Egg Shooters (Cackleberry Club #9) by Laura Childs

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Title: Egg Shooters (Cackleberry Club #9)

Author: Laura Childs

Narrator:Susan Boyce

Pages: 304

Length: 7 hours, 40 minutes

Year: 2021

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Berkley Books (print)

       Dreamscape Media, LLC (audio)

Format: Audiobook (also available in eBook and paperback)

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All of the opinions expressed are my own.

About the book:

     A murder in the local hospital is raising everyone’s temperature in the latest book in the New York Times bestselling Cackleberry Club series.

     Suzanne Dietz, co-owner of the Cackleberry Club Cafe, is visiting her fiancé, Dr. Sam Hazelet, when a masked gunman bursts into the emergency room. He shoots two people and would probably have done more damage had Suzanne not brained him with a thermos full of chili. Still, the gunman manages to escape.

     Now the ladies of the Cackleberry Club are determined to find the killer before he finds them.

My review:

     This is an amazing cozy mystery!

     I love the main characters in this book. Suzanne and her two friends who own the Cackleberry Club Cafe can’t be more different from each other. They have truly figured out how to work together running their business though.

     The plot of the mystery is fantastic. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing and confused.

     The narrator does a fabulous job! She is a wonderful voice actress and has a wide variety of voices and accents for each of the various characters. She really made the story come to life.

     I am giving this entertaining book a rating of 5 stars. I highly recommend it.

Disclaimer: *Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book for free in the hope that I would mention or review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I have done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*

The Nature of a Lady (The Secrets of the Isles #1) by Roseanna M. White

Title: The Nature of a Lady (The Secrets of the Isles #1)

Author: Roseanna M. White

Pages: 384

Release Date: May 4, 2021

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: Bethany House

Format: eBook (also available in paperback)

About the book:

1906

     Lady Elizabeth “Libby” Sinclair, with her love of microscopes and nature, isn’t favored in society. She flees to the beautiful Isles of Scilly for the summer and stumbles into the dangerous secrets left behind by her holiday cottage’s former occupant, also named Elizabeth, who mysteriously vanished.

     Oliver Tremayne—gentleman and clergyman—is determined to discover what happened to his sister, and he’s happy to accept the help of the girl now living in what should have been Beth’s summer cottage . . . especially when he realizes it’s the curious young lady he met briefly two years ago, who shares his love of botany and biology. But the hunt for his sister involves far more than nature walks, and he can’t quite believe all the secrets Beth had been keeping from him.

     As Libby and Oliver work together, they find ancient legends, pirate wrecks, betrayal, and the most mysterious phenomenon of all: love.

My review:

     This is an absolutely incredible historical romance!

     I loved all of the main characters. There is a full cast of important ones. They have very different personalities and are very well developed. I enjoyed getting to know all of them except for the villains. If there isn’t at least one villain the story would be very boring. I do think that my favorite is Mamm-wynn though.

     Libby and Mabena both had to go on emotional journeys to discover who they really are and what really mattered to them. These women had so many things that they didn’t really know and seeing how they learned them was a wonderful part of the story. As they progressed the way that they interacted with others changed.

     The plot was fantastic. I throughly enjoyed following along as the mystery of the two Elizabeths unfolded. There were plenty of twists along the way that kept me guessing.

     The way that the islanders lived and worked together was great. It really made me wish that I could live in a small town and know all of my neighbors.

     I am giving this wonderful story a rating of 5 stars. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series. I highly recommend it.

The Purple Nightgown (True Colors Series) by A.D. Lawrence

 

Title: The Purple Nightgown (True Colors Series)

Author: A. D. Lawrence

Pages: 256

Release Date: March 1, 2021

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Barbour Books

Format: eBook (also available in paperback)

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher, through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All of the opinions expressed are my own.

About the book:

     When Health is Corrupted by Wealth

     Marvel at true but forgotten history when patients check into Linda Hazzard’s Washington state spa in 1912 and soon become victim of her twisted greed.

     Heiress Stella Burke is plagued by insincere suitors and nonstop headaches. Exhausting all other medical aides for her migraines, Stella reads Fasting for the Cure of Disease by Linda Hazzard and determines to go to the spa the author runs. Stella’s chauffeur and long-time friend, Henry Clayton, is reluctant to leave her at the spa. Something doesn’t feel right to him, still Stella submits herself into Linda Hazzard’s care. Stella soon learns the spa has a dark side and Linda a mean streak. But when Stella has had enough, all ways to leave are suddenly blocked. Will Stella become a walking skeleton like many of the other patients or succumb to a worse fate?

My review:

     This is an incredible historical fiction story based on true crime!

     I loved the depth of the main character. She was struggling with a couple of things and at the beginning of the book I kept looking for a connection between them. I wanted to just help her find relief from the migraines she was experiencing. I was desperately trying to figure out the cause.

True

     I liked the support that Stella had from Jane and Henry. They were each trying to help her in separate ways. But they both wanted to see her find relief too.

     The plot of the story was heart wrenching. My heart broke for each of the people that went to Linda Hazzard’s sanatorium for healing. I couldn’t imagine the methods that she was using. Then added to that was finding out that this story was based on true crime. I can’t fathom someone treating other human beings that way. I was horrified by the story and yet I was captivated by it. I needed to see it through and find out the outcome for Stella, Henry, and Jane.

     I’m giving this wonderful book a rating of 5 stars. I highly recommend it.

Disclaimer: *Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book for free in the hope that I would mention or review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I have done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*

A Long Time Comin' by Robin W. Pearson

Title: A Long Time Comin'

Author: Robin W. Pearson

Narrator: Robin Eller

Pages: 432

Audiobook: 11 hours 43 minutes (Oasis Audio)

Year: 2020

Genre: Woman’s Fiction

Publisher: Tyndale House

Format: Audiobook (also available in eBook, paperback, and hardcover) 

About the book:

     To hear Beatrice Agnew tell it, she entered the world with her mouth tightly shut. Just because she finds out she’s dying doesn’t mean she can’t keep it that way. If any of her children have questions about their daddy and the choices she made after he abandoned them, they’d best take it up with Jesus. There’s no room in Granny B’s house for regrets or hand-holding. Or so she thinks.

     Her granddaughter, Evelyn Lester, shows up on Beatrice’s doorstep anyway, burdened with her own secret baggage. Determined to help her Granny B mend fences with her far-flung brood, Evelyn turns her grandmother’s heart and home inside out. Evelyn’s meddling uncovers a tucked-away box of old letters, forcing the two women to wrestle with their past and present pain as they confront the truth Beatrice has worked a lifetime to hide.

My review:

     This is an incredibly thought-provoking woman’s fiction book!

     I was caught up in this story from the very beginning. The characters are so well written that I could see them and their mannerisms right before my eyes. 

     The author has done an amazing job of writing the dialogue and spelling the words the way people in the south would pronounce them many times. In fact her spelling slowed my reading down immensely. After a few days I got frustrated that I wasn’t making more progress in the story and switched to the audio book.

     The narrator did a marvelous job! I started by following along in the print book and that’s when I really understood the accuracy of the spelling. Her accents for the different characters made me able to picture these people as they interacted with each other.

     The story had me thinking long and hard about how families interact with each other and how choices made by each person affects the whole family. It amazed me to recognize the long reach that there is when one person keeps a deep secret. The author did a wonderful job of bringing this truth out for the readers to see it.

     I’m giving this wonderful story a rating of 5 stars. I highly recommend it.

Hope Between the Pages (Doors to the Past) by Pepper D. Basham

Title: Hope Between the Pages (Doors to the Past)

Author: Pepper D. Basham

Pages: 256

Release Date: April 1, 2021

Genre: Duel-time Novel / Romance

Publisher: Barbour Fiction

Format: eBook (also available in paperback)

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher, through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All of the opinions expressed are my own.

About the book:

     Uncover the story behind a one-hundred-year-old love letter.

     Walk through Doors to the Past via a new series of historical stories of romance and adventure.

     Clara Blackwell helps her mother manage a  struggling one-hundred-year-old family bookshop in Asheville, North Carolina, but the discovery of a forgotten letter opens a mystery of a long-lost romance and undiscovered inheritance which could save its future. Forced to step outside of her predictable world, Clara embarks on an adventure with only the name Oliver as a hint of the man’s identity in her great-great-grandmother’s letter. From the nearby grand estate of the Vanderbilts, to a hamlet in Derbyshire, England, Clara seeks to uncover truth about family and love that may lead to her own unexpected romance.

My review:

     I loved this duel-time novel!

     There is a wonderful cast of characters in this book. I loved all four of the main ones. There were two in the past, Sadie and Oliver, and two in the contemporary period, Clara and Max. I enjoyed seeing the parallels between the two periods in how the couples viewed each other. The way they each matured was amazing.

     I thoroughly enjoyed how the two time periods were connected throughout the story. I was definitely interested in seeing how Sadie’s story unfolded. Her story started at the Biltmore Estate, which was owned by the Vanderbilts. I really liked the glimpses we had of the estate itself, and how it ran.

     I am giving this wonderful book a rating of 5 stars. I highly recommend it. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.

Disclaimer: *Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book for free in the hope that I would mention or review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I have done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*