS:

Harlequin | Indiebound | Amazon 

Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Target
Walmart | Google | iBooks | Kobo

MY THOUGHTS:

Title:   The Bitter and Sweet of Cherry Season

Author:  Molly Fader

Publisher:  Graydon House

Genre:   Women's Fiction

Format:  Kindle ARC

No. of Pages:   384

Date of Publication:   June 9, 2020

My Rating:   5 Stars

Hope and her daughter Jenny (Tink) show up one day on Hope’s Aunt Peg’s doorstep. This is very difficult for her because she never met her aunt. Her mother died about a year ago and Hope is bouncing back from a very bad relationship and her and Tink have almost nothing or nowhere else to go. Arriving at Peg‘s Orchard House, where it is cherry season, the time is really good because Peg needs assistance. This in turn will help Hope and Tink in immeasurable ways.

Not only do we have Hope’s issues, we begin to learn things about Peg that Hope was completely unaware of. Hope arrived at her Aunt’s house completely broken. She had moments of despair that were so sad that they brought tears to my eyes. It was bad enough that Hope did not know if she would feel welcome at Peg’s home, She doesn’t know what the future will offer for her and Tink.

While Hope is helping with the cherry harvest, she meets someone that is working along with them that begins to change her outlook. This literally gave hope to this very touching story. This story of three generations had each of their points of view, including Tink’s. That poor child, only ten years old, had the world on her shoulders.

This compelling read offered several lessons, including trust and forgiveness. It also dealt with secrets of the past and how they impacted the lives that the three primary characters in the story were experiencing. This dramatic book really caught me by surprise and I am very pleased to have had an opportunity to read a story that affected me on such a visceral level. The conclusion had me bawling. Kudos for Molly Fader for writing such a wonderful story.

Many thanks to Graydon House and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Please enjoy the following excerpt:

Chapter 1 HOPE Night up in Northern Michigan was no joke. Hope had never seen a dark so dark. It had heft and dimension, like she was driving right into an abyss. She thought about waking up Tink in the back to show her, but the girl had finally fallen asleep and she needed the rest. And Hope needed a break. Who knew traveling with a completely silent, angry and traumatized ten-year-old could be so exhausting? Hope’s phone had died when she got off the highway about twenty minutes ago. In those last few minutes of battery she had tried to memorize the directions: Left on Murray Street. Slight right onto County Road 72. Your destination is five miles on the right. But County Road 72 wasn’t well marked and now she feared she was lost. Well, for sure she was lost; in the grand scheme of things she was totally off the map. But she was clinging to the one ratty thread of hope she had left in her hand. And then just as that tiny bit of thread started to slip out of her fingers, from the murk emerged a blue sign. County Road 72. The road took a long arcing right into the dark, and she unrolled her window, trying to keep herself awake. Adrenaline and gas station coffee could only do so much against two sleepless nights. Her yawn was so wide it split her lip. Again. Copper-tasting blood pooled in her mouth. “Shit,” she breathed and pressed the last of the napkins against her mouth. She was even out of napkins. In the back, Tink woke up. Hope heard the change in her breathing. The sudden gasp like she was waking up from a nightmare. Or into one. Hard to say. “Hey,” Hope said, looking over her shoulder into the shadows of the back seat. Her daughter’s pale face like a moon slid into the space between the driver and passenger seats. “We’re almost there.” Hope sounded like they were about to drive up to the gates of Disney World. Tink rubbed her eyes. “Did you see the stars?” Hope’s voice climbed into that range she’d recently developed. Dementedly cheerful. Stepford Mom on helium. She winced at the sound of it. That wasn’t her. It wasn’t how she talked to Tink. And yet she couldn’t tune her voice back to normal. “There are so many of them. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many stars.” Tink ducked her head to look out the windshield and then turned to cock her head at an angle so she could look out the passenger windows. They’d gone to an exhibit about the constellations at the Science Center a year ago and Tink still talked about it. Pointing up at Sirius like she’d discovered it herself. “Aren’t those the pieties?” Hope got the name wrong on purpose, hoping for a snotty-toned correction from her miniature astronomer. Or at least a throat-clearing scoff. But no. “Sooner or later you’re going to talk to me,” she said. “You’re going to open that mouth and all the words you haven’t said all day are gonna come pouring out.” Silence. “Do you want to ask me questions about where we’re going?” They were, after all, heading deep into Northern Michigan to a place she and Tink had never been, and Hope had never told her about until today. Tink rubbed her eyes again. “Or maybe what happened…tonight?” Her gaze bounced between Tink and the road. When you’re older, you’ll understand. When you’re a mom, you’ll understand. She wanted to say that to her daughter, but she herself barely understood any of what had happened the last two days. Still silence. Hope tried a different angle. “I’m telling you, Tink. I know you and you can’t keep this up much longer. I’ll bet you ten bucks you say something to me in five…four…three…two…” She pulled in a breath that tasted like tears and blood. Please, honey. Please. “One.” She sighed. “Fine. You win.” Her beat-up hatchback bounced over the uneven asphalt and Tink crawled from the backseat into the front, her elbow digging into Hope’s shoulder, her flip-flopped foot kicking her in the thigh. The degree of parenting it would take to stop Tink from doing that, or to discuss the potential dangers and legality of it, was completely beyond her. She was beyond pick your battles, into some new kind of wild west motherhood. Pretend there were no battles. They drove another five minutes until finally, ahead, there was a golden halo of light over the trees along the side of the road, and Hope slowed down. A gravel driveway snaked through the darkness and she took it on faith that it had been five miles. “This is it.” Please let this be it. The driveway opened up and there was a yellow-brick, two-story house. The Orchard House. That was what Mom called it in the few stories she’d told about growing up here. Actually, the words she used were The Goddamn Orchard House. It was a grand old-fashioned place with second-story windows like empty eyes staring down at them. White gingerbread nestled up in the corners of the roof, and there was a big wide porch with requisite rocking chairs. Seriously, it was so charming, it could have been fake. The car rolled to a stop and Hope put it in park. Her maniacal new voice failed her, and she just sat there. Silent. Suddenly the front door opened and a dog – a big one, with big teeth – came bounding out. Cujo stopped at the top of the steps and started barking. Behind the dog came a woman in a blue robe carrying a shotgun. Tink made a high panicked sound in her voice, climbing up in her seat. Hope’s impulse was to turn the car around and get out of there. The problem was there was nowhere to turn around to. They had no place left to go. “It’s okay, honey,” Hope lied. She went as far as to put her hand over Tink’s bony knee, the knob of it fitting her palm like a baseball. “Everything’s going to be all right.” More desperate than brave, Hope popped open the door. The dog’s bark, unmuffled by steel and glass, was honest-to-god blood curdling. “Hi!” she yelled, trying to be both cheerful and loud enough to be heard over the barking. “Get your hands up,” the woman on the porch shouted. Hope shoved her hands up through the crack between the door and the car and did a kind of jazz hands with her fingers. “What do you want?” the woman asked. “Are you Peg—” “I can’t hear you.” She stood up, her head reaching up over the door. “Are you Peg?” “Never mind, me. Who the hell are you?” She pointed the business end of the gun toward them. Hope quickly side-stepped away from the car door, and Tink reached across the driver’s seat and slammed it shut. The heavy thud of the engaged lock was unmistakeable. “You don’t know me—” “No shit!” “My name is Hope,” she said. The gun lowered and the woman’s face changed. From anger to something more careful. “Hope?” “Yeah. I’m Denise’s girl. I’m…well, you’re my aunt?” Excerpted from The Bitter and Sweet of Cherry Season by Molly Fader, Copyright © 2020 by Molly Fader. Published by Graydon House Books.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Molly Fader is the author of The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets. She is also the award-winning author of more than forty romance novels under the pennames Molly O'Keefe and M. O'Keefe. She grew up outside of Chicago and now lives in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter, @mollyokwrites.

Author Website: http://mollyfader.com/

TWITTER: @MollyOKwrites

FB: @MollyFader

Insta: @mokeefeauthor

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18435981.Molly_Fader

BLOG TOUR - Mystery at Seagrave Hall

Today is my stop on the Blog Tour for Mystery At Seagrave Hall by Clare Chase. Because I read the first book in this series, Mystery on Hidden Lane, I read the second book in the series, Mystery at Apple Tree Cottage, which is also included in this Blog Tour post.

DESCRIPTION:

Title:   Mystery at Apple Tree Cottage
Author:  Clare Chase

Series:  Eve Mallow Mystery #2

Genre:   Cozy Mystery

Publisher:  Bookouture

Format:  Kindle ARC

No. of Pages:   319

Date of Publication:   March 12, 2020

My Rating:   4 Stars

Obituary writer and amateur sleuth Eve Mallow is enjoying life in sleepy Saxford St Peter – until a mysterious murder lands right at her door…

It’s spring in Saxford St Peter – time to get back in the garden, listen to the birds, and take gentle strolls in the woods. But for some, it’s the season for murder.

Eve Mallow is relishing the gentle pace of the village until a new arrival stirs everyone up. Ashton Foley is back: a teenage tearaway turned interior designer to the stars. He’s mad, bad and dangerous to know, but charming too – as Eve herself can testify – and every house in Saxford opens its doors to him.

So when he’s found murdered in the woods near his mother’s home, Apple Tree Cottage, there’s no shortage of suspects. A jealous husband? A spurned lover? Or has someone from his past life caught up with him?

The police soon hit on a simple solution, and arrest his mother’s partner Howard. Ashton always hated him, and he bears all the marks of a recent fight. But Ashton’s mother, miles away in New Zealand, is convinced he’s innocent, and enlists Eve’s help to prove it.

There’s just one problem. Eve saw Howard sniffing around Apple Tree Cottage on the morning of the murder, and she’s fairly sure he’s guilty, too…

An unputdownable page-turner, perfect for fans of Faith Martin, Agatha Christie and Betty Rowlands.

Link to purchase the book

MY THOUGHTS:

Eve Mallow is an obituary writer turned sleuth. A previous writing assignment (see Mystery on Hidden Lane, the first book in the series), which was to write a musician’s obituary. The way things worked out Eve ended up investigating his death. Is this the way that she is going to approach every obituary she plans on writing?

Ashton Foley left town some time ago and folks know about his involvement in drugs. It seems that Ashton has turned a new leaf as he has made a success of himself. While his mother is pleased he is back in town, others are not so sure. Before long, his body is found and it is proved to be murder.

When the police decide that the most likely suspect is Ashton‘s mother’s partner, Howard, they go ahead and arrest him. So Ashton’s mother begs Eve to prove Howard’s innocence. As she is then asked to write Ashton’s obituary, Eve becomes an amateur sleuth yet again. The problem is Eve does not go in thinking that Howard is innocent. So not only does she have a lot of people to talk to and have a lot of questions to ask, she must work with her own doubt.

Eve does an excellent job ferreting information from what proves to be a barrage of suspects. The deeper she goes the more Eve depends on sharing the information she turns up with former Chief Inspector, Robin. It will be interesting to know whether or not in future books if the two will develop a relationship. This second book in this series is a very nice cozy mystery with a few twists and turns and leaves readers with a satisfying conclusion.


Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

***Featured Blog Tour post***

DESCRIPTION:

Title:   Mystery at Seagrave Hall
Author:  Clare Chase

Series:  Eve Mallow Mystery #3

Genre:   Cozy Mystery

Publisher:  Bookouture

Format:  Kindle ARC

No. of Pages:   315

Date of Publication:   June 11, 2020

My Rating:   4 Stars

It’s Eve Mallow’s first visit to the local village fair. But amidst the booths, stalls, tables and tents lurks something darker… A mysterious fall means a new case for amateur detective Eve!

The charity fair at Seagrave Hall is a key date in the Saxford St Peter calendar – a chance for the villagers to nose around the house and grounds and cross paths with the rich and famous.

New resident Eve Mallow is particularly excited by this year’s special guest: the explorer Verity Nye, who is engaged to the heir to the Hall. Eve loves Verity’s determination, and she can’t wait to meet her.

But when they talk, Verity hints that she has something troubling on her mind. So after the festive mood is tragically interrupted by Verity’s fall from a third-floor window, Eve can’t be sure that it’s an appalling accident. Especially when one small boy claims he saw someone behind her…

Soon Eve finds herself tasked with writing Verity’s obituary. As she dusts off her notebook and begins her interviews alongside her trusted dachshund sidekick Gus she realises she has a fine array of suspects before her. Could it be a corrupt charity manager, the distraught fiancé, or jealous cousin Cora? And can Eve find out before her questions cause the killer to turn on her?

A charming and gripping page-turner, perfect for fans of Faith Martin, Agatha Christie and Betty Rowlands.

BUY LINKS:
https://geni.us/B085RVFR29Social

MY THOUGHTS:

Eve Mallow’s constant attempts at finding relaxation in the gorgeous village at Saxton St. Peter just never even seems a possibility. Even while attending a village fair. It soon proves true after meeting an famous diver named Verity Nye, a woman Eve has been very excited to meet. the meeting went rather well, although Verity shared some concerns with Eve. With Verity’s shocking fall from a window, not only is Eve tasked with writing the obituary, she soon proves her worth as an amateur sleuth.

This is the third review that I have written for this wonderful cozy mystery series by Clare Chase, and I have not yet mentioned her gorgeous dachshund named Gus. He is always a delight in these stories. Another wonderful character in this book is Robin Yardley, a gardener and former detective inspector, is Eve’s confidante and friend, always there for her to bounce ideas off. The fact that there is a slow romance developing between the pair is an extra bonus.

Of course, writing the obituary should be Eve’s primary purpose, but she cannot help but try and get behind the cause of Verity’s death. from the very beginning, Eve sensed that it was more than an accident, so therefore she also seeks to find a motive. As always when handling one of her “cases”, Eve has no shortage of suspects, including Verity’s fiancé.

As I have enjoyed the series from the beginning I loved watching Eve grow. An American transplant, with undeniable smarts, curiosity and instincts, she is becoming one of my favorite protagonists in these delightful cozy mysteries. In any event, reading the series out of order won’t detract from the actual story contained therein.

The mystery was done quite well, and with Eve’s likable nature, and her love of spreadsheets - mine as well - make this engaging series, one I really look forward to continuing.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Clare Chase writes women sleuth mysteries. After graduating from London University with a degree in English Literature, Clare moved to Cambridge and has lived there ever since. She's fascinated by the city's contrasts and contradictions, which feed into her writing. She's worked in diverse settings - from the 800-year-old University to one of the local prisons - and lived everywhere from the house of a Lord to a slug-infested flat. The terrace she now occupies, with her husband and teenage children, presents a good happy medium.

As well as writing, Clare loves family time, art and architecture, cooking, and of course, reading other people's books.

You can find Clare's website and blog at www.clarechase.com

Author Social Media Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClareChase_
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10204574.Clare_Chase
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClareChaseAuthor/

New YouTube Video - Back on BookTube

Here is a video that explain my absence from BookTube as well as my thoughts on the Reading Habits Tag.

BLOG TOUR - The Accusation

Today is my stop on the Blog Tour for The Accusation by Victoria Jenkins.

DESCRIPTION:

They say she’s guilty. She says she’s not. Who do you believe?

‘Help me! Help me, please!’

When Jenna hears the cry in the park one night, she feels she has no choice but to run and help. Cradling the injured woman in her arms, the attacker nowhere to be seen, all Jenna wants is to keep her alive until the ambulance arrives and for the ordeal to be over.

But the nightmare begins when the victim wakes up…

Jenna’s relief turns to horror when the finger is pointed at her. There must be some mistake: she’s never seen the woman before in her life, and Jenna tried to save her life. Why would she accuse Jenna of a crime she didn’t commit?

As the case against Jenna grows, her world starts to fall apart. Her teenage daughter is keeping secrets and her husband is growing more distant every day. To save her family and clear her name, Jenna has to prove she didn’t do it. But someone knows something Jenna did do. And they want to make her pay…

The Accusation is an addictive psychological thriller that asks how far you would go for justice. Perfect for fans of He Said/She Said, The Silent Patient and The Woman in the Window. 

BUY LINKS:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B0861JQMHVSocial
Apple: https://apple.co/33pXNV3
Kobo: http://bit.ly/3b0ZqLa
Google: http://bit.ly/39Z0Fuh

MY THOUGHTS:

Title:   The Accusation

Author:  Victoria Jenkins
Genre:   Psychological Thriller

Publisher:  Bookouture

Format:  Kindle ARC
No. of Pages:  289 

Date of Publication:  June 9, 2020
My Rating:  5 Stars

She was a good Samaritan. Walking home after an evening out with friends, Jenna decides to cut through a park, as it always saved several minutes on the walk headed to her home. Hearing the words "Help me!", Jenna runs towards the chilling words. Spotting a woman bleeding on the ground due to an apparent knife wound, Jenna does what comes naturally to her, and that is to render first aid and to call the emergency number. Eventually help arrives and the stranger is taken to the hospital and Jenna heads home.

That should have been the end of matters. However when the victim wakes up she points to Jenna as the person who tried to kill her. How can that be? The woman is a complete stranger to Jenna. To make matters worse, her daughter Lily is not being honest with her, and her relationship with her husband is becoming quite strained. The family problems are fracturing enough, but an attempted murder accusation is beyond imagination. 

When I read a book by Victoria Jenkins I know that I am guaranteed a fast-paced read, one full of twists and turns, with drama and angst mixed in. That has been my previous experience and, true to form, The Accusation follows that pattern. This book does not miss a beat. To throw a wrench in the plan for this book, Jenna has her own secrets, thus we have an unreliable narrator. Written in first-person reveals more than one shocking thing about Jenna.

Jenna's home is topsy turvy, then with the accusation, and with her desperate attempts to prove that she is innocent, things completely spiral out of control. With her relationships being called into question, Jenna's past is slowly revealed as the story unfolds, all leading to a shocking conclusion. The Accusation was a thrilling ride from start to finish, and was impossible to put down. I cannot wait to read whatever else Victoria Jenkins has in store. 

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Victoria Jenkins lives with her husband and daughter in South Wales, where her series of crime novels featuring Detectives King and Lane is based. Her debut novel The Girls in the Water is an Amazon UK top 30 bestseller, and top 5 bestseller in the Amazon US chart.

Her first psychological thriller, The Divorce, was published in July 2019. The second, The Argument, was published December 10th 2019 and The Accusation publishes June 9th 2020.

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BLOG TOUR - First Shot

I am pleased to join in the Blog Tour for First Shot by John Ryder.

DESCRIPTION:

When girls go missing here, no one says a word…

Twenty-four-year-old Lila has disappeared without trace. It’s the kind of case that ex-military loner Grant Fletcher would normally be happy to take on—he will always seek justice if someone has the money to pay him. But this one he’s doing for free. This one’s personal.

Because Fletcher owes his life to Lila’s father. And Fletcher knows that returning Lila safe and sound is the only thing that matters to his wheelchair-bound friend.

She last called her father from a small town in rural Georgia. Arriving there, Fletcher’s feet barely touch the ground before he finds trouble. He also discovers that his friend’s daughter wasn’t the first girl to go missing there. Not the first by far.

Then the last person to have seen Lila before she disappeared is murdered. As an outsider, Fletcher becomes the local deputy’s only suspect, leaving him no choice but to go on the run. Because Fletcher knows someone’s abducting girls in this town. And he also knows he’s the only person who can find them…

Fans of high-octane action and unforgettable heroes like Lee Child’s Jack Reacher, Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne and David Baldacci’s Amos Decker will love First Shot.

BUY LINK:

https://geni.us/B085DXSTKLSocial

MY THOUGHTS:

Title:   First Shot

Author:  John Ryder

Series:  Grant Fletcher #1
Publisher:  Bookouture

Genre:   Mystery/Thriller

Format:  Kindle ARC

No. of Pages:   359

Date of Publication:   June 4, 2020

My Rating:   4 Stars

Sadly, missing young women is nothing new. However, when Grant Fletcher learns of the fact that twenty-four-year-old Lila has disappeared, he takes notice. When he was in Afghanistan, Lila's father saved his life. So Fletcher feels a strong sense of duty when it comes to trying to discover what happened to Lila.

So Fletcher starts his search. The deeper he digs, the more unsettled he becomes. His search leads him to Georgia, and danger hits him front and center, as when he is at a motel, Fletcher faces a near-death experience when several men seek to silence him - for good. Why has his search for Lila led to more than one danger? Then when he gets a bit closer, he discovers that a woman connected with Lila has been murdered. This cannot be a coincidence. 

Fletcher is not the kind of man who gives up easily. He reluctantly begins working with Special Agent Zoey Quadrado. This leads to more than one intense situation that brings incredible danger to Quadrado. Will helping Fletcher search for Lila bring an end to Quadrado? In addition, through the pages of this book, Fletcher's personal and military life are mentioned, and not without incredible angst. Now a single father to a daughter, Fletcher's responsibilities never come to an end. 

This was rather a tough read. It was gritty, shocking and devastating at times. There was peril and action that had me racing through the pages. I love Fletcher and look forward to him and Quadrado working together again. Fletcher is a powerful hero and I can see this book by John Ryder gaining traction for readers of police procedurals who don't mind an imperfect protagonist. 

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review.   This is my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

John Ryder is a former farmworker and joiner. He’s turned his hand to many skills to put food on the table and clothes on his back. A life-long bibliophile, he eventually summoned the courage to try writing himself, and his Grant Fletcher novels have drawn inspiration from authors such as Lee Child, Tom Cain, Zoe Sharp and Matt Hilton. When it comes to future novels, he says he has more ideas than time to write them.

When not writing, John enjoys spending time with his son, reading and socialising with friends. A fanatic supporter of his local football team, he can often be found shouting encouragement to men much younger and fitter than he is.

Author Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnRyderAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnRyder101