New Book Tuesday...

It's Tuesday, and that means new books! Here are my top 4 picks...

                                                                                                                              

The Sins of Summer Daughters by Lo Patrick... 
A profound southern mystery from acclaimed author Lo Patrick. When her granddaughter is accused of murder, a woman must confront the buried secrets of a summer long past―because she can try to forget, but the Georgia land remembers.

Meg Gregory never wanted to return to Tuskin, the small Georgia town she grew up in, as barren as the fields that surround it. But after her divorce left her wounded, she knew she had to quit running. Now, years later, as Meg watches her daughter and granddaughter navigate familiar dirt roads, Meg is bent on hiding from the memories that haunt her. Because she skipped town for a reason, and that reason runs deep.

But when Meg's unassuming granddaughter Lucy is suddenly charged with the murder of her boyfriend, everything changes. Meg knows Lucy couldn't have done it. Killing a boy will break a girl like that. She should know. She's seen it happen before.

As Meg fights for Lucy's innocence, memories from the past threaten to break free, and she's left to contemplate a different murder, a different dead boy, a different summer under the hot Georgia sun. And soon enough Meg isn't quite sure what is memory and who, in all of this, is innocent.

A moving rumination on memory, legacy, trauma, and small-town tension, The Sins of Summer Daughters is a masterclass in mystery paired seamlessly with an intimate character study you won't soon forget.

This sounds so interesting! I love those "buried secrets coming to light years later" stories! On my TBR list. Published by Sourcebooks Landmark.

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All We Have Is Time by Amy Tordoff... A jaded immortal woman and a time traveler fall in love across the centuries, learning what it means to really live and love before their time together runs out. Perfect for fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and The Ministry of Time.

1605, London.Beatrix lives a solitary life in the shadows, wandering the city streets looking for ways to forget. Forget that everyone she has ever loved has been dead for nearly a century. Forget that, for her, love can only ever mean loss. Because Beatrix has a secret: a lifetime ago her deathbed wish was granted, making her immortal.

Until one day, whilst picking pockets amidst the raucous crowds of The Globe Theatre, she meets Oliver. They spend a single, perfect day together before he tells her that he has to leave. She’s not surprised; eternity is a lonely place.

When Beatrix and Oliver meet again by chance a century later, recognition hits her like a bolt of lightning. It’s impossible. He’s impossible. Just like her. A chance for Beatrix to truly live—and love—again sparks into existence.

Woven between the biggest events in history and the quiet moments lost to it, from London in 1605 to Woodstock in 1969 and beyond, All We Have Is Time is an unforgettable love story for anyone who believes love can rewrite the rules of time.

I love time travel love stories (The Time Travelers Wife, Outlander) and I have high hopes that this book will be one of those great stories. On my TBR list. Published by Atria Books.

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The Parisian Heist by Jo Piazza... A propulsive dual-timeline mystery drenched in art-world intrigue and brimming with family secrets, betrayal, and the intoxicating lure of power.

Emma, a struggling American artist in Paris, thought she had left her dreams behind when she took a job cleaning for the city’s wealthy elite. Then she meets Stella Swanson, the widow of one of the most notorious art dealers in the business. The Swansons move in a world where billionaires, oligarchs, and heads of state pay fortunes for masterpieces. Drawn in by their dazzling wealth and the pull of a dangerously charming grandson, Emma becomes both a player and a pawn in a family battle to protect their empire and conceal its crimes.

In the late 1800s, the young widow Jo van Gogh inherits hundreds of paintings from her brother-in-law Vincent that the art world deems worthless. Determined to prove their genius, and to secure a future for herself and her young son, she becomes consumed by Vincent’s legacy. As her devotion deepens, a vanished painting and a thwarted love affair leave her unsure who she can trust and how much of herself she’s willing to lose in the process.

From glittering auction houses to the idyllic canals of Amsterdam and the grand museums of Paris, the lives of these two women converge as Emma uncovers the Swanson family’s darkest secrets and agrees to mastermind a daring heist inside the Musée d’Orsay. The stakes have never been higher, and these women refuse to be written out of history, no matter the cost.

When I read "Art Heist" I was intrigued. I enjoy dual timelines if done right. On my TBR list. Published by Dutton.

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Ransom bu Daniel Silva... Art restorer and legendary spy Gabriel Allon searches for the missing wife of a British billionaire in the electrifying new tale of greed, corruption, and betrayal from #1 New York Times–bestselling novelist Daniel Silva.

Alice Winter, one of Britain’s most dazzling socialites, seemingly has the perfect life—a lavish home in posh Knightsbridge, a grand estate in Devon, millions of followers on social media who eagerly await her next post. But when she disappears without a trace while on holiday with three old friends from Cambridge, her desperate husband, the real estate baron Edward Knight, turns to none other than Gabriel Allon to find her.

He soon discovers that Alice Winter is not the woman she appears to be, that she has a reckless side, that she has secrets. But Edward Knight has a secret too, a secret so dangerous that Gabriel will have no choice but to return to the life he thought he had left behind. An old enemy lurks there, waiting for him to make one misstep, waiting for the perfect moment to exact vengeance.

I will follow Gabriel Allon where ever he goes. And that means following Daniel Silva. Daniel Silva's writing just resonates with me. I have enjoyed every book with Gabriel Allon as the central character. Putting this on my TBR list is a no brainer. If you haven't read him before, there are many books with Gabriel Allon. I don't think you have to read them in any particular order, so grab this one!

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Are you adding any of these books to your TBR list? Hope you found something new here today!... Happy reading, Suzanne

Dragons, Dogs & Delicious Drama... It's New Book Release Tuesdat!

Tuesdays are for new book releases! Here are 3 of my top picks this week!

Blood Bound by Ellis Hunter... A debut high-stakes fantasy romance trilogy set against a once-in-a-generation duel to the death between rival witches and dragon riders as they battle to control the source of all magic in their kingdoms. Perfect for fans of Fourth Wing, Throne of Glass, and Quicksilver.

You duel or you die.

Astrid has always known she is destined to die. She is the last Nachstern witch and heir to the Queendom of Arturea, cursed by a centuries-old covenant to duel the heir to the Kingdom of Vatra for the source of all magic: the Heart. And now Astrid’s time is up. She is heading into enemy territory to face Prince Zryan, the most powerful dragon rider in eons, with only her familiar, her potions and her wits to aid her. She is going to die, and any chance her queendom has of curing the Blight that’s ravaging the lands and killing her people will die with her.

Meanwhile, deep in dragon country, Skylar and her traveling troupe arrive in Vatra's capital, ready to profit off the legions of spectators swarming to the city ahead of the duel. She despises the royals and all they stand for, especially as the King’s guard murdered her mother. But when her best friend disappears, suspected to have been taken in the conscription, her search takes her closer to the royals than she ever could have imagined.

As the duel looms over the kingdom, Skylar and Astrid’s fates intertwine. They must battle a growing rebellion, their inner demons, and ultimately, those they love most, to determine if together they will save—or doom—their world.

OMG, I am reading this right now and am totally absorbed! As soon as I started reading I was loving it! I love the MFC's, and the witches familiars, and I love the idea of the two different worlds, that of the dragon riders and the witches. The banter between characters is great... There has been so much hype for this book and it's all worth it in my opinion! Look for my review coming soon. But if you love romantasy or just great storytelling ADD THIS TO YOUR TBR list! This is published by Atria Books and a huge thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this!!

Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block by Jesse Q. Sutano... Retirement should mean long-awaited trips to the sapphire waters of Santorini or careening down a sand dune in Dubai. For sixty-three-year-old Mebel, retirement means her husband of more than forty years announcing that he's leaving her for their private chef. Mebel isn’t sure who's the bigger loss.

Not to worry, Mebel has the perfect plan: she’s going to win back her husband. No one knows what he needs better than her—after all, she's been anticipating his needs their whole marriage. And if he wants a wife who can cook (why else would he leave her for a chef?), she will simply go to cooking school. And where better to learn to cook for your husband than France, the most romantic country in the world?

However, Mebel quickly learns that she has mistakenly enrolled in a culinary school not in glamorous Paris but rather in England—and in some small village outside of Oxford no less. Despite the less-than-warm welcome from her much younger classmates, Mebel manages to befriend Gemma, the breakout star of the program. And this unlikely friendship starts to show Mebel that maybe there’s more to her than being the perfect trophy wife…

As I was reading about the new books coming out this week, I ran across this one and started reading a bit of it to see if I liked it. AND I DID! The beginning of this story is just too funny and I think I'm really going to like Mebel. Check this book out by Jesse Q. Sutano, who has a a bunch of books already published and adored.  This book is published by Berkley and is on my TBR list...

Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I've Cried About... 
From the social media superstar behind @SimonSits, Isabel Klee—known for her heartwarming tales of dog rescue—comes an utterly winning memoir about a twentysomething woman’s search for true love in New York City and the dogs who helped her find it.

A Jersey girl by birth, Isabel Klee had always wanted to live in New York City. At age 20, she got her chance, ditching her college upstate and moving into a grungy basement apartment in Manhattan. Dog-obsessed since childhood, her first post-grad job was becoming an assistant to a dog photographer, and something clicked into place: a career focused on helping dogs was the new dream.

Isabel quickly found a passion for rehabilitating rescue dogs and helping them get adopted. At the same time, she was caught up in a whirlwind of friendships, parties, fickle boyfriends and grand romances, which she recounts in honest, tender, and sometimes devastating chapters about the search for love and belonging.

Isabel’s first true love, though, was Simon, a fluffy puppy who’d been saved from the meat trade. As the highs and lows of her twenties hit Isabel in wave after wave, it was Simon who kept her grounded. Together, Isabel and Simon created a community of dog-lovers and a tight-knit group of friends pursuing their dreams.

In this honest and moving memoir, Isabel weaves together the stories of her foster dogs—and the challenges she helped them overcome—with tales of complicated relationships, hard decisions, and great loves in New York City, all leading to a happy ending not only for the rescue pups, but for Isabel herself.

Any person in dog rescue has a special place in my heart. I've spotlighted this book last monday in Memoir Monday, but wanted to highlight it again because today is its' official publishing day! And courtesy of William Morrow and NetGalley, I now have a copy to read and review! Thank you so much!! Look for my review coming soon!

The Sunday Salon... and Spring has Sprung, or at Least Great Books are Popping up all Around Us!

Welcome to The Sunday Salon! It's the place where Book Bloggers from around the world share their bookish finds with one another in a virtual place called The Sunday Salon. Thank you to for Deb at ReaderBuzz keeping us all together on Sundays and hosting The Sunday Salon now! I also visited with Kim at The Caffeinated Reader, another Sunday gathering place for us bookish people called The Sunday Post!

This week has been a crazy weather week in South Carolina. From 40 degrees to 80 degrees and rain here and there. I just bought some seed starter soil and plan to make some seed snails the beginning of the week. Have you heard about seed snails? Cut a waterproof feed bag or bubblewrap into 6 inch x 18 inches, lay it out flat and layer that with about an inch of damp seed starting soil. Leave about 4 inches without soil on the end. Roll it up. Then put your seeds on top, cover with a thin bit of soil, cover with a baggie and you're good to go! Put in a waterproof tray and put them somewhere sunny. We'll keep you updated on how that is going. Cross your fingers. It's the first time I'm trying this before actually planting them in the garden or seeding them in the garden. Spring is definitely in the air!

And speaking of the start of Spring, how about all the great books coming out now?!! Let me share my reading week now too...

She Fell Away by Lenore Nash... A State Department diplomat must confront the ghosts of her past as she searches for a missing American woman in New Zealand in this pulse-pounding and unputdownable thriller.

Lake Harlowe may not appear to be your typical State Department diplomat. With the number of skeletons in her closet exceeding the tattoos on her skin, she moves to a new country every few years to keep one step ahead of her personal demons. After two grueling years working in Cambodia, Lake’s desperate for a break and a new posting to sleepy Wellington, New Zealand, seems like a dream come true.

That is, until eighteen-year-old singer-songwriter Bowie Bishop mysteriously vanishes shortly after American NFL player Bruce Walter is found dead in his hotel room. An exchange student from Las Vegas, Bowie was a world away from her possessive, washed-up stage mom who won’t stop calling until Lake finds her superstar daughter.

All at once, Lake finds herself ensnared in a network of deception involving Bowie’s high-profile host family, a shadowy music producer, a casino magnate, and the US ambassador—her boss. Obsessed with finding the truth, Lake soon realizes that to find the missing girl, she must confront her own dark past in this unputdownable thriller that will keep you guessing until the final page.

I just started reading She Fell Away and was hooked right from the start with Lenore Nash's writing. I wasn't sure what to expect with a "State Department diplomat" as the lead character. Will she be on the sidelines and on the phones doing "diplomatic things"? Nope, she is right in the thick of things, currently standing and looking over a dead body. No, this girl definitely isn't just on the phone, although she is the liason between the victims and the families. I'm really looking forward to reading this! Published by Atria Books and coming out this TUESDAY, MARCH 10th!

(P.S. This is Lenore Nash's debut thriller, but her romances, under a different name, are wildly popular)

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Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood... An enemies-to-lovers spicy novella set in the world of video gaming from the New York Times bestselling author of Problematic Summer Romance—now in print and ebook!

Viola Bowen has the chance of a lifetime: to design a video game based on her all-time favorite book series. The only problem? Her co-lead is Jesse F-ing Andrews, aka her archnemesis. Jesse has made it abundantly clear over the years that he wants nothing to do with her—and Viola has no idea why.

When their bosses insist a wintery retreat is the perfect team-building exercise, Viola can’t think of anything worse. Being freezing cold in a remote mountain lodge knowing Jesse is right next door? No, thank you.

But as the snow piles on, Viola discovers there’s more to Jesse than she knew, and heat builds in more ways than one.

If you are a big Ali Hazelwood fan, and there a LOT of them, here's her newest book. I have heard so many wonderful things about it, and have seen it EVERYwhere! Now it is my house and ready for me to crack the spine thanks to my local library. I just happen to see that it was just checked in and no wait, which is a rare occurance, but I jumped at the chance. Especially since it is only a little over 200 pages, I should be able to fit this in with my other reading "obligations". I'm expecting a fun read. Published by Berkley.

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In Her Defense by Philippa Malicka...  As a sensational celebrity libel trial unfolds, a young woman at the periphery secretly wields the power to make or break the case. But with her own hidden past, will she dare to speak up?

Everyone is watching. Only one person knows the truth.

The whole country has been riveted by the trial: Beloved TV star and national treasure Anna Finbow, standing in court, accusing her daughter’s therapist Jean Guest of brainwashing her daughter Mary for her own financial gain. Jean insists Mary’s traumatic memories arise from her upbringing and her time studying at a prestigious art school in Rome; wounds only Jean’s therapy can heal. But as the trial unfolds, it’s Augusta “Gus” Bird, Anna’s former employee—a seemingly insignificant bystander, a nobody—who holds the key to unraveling the tangled web of lies and deceit.

What really happened to Mary in Rome? And if her memories can’t be trusted, how will they ever uncover the truth behind her estrangement? Twisty and propulsive, In Her Defense is a compulsively readable debut for fans of Lucy Foley and Laura Dave.

I also was able to grab this at my local library this week. It's been on my radar ever since Reese Witherspoon picked it for her February Book Club selection. I wasn't sure about the whole celebrity trial premise, but I usually enjoy Reese's picks, so it's in the TBR pile for the next 14 days. Published by Scribner.

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Oscar Movie Watch...

I'm still trying to get all those Best Picture Oscar nominated films under my belt. Last night was F1 with Brad Pitt. It's a racing movie, with Brad Pitt being the "Old guy" vs the young up and coming racer and they need to figure out how to work together to accomplish their common goal of winning for the team. I'm not into racing really, but I enjoyed the thrill of the track. And Brad Pitt... he looks like a young Robert Redford now that he's matured a bit. He was very good in the movie. I don't think it outshines Hamnet or Frankenstein (my secret choice before seeing Hamnet). P.S. When did renting a movie start to cost $20?!? I was able to borrow this movie from the library, but hesitate to pay $20 for a rental. Ugh. 

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Weekly Round-up...

Memoir Monday... Adult Braces by Lindy West was our Memoir for the week. Read about it HERE!

Tuesday's New Book Releases... Historical Fiction was the genre of choice for this Tuesday's releases! Check them out HERE!

First Lines Friday... Music gone missing! Or at least the woman behind the music in Wait For Me by Amy Jo Burns. Read about it HERE!

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That about wraps up this week in my reading week! How about you?! What have you been reading or has captured your attention? I hope you found something interesting here today! More books and bookish things next week!

Happy Reading... Suzanne