THOUGHTS ON THIS 'n THAT

  A MATTER OF HAPPINESS (LakeUnionPublishing) includes one of of my favorite eras, the 1920s. It's a dual timeline of 1920s Detroit and 2018 Kentucky. Melanie doesn't believe love and career can mix. She's inherited her great-great-great aunt Violet's Kentucky bourbon distillery. Melanie discovers a journal her aunt left and must find out what the story within means.  It's the 1920s, Aunt Violet loves to party in Detroit. Life is made up fast cars, parties and wild friends, but after a while, everything gets out of control, Tori Whitaker's novel A MATTER OF HAPPINESS is a story of two women becoming modern women in the midst of secrets and sacrifice. In the center of it all? A 1923 Jordan sports cars called the "Playboy." A wonderful read full of fabulous characters. TORI'S WORDS:  My dream of writing a book first took root in my twenties, and some forty years later, I saw that dream come true.  Millicent Glenn’s Last Wish —part historical fiction ...

  A new mother is pushed to the edge in the thriller, THE BREAK (Littlea) by Katie Sise . Rowan O'Sullivan returns home with her newborn, Lila after having a difficult delivery she doesn't fully remember. Husband, Gabe and part-time babysitter, June are there to help her in any way they can. Rowan suffers from postpartum depression and has the feeling something is wrong. Gabe begins to question her every move. June goes missing and all eyes point to Rowan. THE BREAK is a multi-layered mystery. It hooked me from the very start. Rowan and June weren't the most likeable characters, but I sympathized with Rowan's struggles. Katie Sise does a very good job capturing the experience of postpartum depression. The ending is certainly not what I expected. If you or anyone you know is suffering from postpartum depression, know help is available. Contact your doctor and she or he will help you find the best treatment for you. You can also contact Postpartum Support International by...

  Serenade Kincaid's life is a mess. The only way for her is up. In THE PLACEHOLDER (MascotBooks) by Lynda Wolters, Sera has always wanted to be a mother, but now that she's getting divorced, it looks like she won't be able to see her step-daughters ever again. She's lost her house, half of her earnings and her sports car.  Sera goes through men like water and eventually her meddling, some times BFF, boss hooks her up in a relationship with a guy and extra benefits. It's a perfect relationship as long as she doesn't start getting feelings for him. I'm not going to tell you anymore about THE PLACEHOLDER except to say, you'll experience every emotion reading it. I'd have tissues nearby.  I kind of wondered where it was going at the start. Sere isn't the most likeable character, but like many of us, if we're open to change, positive change is possible.  I bet when you finish the book, you'll want to be a Wax Sister.  Lynda was born and raise...

  Happy Halloween. Here's the perfect book to spook you out! ALL HALLOWS (StMartinsPress) is full of tricks and treats! Author, Christopher Golden brings the thrills and chills to your very home . It’s Halloween night, 1984, in Coventry, Massachusetts, and two families are unraveling. Up and down the street, secrets are being revealed, and all the while, mixed in with the trick-or-treaters of all ages, four children who do not belong are walking door to door, merging with the kids of Parmenter Road. Children in vintage costumes with faded, eerie makeup. They seem terrified, and beg the neighborhood kids to hide them away, to keep them safe from The Cunning Man. There’s a small clearing in the woods now that was never there before, and a blackthorn tree that doesn’t belong at all. These odd children claim that The Cunning Man is coming for them...and they want the local kids to protect them. But with families falling apart and the neighborhood splintered by bitterness, who will save...

Debut Novelist, Claudia Lux takes us to hell and back in her novel, SIGN HERE (Berkley).  Darkly humorous, surprisingly poignant, and utterly gripping debut novel about a guy who works in Hell (literally) and is on the cusp of a big promotion if only he can get one more member of the wealthy Harrison family to sell their soul. Peyote Trip has a pretty good gig in the deals department on the fifth floor of Hell. Sure, none of the pens work, the coffee machine has been out of order for a century, and the only drink on offer is Jägermeister, but Pey has a plan—and all he needs is one last member of the Harrison family to sell their soul.   When the Harrisons retreat to the family lake house for the summer, with their daughter Mickey’s precocious new friend, Ruth, in tow, the opportunity Pey has waited a millennium for might finally be in his grasp. And with the help of his charismatic coworker Calamity, he sets a plan in motion.   But things aren’t always as they seem, on Ea...

  IN PAULETTE STOUT'S NEW NOVEL, WHAT WE NEVER SAY (SmithPublicity/MediaGoddess,Inc.), SOMETIMES SECRETS ARE TOO BIG TO IGNORE.   Kyle and Rebecca must now act to reclaim their lives before it’s too late. Rebecca's blog for women is gaining traction, in fact the top women's fashion magazine notices and hires her to write an article for them. But while Rebecca is thrilled, her super-hunky boyfriend, Kyle is anything but. Kyle's been keeping a secret from Rebecca. He was a star model eleven years ago. He got lots of attention, including the kind he's been trying to put behind him. Events past and present collide and the duo must find a way to finally right this wrong. I enjoyed What We Never Say. It tackles a subject rarely written about. The story is intriguing, and Stout's writing is crisp and tight, but there are a few plot lines that tie up too smoothly and cleanly. I really liked Rebecca's BFF's Barbara and Leslie. The three of them formed the perfect...

  Once again, Barbara Linn Probst takes us on a journey a few may have traveled, but most of us can only imagine. In The Color of Ice (SheWritesPress), Cathryn McAllister's, a photographer who has never been able to pursue her dream to make art gets her chance. She's the mother of two adult children and alone after the accidental death of her cheating husband. She realizes she has the opportunity to do what she wants. She walks away from a commercial photography career and takes up freelancing. She learns of a job interviewing a glassblower in Iceland and takes it. She'll do the job and go sight seeing after, or she thinks.. Henry Malcolm Charbonneau, known as "Mack" is Cathryn's subject. He's creating a glass series inspired by the blue glaciers of Iceland. He's emotionally unavailable and he has secrets but Cathryn finds something intriguing about him. She finds herself going into his workroom to "help out" when not needed.  Cathryn and Mac...