#FitBit Readers: Weekly Check-in May 29

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About   So, I was in NYC Tuesday thru Saturday morning for BEA (Book Expo America). While I did quite a bit of walking around on the floor of the show each day, walking from one booth to the next and then back again later in the day for another signing or galley drop, the days with…

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Review: An Island Christmas by Nancy Thayer (audio)

Title: An Island Christmas     Author: Nancy Thayer        Narrator: Tanya Eby   Published: October 2014, Brilliance Audio   Length: 4 hours 39 minutes   Source: Library  In this enchanting holiday novel from New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer, family and friends gather on Nantucket for a gorgeous winter wedding with plenty of merry surprises in store. As Christmas draws near, Felicia returns to her family’s…

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Review: The Christmas Bouquet by Sherryl Woods (audio)

Title: The Christmas Bouquet    Author: Sherryl Woods    Series: Chesapeake Shores, #11     Narrator: Christina Traister   Published: October 2014, Brilliance Audio / Harlequin MIRA   Length: 6 hours 33 minutes / 288 pages Source: Personal copy via Audible / Netgalley  When it comes to family and Christmas, #1 New York Times bestselling author Sherryl Woods always looks to the O’Briens for a little holiday magic… For the…

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Short & Sweet Review: Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs (audio)

Title: Cross Bones    Author: Kathy Reichs     Series: Temperance Bones, #8       Narrator: Michele Pawk    Published: June 2005, Simon & Schuster Audio   Length: 11 hours 30 minutes   Source:  Library   When an Orthodox Jew is found shot to death in Montreal, Temperance Brennan is called in to examine the body and to figure out the puzzling damage to the corpse. Unexpectedly, a stranger slips her…

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Review: Cold Cold Heart by Tami Hoag (audio)

Title: Cold Cold Heart    Author: Tami Hoag     Narrator: Julia Whelan    Published: January 2015, Brilliance Audio     Length: 12 hours 20 minutes   Source: Publisher  #1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag delivers a shocking new thriller Dana Nolan was a promising young TV reporter until a notorious serial killer tried to add her to his list of victims.  Nearly a year has passed since surviving…

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Book Spotlight & Giveaway: Your Last Breath by Iris Johansen (CLOSED)

Title: Your Last Breath     Author: Iris Johansen     Series: Catherine Ling, #4      Published: April 2015, St. Martin’s Press     From the #1 New York Times bestselling author comes an explosive new thriller Catherine Ling is one of the CIA’s most prized operatives. Raised on the streets of Hong Kong, she was pulled into the agency at the age of fourteen. If life has taught her…

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The Sunday Post #73 (5.24.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Sheila’s It’s Monday post over at Book Journey.  It’s BEA week…I’m off to the city on…

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#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in May 22

  #FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About   It was a crazy-busy week, work-wise, as I was trying to finish up some projects before starting my vacation on Friday. I started the week off strong, but then my back started acting up again, so I decided to take it easy the rest of the week. I’m heading into the city next week…

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Guest Post: Kristy Woodsen Harvey

Please join me in welcoming Kristy Woodson Harvey to Always With a Book. Kristy’s debut book, Dear Carolina, is now out and she’s been busy promoting it. You can read my review of the book here.  Today, is Kristy talking about her blog tour. Hi, Always With a Book readers! I’m so excited to get to be here with all of you today. Thank you so much, Kristin for having…

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Review: A Small Indiscretion by Jan Ellison (audio)

Title: A Small Indiscretion     Author: Jan Ellison     Narrator: Kathe Mazur    Published: January 2015, Random House Audio / Random House   Length: 10 hours 15 minutes / 336 pages   Source: Personal copy via Audible / Netgalley  Fans of Everything I Never Told You and The Girl on the Train will devour this page-turning literary debut about a harrowing coming-of-age and a marriage under siege from O.…

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Review: I Regret Nothing: A Memoir by Jen Lancaster

Title: I Regret Nothing: A Memoir    Author: Jen Lancaster         Published: May 2015, NAL   Format: Hardcover, 320 pages    Source: Publisher   New York Times bestselling author Jen Lancaster has lived a life based on re-invention and self-improvement. From Bitter Is the New Black to The Tao of Martha, she’s managed to document her (and her generation’s) attempts to shape up, grow up, and have it…

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Blog Tour & Review: Moonlight on Butternut Lake by Mary McNear

Title: Moonlight on Butternut Lake    Author: Mary McNear     Series: The Butternut Lake Trilogy, #3  Published: May 2015, William Morrow & Company   Format: ARC Paperback, 384 pages    Source: Publisher via TLC Book Tours   From the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Up at Butternut Lake comes the third novel in the Butternut Lake series—a dazzling story of two wounded souls seizing…

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The Sunday Post #72 (5.17.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Sheila’s It’s Monday post over at Book Journey.  Only one week of work left until BEA!!!…

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#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in May 15

  #FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About   So, this week I gave myself the goal of getting 100,000 steps during the week (M-F)…and I did it!!! I basically made sure to get 20,000 steps each day and therefore I was able to reach the goal, but that did mean a lot of walking while watching tv towards the end of the…

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Book Spotlight & Guest Post: Daydreams in Dixies by Beth Albright (Plus Giveaway!!!) GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Please join me in welcoming Beth Albright to Always With a Book. Beth’s newest book, Daydreams in Dixie, part of her In Dixie series, is now out and she’s been busy promoting it. I’ll be reviewing this soon. Today, Beth is talking about an old-fashioned summer and she’s also provided a special giveaway for one lucky winner!   Title: Daydreams in Dixie    Author: Beth Albright     Series: In…

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Blog Tour & Review: The Bone Tree by Greg Iles (audio)

Title: The Bone Tree    Author: Greg Iles    Series: Penn Cage, #5    Narrator: Robert Petkoff   Published: April 2015, Harper Audio /  William & Morrow Company  Length:  32 hours 25 minutes / 816 pages  Source: Personal copy via Audible / Publisher  Greg Iles continues the electrifying story begun in his smash New York Times bestseller Natchez Burning in this highly anticipated second installment of an epic trilogy of…

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Author Q&A, Recipes & Giveway: At the Corner of King Street by Mary Ellen Taylor (GIVEAWAY CLOSED)

I am pleased to welcome author Mary Ellen Taylor to Always With a Book. Her latest book, At the Corner of King Street, is now available. I’ll be reviewing the book here on the blog in a few weeks. Today Mary Ellen discusses her new book, which is the third in her Union Street Bakery series and then shares some recipes with us!!! Be sure to enter the giveaway at…

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Guest Post: Ten Most Memorable Moms in New Fiction by Andrea Lochen

Ten Most Memorable Moms in New Fiction What better time of year than Mother’s Day to showcase some of the most memorable fictional mothers in some of the best new novels?  From loving, supportive mothers to complex, trailblazing mothers to selfish, vindictive mothers, this list has it all!     1) The Perfect Son by Barbara Claypole White (Lake Union, July 2015) Ella Fitzwilliam, the mom in THE PERFECT SON, quit…

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The Sunday Post #71 (5.10.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Sheila’s It’s Monday post over at Book Journey.  All my tv shows are slowing winding down,…

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#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in May 8

  #FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About   While I didn’t make it to the gym this week, I definitely took advantage of the nice weather and took lots of walks with the dogs. My older dog, Maddie is great on walks, so she and I have been talking longer walks first thing in the morning. The puppy, Chloe, isn’t as great…

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Book Spotlight & Guest Post: The Far End of Happy by Kathryn Craft

Title: The Far End of Happy    Author: Kathryn Craft      Published: May 2015, Sourcebooks Landmark   Format: Paperback, 432 pages     Twelve tense hours, three women, and the suicide standoff that turns one family’s little piece of heaven into a scene from hell After enduring years of a struggling marriage, Ronnie Farnham has decided to divorce her husband and is beginning to hope for a happy future–until the…

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Review: Dear Carolina by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Title: Dear Carolina    Author: Kristy Woodson Harvey         Published: May 2015, Berkley   Format: ARC E-copy, 320 pages    Source: Author via Netgalley   A moving debut novel about two mothers—one biological and one adoptive—from a compelling new voice in Southern women’s fiction. One baby girl. Two strong Southern women. And the most difficult decision they’ll ever make. Frances “Khaki” Mason has it all: a thriving interior…

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Review: A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley

Title: A Desperate Fortune    Author: Susanna Kearsley         Published: April 2015, Sourcebooks Landmark    Format: ARC Paperback, 528 pages     Source: Publisher   For nearly 300 years, the mysterious journal of Jacobite exile Mary Dundas has lain unread — its secrets safe from prying eyes. Now, amateur codebreaker Sara Thomas has been hired by a once-famous historian to crack the journal’s cipher. But when she arrives in…

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The Sunday Post #70 (5.3.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Sheila’s It’s Monday post over at Book Journey.  What a beautiful weekend we are having here!!!…

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#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in May 1

  #FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About   I decided to take it easy again this week…my back is still bothering me a bit. Moving around seems to help a little – I guess keeping everything loose and limber. I’ve found, though, that if I sit at my desk too long, it starts bothering me, so it’s making me take frequent breaks,…

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Month in Review: April 2015

Here are my reading stats for April!  Books read:  11  Books I read:  Mrs. Grant & Madame Jule — Jennifer Chiaverini Crash & Burn — Lisa Gardner (audio book) An Island Christmas — Nancy Thayer (audio book) Last Night at the Blue Angel — Rebecca Rotert (print/audio book) A Desperate Fortune — Susanna Kearsley Cross Bones — Kathy Reichs (audio book) The Bookseller — Cynthia Swanson (audio book) Legacy: An…

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Blog Tour & Review: The Mapmaker’s Children by Sarah McCoy

Title: The Mapmaker’s Children    Author: Sarah McCoy      Published: May 2015, Crown   Format: Hardcover, 320 pages    Source: Publisher via TLC Book Tours   When Sarah Brown, daughter of abolitionist John Brown, realizes that her artistic talents may be able to help save the lives of slaves fleeing north, she becomes one of the Underground Railroad’s leading mapmakers, taking her cues from the slave code quilts and…

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Book Spotlight: The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd (Plus Giveaway!!!)

Last year, I read The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd when it was first released, and I really enjoyed it! You can find my thoughts on the book here. On May 5 the book is being released in paperback and to celebrate, I am helping the publishers get the word out. I also have 1 copy of the book to giveaway – be sure to read all the…

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Short & Sweet Review: Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs (audio)

Title: Monday Mourning    Author: Kathy Reichs     Series: Temperance Brennan, #7      Narrator: Michele Pawk   Published: June 2004, Simon & Schuster Audio    Length: 9 hours 44 minutes    Source: Personal copy via Audible    The secrets of the dead are in her hands. The bones of three young women are unearthed in the basement of a Montreal pizza parlor, and forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan has unsolved…

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Review: Legacy: An Anthology by Various Authors

Title: Legacy: An Anthology     Author: Various Authors     Published: April 2015, Velvet Morning Press   Format: ARC E-copy, 206 pages    Source: Publisher   What will you leave behind? Long after we’ve left this world, our legacy remains. Or doesn’t. Or remains only in the minds of those who knew us, those whose lives we’ve touched. Those we’ve written to, or about. If you had a choice,…

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The Sunday Post #69 (4.26.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Sheila’s It’s Monday post over at Book Journey.  One month from today, I will be heading…

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#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in April 24

  #FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About   So, I decided to take it easy this week. My back was bothering me (and for those that remember, I took a bad fall last year, landing on my tailbone and have had issues with it on and off ever since). Besides walking the dogs, I took a few easy walks outside, but refrained…

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Blog Tour & Review: The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson (audio)

Title: The Bookseller     Author: Cynthia Swanson     Narrator: Kathe Mazur   Published:  March 2015, Blackstone Audio / Harper (print) Length: 11 hours 32 minutes / 338 pages   Source: Personal copy via Audible / Publisher  A provocative and hauntingly powerful debut novel reminiscent of Sliding Doors, The Bookseller follows a woman in the 1960s who must reconcile her reality with the tantalizing alternate world of her dreams Nothing…

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The Sunday Post #68 (4.19.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Sheila’s It’s Monday post over at Book Journey.  Spring is here and I am loving it!!!…

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#Fitbit Readers: Weekly Check-in April 17

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About   It was such a nice week, weather-wise and the dogs and I definitely took advantage of that. We took more walks each day. They are loving that Spring is finally here!!!     Here’s how my week went:  Apr 11:  rest (4,678 steps)Apr 12:  rest day (8,814 steps) Apr 13:  5k on treadmill – 50 minutes…

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Review: The Burning by Jane Casey (audio)

Title: The Burning    Author: Jane Casey   Series: Maeve Kerrigan, #1    Narrator: Sarah Coomes   Published: May 2012, Brilliance Audio   Length: 14 hours 53 minutes   Source: Personal copy via Audible  A determined young police constable goes it alone against an enigmatic killer and her bosses in a series debut for fans of Sophie Hannah and Tana French The Burning Man. It’s the name the media has…

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Review: Perfect Fling by Carly Phillips (audio)

Title: Perfect Fling    Author: Carly Phillips    Series: Serendipity’s Finest, #2    Narrator: David Barker   Published: 2014, Recorded Books    Length: 8.5 hours Source: Publisher  In the picturesque town of Serendipity, New York, three siblings have grown up in the shadow of their proud and respected police chief father. But what do love, fate, and fortune have in store for the next generation of Serendipity’s finest? Assistant D.A.…

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Blog Tour & Review: Last Night at the Blue Angel by Rebecca Rotert (audio)

Title: Last Night at the Blue Angel    Author: Rebecca Rotert     Narrator: Andrus Nichols, Caitlin Davies   Published: July 2014 Harper Audio / April 2015 William Morrow Paperbacks   Length: 9 hours 42 minutes / 352 pages Source: Personal copy via Audible / Publisher  Set against the turbulence of 1960s Chicago, a city in transformation and its legendary jazz scene, Last Night at the Blue Angel is a lush…

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Review: The Headmaster’s Wife by Thomas Christopher Greene (audio)

Title: The Headmaster’s Wife      Author: Thomas Christopher Greene    Narrator: Stephen Hoye, Kevin T. Collins, Tavia Gilbert    Published: February 2014, Audible Studios Length: 6 hours, 12 minutes   Source: Personal copy via Audible   Inspired by a personal loss, Greene explores the way that tragedy and time assail one man’s memories of his life and loves. Like his father before him, Arthur Winthrop is the Headmaster of…

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The Sunday Post #67 (4.12.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Sheila’s It’s Monday post over at Book Journey.    This past week was a week filled…

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#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in April 10

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About   It was a good week. I made it to the gym 3 days – once just to walk on the treadmill and twice for yoga. It feels so good to be back practicing yoga – not only for the stretching and strength-training, but also the mental aspect. It always brings such a calming sense over…

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Review: Searching for Grace Kelly by Michael Callahan (audio)

Title: Searching for Grace Kelly    Author: Michael Callahan         Narrator: Kristin Kalbli Published: February 2015, ListenUp Audiobooks   Length: 9 hours 32 minutes    Source: Publisher  For a small-town girl with big-city dreams, there is no address more glamorous than New York’s Barbizon Hotel. Laura, a patrician beauty from Smith, arrives to work at Mademoiselle for the summer. Her hopelessly romantic roommate, Dolly, comes from a working-class…

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Book Spotlights: The She Reads ‘Books of Spring’ Selections

On Monday, the gals at She Reads announced the three ‘Books of Spring’ selections. Be sure to visit the She Reads website – they have a great giveaway going on – but visit soon as the giveaway is only open until April 12th. So without further ado…here are the Books of Spring: Title: The Precious One    Author: Marisa de los Santos         Published: March 24, 2015, William…

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Review: Mrs. Grant & Madame Jule by Jennifer Chiaverini

Title: Mrs. Grant & Madame Jule    Author: Jennifer Chiaverini     Published: March 2015, Dutton   Format: ARC Paperback, 400 pages    Source: Publisher   The New York Times bestselling author of Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker and Mrs. Lincoln’s Rival imagines the inner life of Julia Grant, beloved as a Civil War general’s wife and the First Lady, yet who grappled with a profound and complex relationship with the slave who…

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The Sunday Post #66 (4.5.15)

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. I’m also going to link this up with Sheila’s It’s Monday post over at Book Journey.    Spring is finally here and hopefully that…

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#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in April 3

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About   I had a session with a personal trainer on Thursday and let me tell you – I’m still sore today! What a workout. He walked me through the machines I should use to do lower body one day and upper body another. Hopefully I will remember what machines and how to use them the next…

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Blog Tour, Review & Guest Post: The Tapestry by Nancy Bilyeau (audio/print)

Title: The Tapestry     Author: Nancy Bilyeau     Series: Joanna Stafford, #3    Narrator: Nicola Barber    Published: March 2015, Highbridge Company (audio)/ Touchstone (print)   Length: 13 hours 19 minutes / ARC E-book 400 pages   Source: Personal copy via Audible / Netgalley via HF Virtual Book Tours  The next page-turner in the award-winning Joanna Stafford series takes place in the heart of the Tudor court, as…

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Review: The Marriage Game: A Novel of Queen Elizabeth I by Alison Weir (audio/print)

Title: The Marriage Game: A Novel of Queen Elizabeth I Author: Alison Weir     Narrator: Julia Franklin   Published: February 2015, Recorded Books / Ballantine Books   Length: 16 hours 18 minutes / ARC e-copy 400 pages    Source: Personal copy via Audible / Netgalley via publisher  In this compelling novel of Tudor drama and suspense, acclaimed author Alison Weir brings to life one of England’s most scandalous royal love affairs:…

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Review: Never Too Late by Robyn Carr

Title: Never Too Late     Author: Robyn Carr       Published: April 2015, MIRA (reissue)  Format: ARC E-copy, 400 pages     Source: Netgalley via Little Bird Publicity   #1 New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr examines the lives of three sisters as they step beyond the roles of wife, mother, daughter and discover the importance of being a woman first  Clare Wilson is starting over. She’s had it…

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Month in Review: March 2015

Here are my reading stats for March!  Books read:  12  Books I read:  One Wish — Robyn Carr (e-book) First Time in Forever — Sarah Morgan The Burning — Jane Casey (audio book) Dog Crazy — Meg Donohue The Marriage Game — Alison Weir (audio book) The Christmas Bouquet — Sherryl Woods (audio book) Cold Cold Heart — Tami Hoag (audio book) A Small Indiscretion — Jan Ellison (audio book)…

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