THOUGHTS ON THIS 'n THAT

  Author Suzanne Simonetti weaves together the stories of three women whose connections grow stronger as they as they look back at their pasts and the secrets they've kept from those they love in her new novel, THE SOUND of WINGS (SheWritesPress). Goldie Sparrows faces declining finances, deteriorating health, and a late husband who torments her from the grave in the twilight years of her life. At seventy, she seeks refuge in her butterfly garden, which is filled with voices and memories from long ago. Jocelyn Anderson struggles to write while embroiled in an international custody fight over her child. She seeks solace in the journal of her late mother-in-law. While reading, she discovers her ex-husband has a secret. Will she use this information in her battle? Krystal Axelrod is living a life she never dreamed she could have. And yet the demons of a dysfunctional childhood and memories of mean girl cheerleading days cast their shadow over her ability to feel worthy. Does Goldie ho...

  Parts two and three of author, Christy Hayes' KISS & TELL SERIES are ready for your eyes. END RUN and KISS & MAKE UP follow part one STALLING FOR TIME. What we know so far is, Emily Dilbert is now on the arm of Dylan Chamberlain, after dating his brother Zach for five years. It doesn't appear the brothers are going to let bygones be bygones anytime soon. Zach still has his football career and the biggest game in his senior year to focus on. In END RUN, Zach has given up women forever. He doesn't understand them and he's not going to have his heart crushed again, especially by his brother. Zach doesn't expect spending time with his tutor, Jenna is going to lead anywhere - she's not his blue-eyed, blond-hair-cheerleading type. But when Zach realizes he has to pass statistics to continue to play football, something unexpected clicks with this smart, nerdy woman. In KISS & MAKE UP, it's time for Zach and Dylan to put their grudges aside, or is it? ...

  I fell in love with the Fletchers in Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney's debut novel, THE NEST. She humorously captured four siblings all hoping to inherit money from the family nest egg, only to find out ... no spoilers here! Her sophomore effort, GOOD COMPANY (Ecco/HarperCollins) has high aspirations and delivers. It's about two showbiz couples who have know each other since the beginning of their careers decades ago. The novel shifts points of view, but the one we mostly tap into is Flora's.  Flora has been happily married to Julian for twenty years. But her marriage and relationship with her best friend Margot is turned upside down when she finds his wedding ring that he said he lost fifteen years ago. Flora finds herself immersed in lies and betrayals and questioning her marriage and friendships. GOOD COMPANY is a exploration of sex, love, marriage, infidelity, friendships and careers, all told in Sweeney's off-beat way. I was expecting a more humorous novel, but I fou...

  When forty-three year old Paige Meyers receives a message from the ancestry site, FamilyTree.com she believes it's definitely a mistake. But in Alison Hammer's new novel, LITTLE PIECES OF ME (WilliamMorrow/HarperCollins) Paige is wrong and life as she's known it is about to change. Results of a DNA case digs up secrets of her mother's past which affects her current life. Elizabeth and Paige have always had a strained mother-daughter relationship. She was "Daddy's Little Girl," until he passed away two years ago, really highlighting the problems between Paige and her mother. Deep, hidden secrets are revealed and Hammer delves into how far family members will go to get to the truth. LITTLE PIECES OF ME is told in dual timelines between Elizabeth's time in college and both of them currently. LITTLE PIECES OF ME is an emotional journey about family, love and connection. I appreciate Hammer's talent to write authentic dialogue. Her characters are comp...

  "Who am I? Where do I belong?" Susannah Lewis put her career as a classical pianist aside fifteen years ago, when she had a son, James. In THE SOUND BETWEEN THE NOTES (SheWritesPress) by Barbara Linn Probst, Susannah is about to audition for a gala concert which could possibly put her back on track to be the pianist she trained for and always dreamed she would be. Susannah's audition is nearly flawless, but she has a stiffness in one finger and a bump growing on her hand. She is a diagnosed with the very early, not even stage one symptoms of the hereditary condition, Dupuytren's coutracture. The doctors, including her husband who is a scientist, tell her there's no set treatment, but Susannah refuses to wait and see. Playing the piano is who she is and she can't take no action.  Susannah was adopted and now finds it imperative to locate her biological family, to determine the condition's origin. While on this journey, Susannah also discovers she has a si...

  THE VENICE SKETCHBOOK (LakeUnionPublishing) by Rhys Bowen tells the duel-timeline narratives of Juliet "Lettie" Browning from 1928, WWII - the present and her great-niece Caroline Grant currently. Aunt Lettie dies in 2001, while Caroline is in the middle of divorcing her husband, and missing her young son, Teddy who is in New York visiting his father. When Aunt Lettie dies, Caroline is gifted a sketchbook, three keys and a message to go to her Aunt's beloved, Venice. I've been to cities around the world, but have yet to visit, Venice. When I picture the "Floating City," I think of the Grand Canal, breathtaking art in museums, spectacular architecture, delicious food, music, religion and of course, beautiful Italian men. Bowens beautiful prose captures all the picture postcard beauty of Venice. Aunt Lettie and Caroline both experience the magic of romance, but I'm not going to tell you anymore than that. The novel is cinematic and will definitely be one...

  I fell in love with Amy Poeppel's off-beat humor in her first novel, SMALL  ADMISSIONS(Atria/EmilyBestlerBooks) and then, for her follow up, she wrote MUSICAL CHAIRS(Atria/EmilyBestlerbooks). With her signature wit, it's a story about love, secrets and second chances. Now MUSICAL CHAIRS is out in paperback April 13th and we have TWO copies to giveaway. Bridget and Will have the kind of relationship that people envy: they’re loving, compatible, and completely devoted to each other. The fact that they’re strictly friends seems to get lost on nearly everyone; after all, they’re as good as married in (almost) every way. For three decades, they’ve nurtured their baby, the Forsyth Trio—a chamber group they created as students with their Juilliard classmate Gavin Glantz. In the intervening years, Gavin has gone on to become one of the classical music world’s reigning stars, while Bridget and Will have learned to embrace the warm reviews and smaller venues that accompany modest succ...

  STALLING FOR TIME is the first book in Christy Hayes' "Kiss & Tell" series. College sophomore, Emily Dilbert has been best friends with Dylan Chamberlain since they were in the second grade. They know the other so well they finish each other's sentences. The thing is she's been dating Dylan's brother, college football star, Zach Chamberlain for the last five years. Yes, Dylan's brother. Emily's kind of sick of Zach's self-centered attitude and is trying to find the best time to break up with him. Emily and Dylan both know in their own ways, that they care more than a little bit about the other, but they've never discussed or acted upon it. But when Zach gives Dylan a ring to hold that he plans to give to Emily, everything goes to hell. Emily accidentally finds the engagement ring in Dylan's backpack. Thinking he's going to propose to his sort-of girlfriend, Denise and feels she has to stop that. Emily proceeds to turn her life and...

  Forty-something year old Belle (Elsbeth) Walker's life is about to blow-up. She finds out she's preggers because her IUD failed and her husband, Harry hasn't gotten tenure, so they're going to have to leave the Manhattan with their two children. In Lea Geller's new novel, THE TRUTH AND OTHER HIDDEN THINGS (LakeUnionPublishing) change can be complicated and scary. Bells, Harry, Alice and Sam make a move that was never in their plans. They have to leave the Upper West side, so Harry can take a much needed job in Dutchess County, New York. It's only an hour from the city, but it feels like a different planet. Harry jumps into his new job as part of the literature faculty, Alice lands the lead role in her middle school play and Sam navigates junior year in a new high school. Bells has lost her job writing for a city neighborhood paper and finds herself without a purpose, lonely and surrounded by a group of local women she doesn't feel like she has anything in ...

  "Don't waste time when it comes to your heart." I was thrilled to learn Victoria Schade had a new novel coming out. I enjoyed her last book, "Who Rescued Who," and knew this would be another warm fluffy story about how much we love our four-legged family members. In LOST, FOUND and FOREVER (Berkley) life for Justine hasn't been the same since she rescued her mixed breed with soulful eyes, Spencer. He's with her 24/7 and loves spending days lounging around in her store, Tricks and Biscuits, a dog-friendly happy place for pets and their owners. He's also amazing at doing tricks. Her shop is in the tiny town of Rexford, located about 2 hours from New York City. One day she returns to the shop and her assistant shows her an on-line ad looking for a dog named Leo, who is without a doubt Spencer. His owner claims he's desperate to find Leo who ran away about a year ago. She fears whoever this person is, will want to take her Spencer back and she can...

  THE LIGHT THROUGH THE LEAVES (LakeUnionPublishing) by Glendy Vanderah takes off with a bang and you can't stop reading. It's a complex story of forgiveness, love, loss, grief and the healing power of the human spirit to carry on. Ellis Abbey Bauhammer discovers her husband, Jonah kissing another woman and drives away quickly so her three children don't see. Since she was a little girl, she has found comfort in the forest, near the trailer park she grew up in, so that's where she takes her kids to calm down. Just as they are ready to leave, the older boys, River and Jasper start fighting over tadpoles. Ellis puts her newborn daughter, Viola down on the ground in her baby carrier and tries to separate the boys. Shortly after, they drive away, but without little Viola. They return and realize in those few short minutes, Viola has been taken. This all happens in the first nine pages of the novel and there are four hundred and seventy-eight to go. I didn't know if I wa...