#MMBBR #Review Not a Sound by @hgudenkauf @HarlequinBooks

A shocking discovery and chilling secrets converge in this latest novel from New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf 

When a tragic accident leaves nurse Amelia Winn deaf, she spirals into a depression that ultimately causes her to lose everything that matters—her job, her husband, David, and her stepdaughter, Nora. Now, two years later and with the help of her hearing dog, Stitch, she is finally getting back on her feet. But when she discovers the body of a fellow nurse in the dense bush by the river, deep in the woods near her cabin, she is plunged into a disturbing mystery that could shatter the carefully reconstructed pieces of her life all over again. 

As clues begin to surface, Amelia finds herself swept into an investigation that hits all too close to home. But how much is she willing to risk in order to uncover the truth and bring a killer to justice?  

New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf has been described as "masterful" and "intelligent" and compared to Lisa Scottoline and Jodi Picoult. Introducing her most compelling heroine yet, she delivers a taut and emotional thriller that proves she's at the top of her class.

#FirstLine ~ I find her sitting all by herself in the emergency waiting room, her lovely features distorted from swelling and bruising.  

I was so immersed in this book from cover to cover.  I found it to be intense, well plotted and twisty.  It was also so very original.  The fact that the main character was deaf added so much intensity during the climaxes of the story.  I think there were moments when I was actually holding my breath because it was so heart pounding at times.  Taking out the sense of hearing really changes the dynamic and power of the circumstances in the book, which adds such an intensity and richness to the story.  But, there was also heroic moments, growth and friendship and love in all forms sprinked in this book, which makes this story well rounded and multilayered.  I cannot really adequately put into words how much I loved this book.  Just read it and read it NOW!!!  What are you waiting for....

Heather Gudenkauf is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Weight of Silence and These Things Hidden.

Heather was born in Wagner, South Dakota, the youngest of six children. At one month of age, her family returned to the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota where her father was employed as a guidance counselor and her mother as a school nurse. At the age of three, her family moved to Iowa, where she grew up. Having been born with a profound unilateral hearing impairment (there were many evenings when Heather and her father made a trip to the bus barn to look around the school bus for her hearing aids that she often conveniently would forget on the seat beside her), Heather tended to use books as a retreat, would climb into the toy box that her father’s students from Rosebud made for the family with a pillow, blanket, and flashlight, close the lid, and escape the world around her. Heather became a voracious reader and the seed of becoming a writer was planted.

Heather Gudenkauf graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in elementary education, has spent her career working with students of all ages and continues to work in education as a Title I Reading Coordinator.

Heather lives in Iowa with her husband, three children, and a very spoiled German Shorthaired Pointer named Lolo. In her free time Heather enjoys spending time with her family, reading, hiking, and running. She is currently working on her next novel.

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#MMBBR #Review Behind Closed Doors by ‏@MiriamHalahmy @HolidayHouseBks #FirstLine

Josie has a secret: her mother is a hoarder. Tasha has a secret, too: her mother’s new boyfriend keeps trying to sneak into her room and seduce her. The two 16-year-olds don’t get along at school, but one night Tasha bolts from her dangerous home and finds herself at Josie’s door. Josie’s mother is in jail for debt, and the girls are alone in the cramped, crowded, bursting home. Slowly, they begin to talk about the challenges they face, a process of sharing that lessens their shame, guilt and fear. With each other’s support, they may even find a way to save themselves from their parents’ demons. Behind Closed Doors is an unflinching examination of the stigmas surrounding mental illness, abuse and poverty, and an affirming portrayal of the power of female friendships and the power of honesty to heal.

#FirstLine ~ "Until I was ten years old, I thought everyone had Christmas in the bedroom."

This book is one that tackles tough topics in a way that is meaningful to the reader.  The characters are realistic and easy to relate to.  The struggles are those that are hard to discuss, but are so important to explore and discuss.  

Miriam Halahmy is a novelist, a former special needs educator and a poet. She writes for adults, teens and children and has published five novels, three poetry collections and many short stories. Miriam is inspired by social and political issues in both contemporary lives and in the recent past. Her writing highlights the dilemmas ordinary young people are often faced with and how they tackle the difficulties in their lives. Miriam is married with two children and two grandchildren. She lives in London, England but she loves to travel and has a great interest in different cultures and languages.

#MMBBR #Highlight #FirstLine The Night Mark by @tiffanyreisz @HarlequinBooks

She has nothing to live for in the present, but finds there's something worth dying for in the past…

From Tiffany Reisz, the international bestselling storyteller behind The Bourbon Thief and The Original Sinners series, comes an enthralling new novel about a woman swept away by the tides who awakens to find herself in 1921, reunited with the husband she's been mourning for four years. Fans of Kate Morton and Diana Gabaldon will fall in love with the mystery, romance and beauty of an isolated South Carolina lighthouse, where a power greater than love works its magic.

#FirstLine ~ Faye closed her eyes and thought of Casablanca.

Tiffany Reisz is the author of the internationally bestselling and award-winning Original Sinners series for Mira Books (Harlequin/Mills & Boon). Tiffany's books inhabit a sexy shadowy world where romance, erotica and literature meet and do immoral and possibly illegal things to each other. She describes her genre as "literary friction," a term she stole from her main character, who gets in trouble almost as often as the author herself. She lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband, author Andrew Shaffer, and two cats. If she couldn't write, she would die.

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#MMBBR #Review Can You Drink a Dinosaur? by Cara Tambellini Danielson

This book was created by a speech-language pathologist to get your child thinking and talking! Children learn to answer yes/no questions, learn to speak in sentences, and learn to think critically about scenarios.

A great book to help early readers learn simple words and critical thinking while answering easy and silly yes/no questions with are accompanied by cute pictures.  A good first book for new readers or even pre-readers.

Check out Cara Tambellini Danielson's Amazon page HERE

https://www.caraspeechtherapy.com/

#MMBBR #Highlight My Brother Fred Has Hair That's Red by Susan Srikant

Sammy was a funny kid.

Upon his head he wore a lid.

In his cup he kept a squid.

At least that's what I think he did.

These fun-to-read, illustrated rhymes use simple words that are familiar to beginning readers. 

A good learning tool for early readers and ESL readers.

Susan Srikant is the author of several books for kids including the ShowBiz series. She lives in the flatlands of Illinois and spends time playing volleyball and watching tiny rabbits eat her garden vegetables. When she isn't writing, you might find her wandering through the woods, hoping to come across a jarrlock or one of the other magical creatures that lives there.

For more information, visit her website at http://susansrikant.weebly.com/

#MMBBR #Reviews A Walk in the Forest #StickerBooks #Garden #Birds @PAPress @maria_dek #OliviaCosneau

A Walk in the Forest is a stunning invitation to discover the woods as a place for both imaginative play and contemplation: collect pinecones, feathers, or stones; follow the tracks of a deer; or listen to the chirping of birds and the whisper of trees. Build a shelter and play hide-and-seek. Pretend the woods are a jungle, or shout out loud to stir up the birds! The forest comes alive in all its mysterious glory in Maria Dek's charming watercolor images and poetic text.

MY REVIEW:
A gorgeous and brilliant story that made my heart so happy!  I cannot wait to share this beautifully illustrated story about the spender of the forest with my own children and with the young kids in my classes.  This book is one of those books that is simple in text, but the illustrations and content create a book that is big in heart and adventure.  Any child and adult will get lost in the pictures.   There are endless ways to apply this book to creative and artistic learning activities.  You could have a child write a poem about an illustrated page, you could have them draw a picture of something they may find in the forest, you could have then all make a tree and create a forest...just to name a few!  I am so very excited about this fantastic book!  It is a must read and would make a great addition to your home library.  

What's more fun or magical than digging in the dirt, planting and watering seeds, discovering the first seedlings of the season, and finally eating your own fruits and vegetables? 

Lovingly illustrated by Olivia Cosneau, this book is a colorful introduction to the magical world of the garden, including a range of fun activities, removable stickers, and a quiz. In the process, fledgling gardeners ages five and up learn about the different types of vegetables and fruits they can grow, how to care for them, what tools they need, and many other interesting facts.

MY REVIEW:
This sticker book is a walk through the garden teaching the reader the difference between underground vegetables, root vegetables and flower vegetables.  The reader also gets to learn the difference between fruits and vegetables and so much more.  There are beautiful and colorful stickers and illustrations that allow the reader to interact with the book while learning about gardening and the glory of growing things we can eat as well as the creatures that help and hinder the process.  There are also some places where the reader can color the pictures as well as place stickers based on the instructions.  It is a delightful and fun way to learn about birds.  I highly recommend this for summer fun or long car kids!





With their colorful feathers, beautiful songs, power of flight, and dinosaur ancestry, birds are truly astonishing creatures. But did you know that the huge variety of known species includes daring acrobats, inconsiderate noisemakers, ruthless hunters, wonderful swimmers, and blazing runners? Or that the tiniest bird in the world measures just two inches long? 

Beautifully illustrated by Olivia Cosneau, Birds of the World introduces aspiring ornithologists to these and other fun facts through a range of coloring activities, removable stickers, and a short quiz. In the process, children learn about the rich variety of birds living in our world, including nightingales, swallows, hummingbirds, pelicans, penguins, parrots, toucans, and flamingos, among others.

MY REVIEW:
I am OBSESSED with birds.  I love them.  I love watching them, reading about them and listening to their songs.  This sticker book is a collection of bird facts and beautiful and colorful stickers and illustrations that allow the reader to interact with the book while learning about all types of birds.  There are also some places where the reader can color the pictures as well as place stickers based on the instructions.  It is a delightful and fun way to learn about birds.  I highly recommend this for summer fun or long car kids!



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#MMBBR #Review Emily's Tiger by Miriam Latimer @BarefootBooks

Watch out Emily is off and running again! This little girl has a problem with her temper, and every time she gets angry she turns intoquite the little tiger. Then grandma comes to stay and she knows athing or two about tigers and tempers!

Bright and colorful, this book is a one that kids will certainly enjoy and be able to relate to.  Kids can often get mad and the their anger can get the best of them.  This book follows Emily as she interacts with others.  You are witness to her angry outbursts and you see how chaos then ensues.  When Granny comes along she shows her other ways to deal  with and negotiate her feelings.  Eventually asking her a very important question:  Happy tiger or angry tiger?   Read the book to see what Emily decides.  A fun read that allows a parent or caretaker to open dialogue about anger and temper tantrums in addition to healthy ways to cope with these angry feelings.

Become a Barefoot Books Ambassador or buy the book: 

www.barefootbooks.com/jasmine-keefe

#MMBBR #Review #Giveaway #Extras #AnimalBites @AnimalPlanet ‏@blueslipper @barbfisch #BabyAnimals #AnimalsOnTheMove

GIVEAWAY:

1 package of ALL 6 Animal Bites books (US ONLY)

ENTER:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

With more than 200 adorable photos of baby animals and their families, there's serious "aw" factor on every page of Animal Planet Baby Animals. This fun addition to the Animal Bites series provides kids in the first years of schooling with the perfect bite-sized view of their favorite animals. Arranged thematically with a focus on animal behavior and family relationships, young readers will explore sections about life cycles, feeding, play time, conservation, getting around, and much more. Special book features designed for this age group include simple infographics and 'All Grown Up' animal facts to help kids learn more about how young and adult animals differ-just like humans! 

For more Animal Bites books, check out Animal Planet Ocean Animals, Animal Planet Polar Animals, Animal Planet Wild Animals, Animal Planet Farm Animals, and Animal Planet Animals on the Move.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of books in the Animal Bites series benefits the principal partners of R.O.A.R. (Reach Out. Act. Respond.), Animal Planet's initiative dedicated to improving the lives of animals in our communities and in the wild.

MY REVIEW:
First, are you kidding me with those adorable faces of the puppy, chicks and monkey!!!  I cannot stop looking that them.  What an amazing book cover.  That is only the outside, what is inside is even more amazing!  Animal Bites is a fun way to title this book, as my son pointed out, because this book provides us bites of information.  I adored the fact that there is a key in the front cover as how to use the book.  This allows the reader to easily find areas of interest and go directly to that spot to read.  There are so many categories that there is certainly something of interest for everyone.   Also, the table of content, activities and resources, glossary and index all add to details within this book. These are great components of book that can be discussed and taught to your little ones.    
What I honestly love the most is that the book is great for reluctant readers or those that struggle with reading.  The little tidbits of information are not overly wordy or difficult to read and the tidbits are accompanied by gorgeous, vibrant and fascinating photos. Because of all the various categories it allows the reader to read things that are of interest to them.  They can easily jump around in the book and still be completely entertained.  I must have said "WOW" more than a dozen times while reading this book with my son.   

This is one of those books that belongs in a child's home library.  It is great for car ride and to create bonding and snuggle while you and your child delight in the sight and information of nature.  5 stars 

With more than 200 gorgeous photos of animals in their natural habitats, there's action and adventure on every page of Animal Planet Animals on the Move. This fast-moving addition to the Animal Bites series provides kids in the first years of schooling with the perfect bite-sized view of their favorite animals. Arranged thematically with a focus on animal behavior and family relationships, young readers will explore sections about migration, fast and slow, hunting and playing, and animal movement on land, in the air, and in water, Special book features designed for this age group include simple graphics and 'Just Like Me' sidebars with fascinating animal facts for young readers to learn more about themselves and the amazing animals that share our world.

For more Animal Bites books, check out Animal Planet Ocean Animals, Animal Planet Polar Animals, Animal Planet Wild Animals, Animal Planet Farm Animals, and Animal Planet Baby Animals.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of books in the Animal Bites series benefits the principal partners of R.O.A.R. (Reach Out. Act. Respond.), Animal Planet's initiative dedicated to improving the lives of animals in our communities and in the wild.

MY REVIEW:
I smile every time I see that owl, cheetah and kangaroo.  They are breathtaking.  I cannot stop looking that them.  What an amazing book cover.  That is only the outside, what is inside is even more amazing!  Animal Bites is a fun way to title this book, as my son pointed out, because this book provides us bites of information.  I adored the fact that there is a key in the front cover as how to use the book.  This allows the reader to easily find areas of interest and go directly to that spot to read.  There are so many categories that there is certainly something of interest for everyone.   Also, the table of content, activities and resources, glossary and index all add to details within this book. These are great components of book that can be discussed and taught to your little ones.    

What I honestly love the most is that the book is great for reluctant readers or those that struggle with reading.  The little tidbits of information are not overly wordy or difficult to read and the tidbits are accompanied by gorgeous, vibrant and fascinating photos. Because of all the various categories it allows the reader to read things that are of interest to them.  They can easily jump around in the book and still be completely entertained.  I must have said "WOW" more than a dozen times while reading this book with my son.   

This is one of those books that belongs in a child's home library.  It is great for car ride and to create bonding and snuggle while you and your child delight in the sight and information of nature.  5 stars 

Additional Materials:


Animal Fact Cards

Activity Kit

#MMBBR #Review Allie and Bea by @cryanhyde ‏#LakeUnionPublishing #FirstLine

Bea has barely been scraping by since her husband died. After falling for a telephone scam, she loses everything and is forced to abandon her trailer. With only two-thirds of a tank in her old van, she heads toward the Pacific Ocean with her cat—on a mission to reclaim what’s rightfully hers, even if it means making others pay for what she lost.

When fifteen-year-old Allie’s parents are jailed for tax fraud, she’s sent to a group home. But when her life is threatened by another resident, she knows she has to get out. She escapes only to find she has nowhere to go—until fate throws Allie in Bea’s path.

Reluctant to trust each other, much less become friends, the two warily make their way up the Pacific Coast. Yet as their hearts open to friendship and love from the strangers they meet on their journey, they find the courage to forge their own unique family—and begin to see an imperfect world with new eyes.

#FirstTime ~  For perhaps the twentieth time that morning, Bea narrowed her eyes at the checkbook sitting on her kitchen counter.

What a heartwarming story that will make you believe in the beauty of chance encounters and friendship.  Catherine Ryan Hyde is brilliant when it comes to creating characters that are real, authentic and worthy of their story being told.  She fleshes them out, blends so much of the human heart into her stories.  I adored how you want to keep reading well past your bedtime, like I did last night.  I wanted to make sure that I shared this AMAZING book today on its pub day!  Do not relay, buy this book today!!!  

Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of more than 30 published and forthcoming books, including SAY GOODBYE FOR NOW, LEAVING BLYTHE RIVER, ASK HIM WHY, WORTHY, THE LANGUAGE OF HOOFBEATS, TAKE ME WITH YOU, WHERE WE BELONG, WHEN I FOUND YOU, WALK ME HOME, SECOND HAND HEART, DON'T LET ME GO, and WHEN YOU WERE OLDER. 

An avid hiker, traveler, equestrian, and amateur photographer, she has released her first book of photos, 365 DAYS OF GRATITUDE: PHOTOS FROM A BEAUTIFUL WORLD.

She is co-author, with fellow author and publishing industry blogger Anne R. Allen, of HOW TO BE A WRITER IN THE E-AGE: A SELF-HELP GUIDE.

Her novel PAY IT FORWARD was adapted into a major motion picture, chosen by the American Library Association for its Best Books for Young Adults list, and translated into more than 23 languages for distribution in over 30 countries. The paperback was released in October 2000 by Pocket Books and quickly became a national bestseller. Simon & Schuster released PAY IT FORWARD: YOUNG READERS' EDITION in August of '14. It is suitable for kids as young as eight. A special Fifteenth Anniversary Edition of the original PAY IT FORWARD was released in December of '14

LOVE IN THE PRESENT TENSE enjoyed bestseller status in the UK, where it broke the top ten, spent five weeks on the bestseller lists, was reviewed on a major TV book club, and shortlisted for a Best Read of the Year award at the British Book Awards. Both BECOMING CHLOE and JUMPSTART THE WORLD were included on the ALA's Rainbow List, and JUMPSTART THE WORLD was a finalist for two Lambda Literary Awards. WHERE WE BELONG won two Rainbow Awards in 2013 and THE LANGUAGE OF HOOFBEATS won a Rainbow Award in 2015.

New Kindle editions of her backlist titles FUNERALS FOR HORSES, EARTHQUAKE WEATHER AND OTHER STORIES, ELECTRIC GOD, and WALTER'S PURPLE HEART are now available. Also available is THE LONG, STEEP PATH: EVERYDAY INSPIRATION FROM THE AUTHOR OF PAY IT FORWARD, her first book-length creative nonfiction. 

More than 50 of her short stories have been published in The Antioch Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Virginia Quarterly Review, Ploughshares, Glimmer Train and many other journals, and in the anthologies Santa Barbara Stories and California Shorts and the bestselling anthology Dog is my Co-Pilot. Her stories have been honored in the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest and the Tobias Wolff Award and nominated for Best American Short Stories, the O'Henry Award, and the Pushcart Prize. Three have been cited in Best American Short Stories.

She is founder and former president (2000-2009) of the Pay It Forward Foundation, and still serves on its board of directors. As a professional public speaker she has addressed the National Conference on Education, twice spoken at Cornell University, met with Americorps members at the White House and shared a dais with Bill Clinton. 

For more information and book club questions, please visit the author at catherineryanhyde.com

#MMBBR #Highlight #FirstLine ~ Death at Breakfast by @BethGutcheon @Morrow_PB @WmMorrowBks @HarperPerennial

 From the acclaimed author of Still Missing, More Than You Know, and Gossip comes the first entry in a stylish and witty mystery series featuring a pair of unlikely investigators—a shrewd novel of manners with a dark heart of murder at its center, set in small-town New England.

Retired New York City private school head Maggie Detweiler and her old friend, society matron Hope Babbin, are off on a weeklong vacation to Maine, to visit Hope’s son and attend a master cooking class at the picturesque Oquossoc Mountain Inn. The worst tragedy they anticipate is a boring fellow guest or a fallen soufflé. 

But their quiet idyll is disrupted by the arrival at the inn of a boorish couple, Alexander and Lisa Antippas, and Lisa’s sister, Glory. Imperious Hollywood one-percenters, Alex and Lisa are also the parents of the latest pop sensation, teen icon Artemis. Discord enters with the family, closely followed by disaster. When a suspicious late-night fire at the inn is brought under control, Alex’s charred body is found in the ashes. 

Enter the local deputy sheriff, Buster Babbin, who is Hope’s long-estranged son and a former student of Maggie’s. Buster needs a success, and Hope and Maggie, informed by a lifetime of observing human nature, coupled with a certain cynicism about small town justice and a healthy dose of curiosity, decide there is role for them to play here.

A psychological puzzle set in scenic small-town New England, Dead at Breakfast is a wickedly engaging entertainment from bestselling Beth Gutcheon.

#FirstLine ~  Maggie Detweiler, new-minded woman of leisure and not at all sure she was  going to like it, had no sense of impending tragedy as she posed in front of the broad stone veranda of the Oquossoc Mountain Inn that bright October morning.



Beth Gutcheon grew up in western Pennsylvania. She was educated at Harvard where she took an honors BA in English literature. She has spent most of her adult life in New York City, except for sojourns in San Francisco and on the coast of Maine. In 1978, she wrote the narration for a feature-length documentary on the Kirov ballet school, The Children of Theatre Street, which was nominated for an Academy Award, and she has made her living fulltime as a storyteller (novelist and sometime screenwriter) since then. Her novels have been translated into fourteen languages, if you count the pirate Chinese edition of Still Missing, plus large print and audio format. Still Missing was made into a feature film called Without a Trace, and also published in a Reader’s Digest Condensed version which particularly pleased her mother. Several of her novels have been national bestsellers, including the most recent, Leeway Cottage. All of the novels are available in new uniform paperback editions from HarperPerennial. 

#MMBBR #Highlight Cork Dork by @bbosker ‏@PenguinBooks @PenguinBooks_ #FirstLine

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“Thrilling . . . [told] with gonzo élan . . . When the sommelier and blogger Madeline Puckette writes that this book is the Kitchen Confidential of the wine world, she’s not wrong, though Bill Buford’s Heat is probably a shade closer.” —Jennifer Senior, The New York Times

"Think: Eat, Pray, Love meets Somm." —theSkimm

“As informative as it is, well, intoxicating.” —Fortune

Professional journalist and amateur drinker Bianca Bosker didn’t know much about wine—until she discovered an alternate universe where taste reigns supreme, a world of elite sommeliers who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of flavor. Astounded by their fervor and seemingly superhuman sensory powers, she set out to uncover what drove their obsession, and whether she, too, could become a “cork dork.” 

With boundless curiosity, humor, and a healthy dose of skepticism, Bosker takes the reader inside underground tasting groups, exclusive New York City restaurants, California mass-market wine factories, and even a neuroscientist’s fMRI machine as she attempts to answer the most nagging question of all: what’s the big deal about wine? What she learns will change the way you drink wine—and, perhaps, the way you live—forever.

-Named one of 10 New Nonfiction Food Books to Read this Spring and Summer by Bon Appetit

-Named one of The 4 Books You Should Read This Spring by Fortune

-Named one of 12 Nonfiction Books You Need to Read in March by Harper’s Bazaar

-Named one of the 20 Best Nonfiction Books Coming in March 2017 by Bustle

-Named one of The Best Drink Books of Spring and Summer 2017 by Punch

-Named one of the Best Books of Early 2017 by Brightly

#FirstLine ~ Perfume was the first to go, but I'd expected that.

Bianca Bosker is an award-winning journalist and the author of Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste. 

She's the former executive tech editor of the Huffington Post, where she explored technology’s influence on culture through subjects such as teen Vine stars, people who date video games, and the creators of Siri. Her work has appeared in the Atlantic, T (the New York Times style magazine), Food & Wine, the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, and The New Republic, as well as The New Yorker online. She is the author of the acclaimed academic book Original Copies: Architectural Mimicry in Contemporary China. She lives in New York City.

@BookSparks #SRC2017 #Reviews @GraemeSimsion @kevinkwanbooks @EdanL #FirstLine @iBooks ‏#MMBBR

Here's the full May Lineup: 5/3 - Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan 5/5 - Woman No. 17 by Edan Lepucki 5/8 - The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion 5/15 - Goodnight From London by Jennifer Robson 5/22 - It's Always The Husband by Michele Campbell 5/29 - In This Moment by Karma Brown

"This dazzling story about a former pianist who has a second chance in midlife with his former actress flame will do some major heart-warming this Spring ― and readers will never foresee the incredible ending." ―POPSUGAR

"It's a fun sweet ride." ―The Washington Post

One of Glamour Magazine's “Most Anticipated Books of 2017”

“An extraordinary literary treat that reminds readers the best things in life have nothing to do with plans.” ―20 Must-Read Books for Spring 2017, Redbook.com

Two decades ago, Adam Sharp’s piano playing led him into a passionate relationship with Angelina Brown, an intelligent and strong-willed actress. They had a chance at something more―but Adam didn’t take it.

Now, on the cusp of turning fifty, Adam likes his life. He’s happy with his partner Claire, he excels in music trivia at quiz night at the local pub, he looks after his mother, and he does the occasional consulting job in IT. But he can never quite shake off his nostalgia for what might have been.

And then, out of nowhere, from the other side of the world, Angelina gets in touch. What does she want? Does Adam dare to live dangerously?

Set to the soundtrack of our lives, The Best of Adam Sharp follows along with emotion and humor as one man looks back on his past and decides if having a second chance is worth the risk.

MY REVIEW:

Brilliant and fun with a satisfying ending THE BEST OF ADAM SHARP is the must read for summer.  It will have you jamming to music, embracing life and smiling!!!

#FirstLine ~ PART 1: I was back home in Norwich, reading up on Pete Best, the Beatles' forgotten first drummer, when the e-mail popped up in the bottom corner of my screen.

New York Times bestselling author Edan Lepucki's Woman No. 17 "reads like a Hollywood HIlls film noir." — Seattle Times
 
High in the Hollywood Hills, writer Lady Daniels has decided to take a break from her husband. Left alone with her children, she’s going to need a hand taking care of her young son if she’s ever going to finish her memoir. In response to a Craigslist ad, S arrives, a magnetic young artist who will live in the secluded guest house out back, care for Lady’s toddler, Devin, and keep a watchful eye on her older, teenage son, Seth. S performs her day job beautifully, quickly drawing the entire family into her orbit, and becoming a confidante for Lady. 
 
But in the heat of the summer, S’s connection to Lady’s older son takes a disturbing, and possibly destructive, turn. And as Lady and S move closer to one another, the glossy veneer of Lady’s privileged life begins to crack, threatening to expose old secrets that she has been keeping from her family. Meanwhile, S is protecting secrets of her own, about her real motivation for taking the job. S and Lady are both playing a careful game, and every move they make endangers the things they hold most dear. 
 
Darkly comic, twisty and tense, this mesmerizing new novel defies expectation and proves Edan Lepucki to be one of the most talented and exciting voices of her generation.

MY REVIEW:

This book sizzles with fun, drama and an addicting plot that keeps you turning pages.  This is a book to toss in the beach bag and get lost in this summer. 

#FirstLine ~ It was summer.

Kevin Kwan, bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians and China Rich Girlfriend, is back with an uproarious new novel of a family riven by fortune, an ex-wife driven psychotic with jealousy, a battle royal fought through couture gown sabotage, and the heir to one of Asia's greatest fortunes locked out of his inheritance. 

When Nicholas Young hears that his grandmother, Su Yi, is on her deathbed, he rushes to be by her bedside—but he's not alone. The entire Shang-Young clan has convened from all corners of the globe to stake claim on their matriarch’s massive fortune. With each family member vying to inherit Tyersall Park—a trophy estate on 64 prime acres in the heart of Singapore—Nicholas’s childhood home turns into a hotbed of speculation and sabotage. As her relatives fight over heirlooms, Astrid Leong is at the center of her own storm, desperately in love with her old sweetheart Charlie Wu, but tormented by her ex-husband—a man hell bent on destroying Astrid’s reputation and relationship. Meanwhile Kitty Pong, married to China’s second richest man, billionaire Jack Bing, still feels second best next to her new step-daughter, famous fashionista Colette Bing. A sweeping novel that takes us from the elegantly appointed mansions of Manila to the secluded private islands in the Sulu Sea, from a kidnapping at Hong Kong’s most elite private school to a surprise marriage proposal at an Indian palace, caught on camera by the telephoto lenses of paparazzi, Kevin Kwan's hilarious, gloriously wicked new novel reveals the long-buried secrets of Asia's most privileged families and their rich people problems.

MY REVIEW:

Spectacular fun.  A book that you cannot help but be entertained by due to the richly engaging and extravagant characters.  This book will leave you reeling from the laughs and the realization on how the other half lives.

#FirstLine ~ Problem NO. 1:  Your regular table at the fabulous restaurant on the exclusive island where you own a beach house is unavailable.

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