THOUGHTS ON THIS 'n THAT

  Regan “Rae” Murphy has zero interest in romance and even less in love. In E.F., novel, EARNING IT (SugarBeaverBooks) one heartbreak in her life was quite enough, and she has no desire to get wrapped up in the sticky tendrils of love again.  She thought she’d left all those messy feelings and entanglements in her past when she moved to Charlotte from Charleston, especially the devastatingly handsome portion of that past, who was wearing nothing but a towel when she walked out on him. His betrayal was the reason she left and is the reason she keeps her heart safely tucked away.  But love is in the air on her best friend’s wedding day, and it smacks Rae right in the face when her ex appears-and he looks just as good in a tux as he did in a towel. If he wants a chance to show Rae what they had was real, she going to make him earn it. A fan of all things Halloween, but terrified of scary movies. Lover of fresh flowers, with the notable exception of carnations. Don't expect a...

Bestselling author, Catherine McKenzie's new thriller, PLEASE JOIN US (AtriaBooks) is being called her best one yet. It's her 13th novel and obviously luck is on her side. It's a fast-paced, smart superbly-plotted novel full of her trademark twists and turns. Thirty-nine year-old attorney, Nicole Mueller is told her billable hours are significantly down and she's on the block to being cancelled. Husband, Dan and Nicole learn they may lose their apartment, when the owner, Dan's aunt, dies. In the middle of all this turmoil, Nicole receives an invitation to join an all women's club. All the members have prestigious jobs and help one another with their successful careers. It sounds like a good idea to Nicole, but Dan isn't on board, saying it sounds cult-ish.  At first, everything is great with the networking group. But then it becomes more complicated, nerve-racking and sinister. (should have listened to Dan) This is one of those thrillers that will have you t...

  In Barbara O'Neal's new novel, THIS PLACE of WONDER (LakeUnion) four women grapple with loss, anger and pain when celebrity chef, Augustus Beauvais, dies leaving them to wonder how their lives will go on without him. Meadow, his ex-wife built the cooking empire with him, even as he repeatedly betrayed her with affairs. One of his daughter's Maya, is fresh out of rehab and still estranged from her father. Her sister Rory is content to recognize him for who he is. His latest girlfriend, Norah put her career aside to live with him and now finds herself without a lover and a life of luxury. The four women find themselves connected by grief, secrets and tragedy. Each must find a way to move forward in her own unique way. Augustus is the classic svengali character. THIS PLACE of WONDER is set on the beautiful coast of California and one of the central themes is how the love of food brings this community together.  Barbara O’Neal has written more than a dozen novels of women’s f...

  In A shley Flowers debut novel, WE'RE ALL GOOD PEOPLE HERE (RandomHouse), you can’t know for sure what happens behind other people's closed doors. A true crime podcast journalist uncovers her hometown’s dark secrets when she becomes obsessed with the unsolved murder of her childhood neighbor—and the disappearance of another girl twenty years later.   Everyone from Wakarusa, Indiana, remembers the infamous case of January Jacobs, who was discovered in a ditch hours after her family awoke to find her gone. Margot Davies was six at the time, the same age as January—and they were next-door neighbors. In the twenty years since, Margot has grown up, moved away, and become a big-city journalist. But she’s always been haunted by the feeling that it could’ve been her. And the worst part is, January’s killer has never been brought to justice. When Margot returns home to help care for her uncle after he is diagnosed with early-onset dementia, she feels like she’s walked into a time cap...

  Stella Levi is one of 1,650 souls, the entire Jewish community on the island of Rhodes, who give up peacefully on July 23, 1944 to the Nazis. Destination: Auschwitz. After being transported hundreds of miles by boat and cattle cars, they arrive in hell and find themselves being tattooed. Stella Levi's number: A24409. The Germans have taken away everything from them, their parents, hair, things and now their names. Author Michael Franks spent one-hundred Saturdays over the span of six years with Stella Levi, a survivor. Once he gains her confidence, she shares her long and moving personal story in the biography, ONE HUNDRED SATURDAYS: Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World (AvidReaderPress). She tells him about her upbringing on the mystical island of Rhodes, to losing her family and being deported, surviving the death camps and reinventing herself after WWII in New York City. It's a beautiful intimate portrait, told by a master storyteller. We readers sit side by side wi...

  Three women who haven't got much in common, except the same guy has put them all through a living hell, team up. Forget about forgive and forget. It's time to let loose vengeance in Staci Greason's novel, ALL THE GIRLS in TOWN (TouchPointPress). Rock and roll bad boy, Peter has used Dani, Red and Sasha for what they could do to help him reach stardom. How does he pay them back? He throws them to the curb. But through a stroke of serendipity, Dani's blog about killing Peter miraculously brings them together. To be sure, Dani, Red and Sasha have serious relationship issues, but their naivete doesn't give Peter the right to use them, abuse them and then leave them high and dry. In a city where sources of inspiration for creativity is around every corner, ALL THE GIRLS in TOWN brings three women together who find their strength in a very unlikely friendship. I loved the way Staci Greason celebrated sisterhood in her novel. After reading ALL THE GIRLS in TOWN, you'...

  Anoop Judge's new novel, NO ORDINARY THURSDAY (LakeUnion) takes readers inside an Indian-American family and their generational differences. Lena Sharma, is known as the San Francisco Currey Queen. She left her homeland of India to provide more opportunities for her children in America. She is highly respected in the community and its important that she maintains a flawless reputation. But there are some rules not to be crossed. Her daughter, Maya is a divorcee and dating a man twelve years younger. Lena's son, Sameer is hauled into jail after a DUI accident and she sees her reputation in the community fading. In NO ORDINARY THURSDAY, I learned a great deal about Indian traditions. Anoop Judge fills her novel with details of fashion, food and celebrations, so that a reader with no prior knowledge of Indian traditions, will easily see, hear and taste the food. Readers will connect with the universal family struggles, not just Indian-American. I found myself completely invested...

  London, 1940. Bombs fall and Josie Banks’s world crumbles around her. Her overbearing husband, Stan, is unreachable, called to service. Her home, a ruin of rubble and ash. Josie’s beloved tearoom boss has been killed, and Josie herself is injured, with nothing left and nowhere to go. Evacuated to the English countryside, Josie ends up at the estate of the aristocratic Miss Harcourt, a reluctant host to the survivors of the Blitz. Awed as she is by the magnificent landscape, Josie sees opportunity. Josie convinces Miss Harcourt to let her open a humble tea shop, seeing it as a chance for everyone to begin again. When Josie meets Mike Johnson, a handsome Canadian pilot stationed at a neighboring bomber base, a growing intimacy brings her an inner peace she’s never felt before. Then Stan returns from the war. Now a threat looms larger than anyone imagined. And a dangerous secret is about to upend Josie’s life again. Her newfound courage will be put to the test if she is to emerge, l...