Always With a Book

k2reader December 23, 2021

Review: The Fiancee by Kate White

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks Published: June 29, 2021 Source: Publisher Summary: The New York Times bestselling author returns with an unsettling but riveting psychological thriller about a captivating woman who joins a family and threatens to upend their picture-perfect lives. They had everything they needed for a perfect family vacation: close-knit relatives, a bucolic setting . . . and a murderer in their midst? Summer’s looking forward to a break from hustling…

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k2reader December 22, 2021

Review: Such a Quiet Place by Megan Miranda (audio)

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio Published: July 13, 2021 Source: ALC via Simon & Schuster Audio Summary: Welcome to Hollow’s Edge, where you can find secrets, scandal, and a suspected killer – all on one street. Hollow’s Edge use to be a quiet place. A private and idyllic neighborhood where neighbors dropped in on neighbors, celebrated graduation and holiday parties together, and looked out for one another. But then…

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k2reader December 20, 2021

Review: Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid (audio)

Publisher: Random House Audio Published: June 1, 2021 Source: ALC via Libro.fm Summary: Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of the summer. But over the course of 24 hours, the family drama that ensues will change their lives will change forever. Malibu: August 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas:…

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k2reader December 18, 2021

Review: Suddenly Last Summer by Sarah Morgan

Publisher: Harlequin HQN Published: June 24, 2014 Source: Netgalley Summary: Bestselling author Sarah Morgan delivers another irresistible hero in her O’Neil Brothers series who’s more tempting than dessert and twice as sinful! Fiery French chef Élise Philippe is having a seriously bad day. Not only have the opening day plans for her beloved café fallen apart, but Sean O’Neil is back in town, and looking more delectable than ever.…

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k2reader December 17, 2021

Review: Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks Published: October 26, 2021 (First published December 1938) Source: Publisher Summary: In this official edition featuring exclusive content from the Queen of Mystery, the holidays are anything but merry when a family reunion is marred by murder—and the brilliant Belgian investigator is quickly on the case. On Christmas Eve at Gorston Hall, the Lee family’s festivities are shattered by a deafening crash of furniture and a high-pitched wailing…

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k2reader December 16, 2021

Review: Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks Published: June 1, 2021 (First published July 2020) Source: Saichek Publicity Summary: Over the course of one summer that begins with a shocking tragedy, three generations of the Adler family grapple with heartbreak, romance, and the weight of family secrets in this stunning debut novel that’s perfect for fans of Manhattan Beach and The Dollhouse. Atlantic City, 1934. Every summer, Esther and Joseph Adler rent their house…

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k2reader December 16, 2021

Review: The Collective by Alison Gaylin

Publisher: William Morrow Published: November 2, 2021 Source: Netgalley via Publisher Summary: The USA Today bestselling and Edgar Award–winning author of Never Look Back and If I Die Tonight plumbs the dark side of justice and the depths of diabolical revenge in this propulsive novel of psychological suspense that melds the driving narrative of Then She Was Gone with the breathtaking twists of The Chain and the violent fury of Kill Bill. Just how far will a grieving mother go…

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k2reader December 15, 2021

Review: Five Strangers by E.V. Adamson

Publisher: Scarlet Suspense Published: October 5, 2021 Source: ARC Paperback via Publisher Summary: With its grassy hills and breathtaking city views, London’s Hampstead Heath is the perfect place to spend an afternoon with friends and loved ones—and on an unseasonably warm Valentine’s Day, the lawns are especially full. So when an aggressive lovers’ quarrel breaks out, there’s an audience of park goers nearby to hear the shouts traded back…

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k2reader December 14, 2021

Review: The Good Lie by A.R. Torre

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer Published: July 20, 2021 Source: ARC Paperback via Publisher Summary: Six teens murdered. A suspect behind bars. A desperate father. In a case this shadowy, the truth is easy to hide. Six teenagers dead. Finally, the killer behind bars. But are the games just beginning? Psychiatrist Dr. Gwen Moore is an expert on killers. She’s spent a decade treating California’s most depraved predators and unlocking their…

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k2reader December 13, 2021

Blog Tour & Review: The Women of Pearl Island by Polly Crosby

Today, I’m so happy to be a tour stop on the blog tour for The Women of Pearl Island by Polly Crosby. Thank you Park Row Books for inviting me to participate. Publisher: Park Row Books Published: December 7, 2021 Source: Netgalley via Publisher Summary: “A luminous and beautiful novel that gently lures the reader into a captivating story with a mystery at its heart.” – Jennifer Saint, bestselling…

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k2reader December 12, 2021

Review: Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult

Publisher: Ballantine Books Published: November 30, 2021 Source: ARC E-copy via Publisher/Netgalley Summary: From the #1 New York Times bestselling author comes a deeply moving novel about the resilience of the human spirit in a moment of crisis. Diana O’Toole is perfectly on track. She will be married by thirty, done having kids by thirty-five, and move out to the New York City suburbs, all while climbing the professional…

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k2reader December 9, 2021

Cover Reveal: NEVER COMING HOME by Hannah Mary McKinnon

⁣ I’m thrilled to be part of this cover reveal for 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘 by @hannahmarymckinnon…I’m such a big fan of this author!!! This book pubs on May 24th & I can’t wait for this twisted, darkly humorous thriller.⁣ ⁣ ⁣ 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀 ⁣ First comes love. Then comes murder.⁣ ⁣ Lucas Foster didn’t hate his wife. Michelle was brilliant, sophisticated & beautiful. Sure, she had extravagant spending habits, that petty…

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k2reader December 9, 2021

Review: Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley (audio)

Publisher: Henry Holt & Co / Macmillan Audio Published: March 16, 2021 Source: Print – Personal Copy / Audio – ALC via Macmillan Audio Summary: For fans of Angie Thomas and Tommy Orange, Angeline Boulley’s debut novel, Firekeeper’s Daughter, is a groundbreaking YA thriller about a Native teen who must root out the corruption in her community. Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and…

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k2reader December 8, 2021

Review: True Crime Story by Joseph Knox (audio)

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark / Recorded Books Published: December 7, 2021 Source: ARC Paperback via Sourcebooks / ALC via Librofm Summary: What happens to all the girls who go missing? The thrilling story of a university student’s sudden disappearance, the woman who became obsessed with her case, and the crime writer who uncovered the chilling truth about what happened… In 2011, Zoe Nolan walked out of her dormitory in Manchester…

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k2reader December 7, 2021

Review: Last One Out Shut Off the Lights by Stephanie Soileau

Publisher: Little Brown and Company Published: July 7, 2020 Source: Personal copy Summary: This “outstanding” debut story collection from a rising star reveals Louisiana and its characters with stark honesty and empathy as they grapple with homesickness, desperation, and desire (Peter Orner). Last One Out Shut Off the Lights is a vivid portrait of the last-chance towns of southwest Louisiana, where oil development, industrial pollution, dying wetlands, and the ever-present…

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k2reader December 6, 2021

Most Anticipated Releases: December 2021

Back again with my five most anticipated releases coming out this month. Publishing slows down as we near the end of the year, but I still managed to find 5 releases that I am excited for…releases that I hope you will be excited to read as well! Some of these are from beloved favorite authors – including a prequel to a most beloved series!!! – and some are new-to-me…

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k2reader December 6, 2021

Blog Tour & Review: Into the Sound by Cara Reinard (audio)

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer / Brilliance Audio Published: December 1, 2021 Source: ARC Paperback via Publisher via TLC Booktours / Audio via Brilliance Audio Summary: A terrified voice on the phone. The line goes dead. The mystery begins. During a superstorm, Holly Boswell receives a panicked call from her sister, Vivian: Come get me…There’s somebody coming. But when Holly arrives at a Long Island marina, there’s only her sister’s abandoned car.…

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k2reader December 5, 2021

Review: And the Bridge is Love by David Biro

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing Published: October 12, 2021 Source: TLC Booktours Summary: Three friends, two secrets, one love—and the journey of a lifetime. Every week for twenty years, three friends meet in a leafy enclosure under the Verrazzano Bridge: Gertie, a feisty Norwegian divorcée and former athlete; Maria, a family-obsessed Italian American widow; and Corinna, a book-loving, hash-smoking eccentric. Together they sit and watch the sea as the ships—and…

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k2reader December 3, 2021

Book Feature & Review: Amazon Original Stories – Holiday Reads

Amazon Original Stories, an imprint of Amazon Publishing, is back with a brand new collection of short stories to kick off your holiday reading. There are four short stories by best-selling authors and all are available now. These stories are not available in print – only in digital or audio format. They are available on Amazon and if you are a Prime member – they are free! Click here…

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k2reader December 2, 2021

Review: The Crow Girl by Erik Axl Sund

Publisher: Harvill Secker Published: April 14, 2016 Source: Personal copy Summary: The most terrifying thriller you’ll read this year It starts with just one body – the hands bound, the skin covered in marks. Detective Superintendent Jeanette Kihlberg is determined to find out who is responsible, despite opposition from her superiors. When two more bodies are found, it becomes clear that she is hunting a serial killer. With her…

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k2reader December 2, 2021

Review: Death Deserved by Jorn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger

Publisher: Orenda Books Published: February 20, 2020 (first published July 2, 2018) Source: Personal copy Summary: Police officer Alexander Blix and celebrity blogger Emma Ramm join forces to track down a serial killer with a thirst for attention and high-profile murders, in the first episode of a gripping new Nordic Noir series… Oslo, 2018. Former long-distance runner Sonja Nordstrøm never shows at the launch of her controversial autobiography, Always…

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k2reader December 1, 2021

Month in Review: November 2021

Hard to believe it’s already December! This year has flown by…and while there are still plenty of books left on my tbr from November, I still did read quite a bit. I participated in both #NordicNoirNovember and #NonfictionNovember and got in some good ones in both genres. The big news this month is that I started a newsletter for the blog!!! I do hope you will sign-up if you haven’t…

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k2reader November 28, 2021

Review: The Jealousy Man and Other Stories by Jo Nesbo

Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group Published: October 5, 2021 Source: Publisher Summary: A veritable crime lover’s delight from a true master of mystery and suspense. Experience the #1 New York Times best-selling author as never before in this dark and thrilling short story collection that takes us on a journey of twisted minds and vengeful hearts. Jo Nesbø is known the world over as a consummate mystery/thriller writer. Famed for his deft…

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k2reader November 28, 2021

Review: The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray (audio)

Publisher: Berkley Books / Penguin Audio Published: March 30, 2021 Source: Print – Personal copy / Audio – via library Summary: An epic saga from New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray based on the true story of an extraordinary castle in the heart of France and the remarkable women bound by its legacy in three of humanity’s darkest hours Most castles are protected by powerful men. This one…

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k2reader November 27, 2021

Blog Tour & Excerpt: Nanny Dearest by Flora Collins

Today, I’m so happy to be a tour stop on the blog tour for Nanny Dearest by Flora Collins – I have an excerpt for you to read thanks to MIRA books. Publisher: MIRA Published: November 30, 2021 Source: Netgalley via Publisher Summary: In this compulsively readable novel of domestic suspense, a young woman takes comfort in reconnecting with her childhood nanny after her father’s death, until she starts…

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k2reader November 23, 2021

Review: A Blizzard of Polar Bears by Alice Henderson (audio)

Publisher: William Morrow / Harper Audio Published: November 9, 2021 Source: Print – William Morrow / Audio – ALC via Harper Audio Summary: Wildlife biologist Alex Carter is back, fighting for endangered species in the Canadian Arctic and battling for her life in this action-packed follow-up to A Solitude of Wolverines, “a true stunner of a thriller debut” (James Rollins) and “a great read” (Nevada Barr). Fresh off her wolverine…

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k2reader November 23, 2021

Review: A Solitude of Wolverines by Alice Henderson (print/audio)

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks / Harper Audio Published: October 27, 2021 / October 27, 2020 (audio) Source: Paperback via William Morrow / Audio via library Summary: The first book in a thrilling series featuring an intrepid wildlife biologist who’s dedicated to saving endangered species…and relies on her superior survival skills to thwart those who aim to stop her. While studying wolverines on a wildlife sanctuary in Montana, biologist Alex…

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k2reader November 22, 2021

Review: Why Did You Lie by Yrsa Sigurdardottir

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Published: August 11, 2016 Source: Personal copy Summary: A journalist on the track of an old case attempts suicide. An ordinary couple return from a house swap in the states to find their home in disarray and their guests seemingly missing. Four strangers struggle to find shelter on a windswept spike of rock in the middle of a raging sea. They have one thing in…

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k2reader November 17, 2021

Review: Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang (audio)

Publisher: Doubleday Books / Random House Audio Published: September 7, 2021 Source: ARC E-copy via Netgalley / Audio via Library Summary: An incandescent memoir from an astonishing new talent, Beautiful Country puts listeners in the shoes of an undocumented child living in poverty in the richest country in the world. “Extraordinary…. Consider this remarkable memoir a new classic.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) In Chinese, the word for America, Mei Guo, translates directly…

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k2reader November 17, 2021

Review: The Ice Beneath Her by Camilla Grebe (reread)

Publisher: Random House Audio Published: December 27, 2016 Source: Library Summary: Acclaimed Swedish author Camilla Grebe makes her solo American debut with a psychological thriller as cunning in its twists as it is captivating in its storytelling – for fans of the celebrated crime fiction of Camilla Läckberg, Jo Nesbø, Ruth Ware, and Fiona Barton. Winter’s chill has descended on Stockholm as police arrive at the scene of a…

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k2reader November 14, 2021

Series Review: The Rainer Series by Jamie McGillen

This month, the online bookclub I co-host, #mommaleighellenbookclub, selected In the Heart of Paradise as one of our selections. Because it is the third book in Jamie McGillen’s series and I had not read the previous two, and me being me, I knew I had to read them first and I’m so glad I did. That being said, I decided to do all three reviews in one post, rather…

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k2reader November 12, 2021

Review: The Cartographer’s Secret by Tea Cooper

Publisher: Harper Muse Published: November 16, 2021 Source: ARC Paperback via TLC Booktours Summary: A map into the past. A long-lost young woman. And a thirty-year family mystery. The Hunter Valley, 1880. Evie Ludgrove loves to chart the landscape around her home—hardly surprising since she grew up in the shadow of her father’s obsession with the great Australian explorer Dr. Ludwig Leichhardt. So when an advertisement appears in The Bulletin magazine offering…

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k2reader November 12, 2021

Review: No Hiding in Boise by Kim Hooper (audio)

Publisher: Turner Publishing Company / Dreamscape Media Published: June 15, 2021 Source: Print – ARC via Turner Publishing / Audio – via library Summary: When Angie is awakened by a midnight call from an officer with the Boise Police Department, she thinks there must be a misunderstanding. The officer tells her that her husband was involved in a shooting at a local bar, but how can that be possible when her…

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k2reader November 9, 2021

Review: November 9 by Colleen Hoover

Publisher: Atria Books Published: November 10, 2015 Source: ARC Paperback via Publisher Summary: Beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover returns with an unforgettable love story between a writer and his unexpected muse. Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has…

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k2reader November 9, 2021

Review: Home Before Dark by Riley Sager (reread)

Publisher: Dutton Books Published: June 30, 2020 Source: Personal copy Summary: What was it like? Living in that house. Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book…

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k2reader November 7, 2021

Review: The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles (audio)

Publisher: Viking Books / Penguin Audio Published: October 5, 2021 Source: Print – Personal copy via BOTM / Audio – Personal copy via Libro.fm Summary: The bestselling author of A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility and master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction returns with a stylish and propulsive novel set in 1950s America In June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of…

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k2reader November 4, 2021

Most Anticipated Releases: November 2021

Back again with my five most anticipated releases coming out this month. Publishing slows down as we near the end of the year, but I still managed to find 5 releases that I am excited for…releases that I hope you will be excited to read as well! Some of these are from beloved favorite authors and some are new-to-me authors that I am looking forward to taking a chance…

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k2reader November 4, 2021

Blog Tour & Review: Everything We Didn’t Say by Nicole Baart (audio)

Publisher: Atria Books / Simon & Schuster Audio Published: November 2, 2021 Source: Print: ARC Paperback via Atria Books / Print: ALC via Simon & Schuster Audio Summary: From the author of Little Broken Things, a “race-to-the-finish family drama” (People) following a mother who must confront the dark summer that changed her life forever in order to reclaim the daughter she left behind. Juniper Baker had just graduated from…

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k2reader November 3, 2021

Review: The Wicked Widow by Beatriz Williams

Publisher: William Morrow Published: October 26, 2021 Source: Publisher Summary: Gin Kelly, the wicked redhead, is back! Readers will delight in next installment of the Wicked City series by New York Times bestselling author Beatriz Williams. June 1925. Audacious Appalachian flapper Geneva “Gin” Kelly prepares to trade her high-flying ways for respectable marriage to Oliver Anson Marshall, a steadfast Prohibition agent who happens to hail from one of New York’s most distinguished…

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k2reader November 2, 2021

Review: All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris (audio)

Publisher: Harper Audio Published: November 2, 2021 Source: Netgalley via Publisher Summary: In this fast-paced thriller, Wanda M. Morris crafts a twisty mystery about a black lawyer who gets caught in a dangerous conspiracy after the sudden death of her boss . . . A debut perfect for fans of Attica Locke, Alyssa Cole, Harlan Coben, and Celeste Ng, with shades of How to Get Away with Murder and John Grisham’s The…

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k2reader November 1, 2021

Month in Review: October 2021

How is it already November??? I am having such a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that we have two months left in this year…and I still have so many books left that I was hoping to read. October proved to be full of good books, lots of great buddy reads and book club chats and I just know that November will bring more of the same. I…

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k2reader October 31, 2021

Review: The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman (audio)

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio Published: October 12, 2021 Source: ALC via Publisher Summary: Master storyteller Alice Hoffman brings us the conclusion of the Practical Magic series in a spellbinding and enchanting final Owens novel brimming with lyric beauty and vivid characters. The Owens family has been cursed in matters of love for over three-hundred years but all of that is about to change. The novel begins in a…

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k2reader October 31, 2021

Review: Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman (audio)

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio Published: November 6, 2012 Source: Library Summary: Alice Hoffman’s enchanting witch’s brew of suspense, romance and magic – now a major motion picture from Warner Bros. When the beautiful and precocious sisters Sally and Gillian Owens are orphaned at a young age, they are taken to a small Massachusetts town to be raised by their eccentric aunts, who happen to dwell in the darkest,…

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k2reader October 31, 2021

Review: The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman (audio)

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio Published: October 10, 2017 Source: Library Summary: Find your magic For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man. Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the sixties, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are…

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k2reader October 30, 2021

Review: Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman (audio)

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio Published: October 6, 2020 Source: Library Summary: In an unforgettable novel that traces a centuries-old curse to its source, beloved author Alice Hoffman unveils the story of Maria Owens, accused of witchcraft in Salem, and matriarch of a line of the amazing Owens women and men featured in Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic. Where does the story of the Owens bloodline begin?…

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k2reader October 30, 2021

Review: The Keepers of Metsan Valo by Wendy Webb (audio)

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing / Brilliance Audio Published: October 5, 2021 Source: ARC Paperback via Amazon Publishing / ALC via Brilliance Audio Summary: The spirits of Nordic folklore come calling in this entrancing tale of family secrets and ancient mysteries by the #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Haunting of Brynn Wilder. In Metsan Valo, her family home on Lake Superior, Anni Halla’s beloved grandmother has died. Among…

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k2reader October 29, 2021

Review: In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark Published: August 3, 2021 Source: Personal copy Summary: Six friends. One college reunion. One unsolved murder. A college reunion turns dark and deadly in this chilling and propulsive suspense novel about six friends, one unsolved murder, and the dark secrets they’ve been hiding from each other—and themselves—for a decade. Ten years after graduation, Jessica Miller has planned her triumphant return to southern, elite Duquette University, down…

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k2reader October 27, 2021

Review: Christmas in Peachtree Bluff by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Publisher: Gallery Books Published: October 26, 2021 Source: UplitReads via Galley Books Summary: In the newest installment of New York Times bestselling author Kristy Woodson Harvey’s Peachtree Bluff series, three generations of the Murphy women must come together when a hurricane threatens to destroy their hometown—and the holiday season in the process. When the Murphy women are in trouble, they always know they can turn to their mother, Ansley.…

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k2reader October 25, 2021

Review: The Vanished Days by Susanna Kearsley

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark Published: October 5, 2021 Source: Paperback via Publisher Summary: In the autumn of 1707, old enemies from the Highlands to the Borders are finding common ground as they join to protest the new Union with England. At the same time, the French are preparing to launch an invasion to bring the young exiled Jacobite king back to Scotland to reclaim his throne, and in Edinburgh the…

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k2reader October 25, 2021

Review: The Women’s March by Jennifer Chiaverini

Publisher: William Morrow Published: July 27, 2021 Source: ARC Paperback via Giveaway win Summary: New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini returns with The Women’s March, an enthralling historical novel of the woman’s suffrage movement inspired by three courageous women who bravely risked their lives and liberty in the fight to win the vote. Twenty-five-year-old Alice Paul returns to her native New Jersey after several years on the front lines of the suffrage…

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