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Of Lilies and Lies (Stirling Harbor #1)
Of Lilies and Lies (Stirling Harbor #1)
Margaux Porter | 2022 | Contemporary, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Independent Reviewer for Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!


Kit is trying to piece her life back together after her abusive husband dies. She has been trying to put her life back together for the past 3 years but there's just too much history. She thinks the best thing to do is move back to her childhood hometown and make amends with her family, on her way home she runs into a handsome stranger Greer, but that is the last she will ever see of him surely!?


Wow! Honestly wow. This book is thrilling and captivating from the start. I enjoy the way Margaux has written from both Kit and Greer's perspectives, it gives you an insight into what they're both thinking and feeling. There is a lot to process in the story abuse, rape, violence, and trauma which brings a lot of emotion with it. I felt that from both parties and found myself having a few 'Ahh, bless them' moments as I was that invested in a positive outcome for them both. The ending of the book is fantastic as well as extremely well written. I don't want to say too much but my heart was in my mouth! I can't praise Margaux enough and would gladly read another book by this author.


A 5/5 recommended read
  
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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Apr 26, 2022  
Dance on over to my blog to check out the awesome playlist and the book trailer for the cozy mystery CHARLESTON CONUNDRUM by Stacy Wilder. If you like what you read, enter the giveaway for a chance to win an autographed copy of the book - two winners!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2022/04/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-charleston.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
A Cozy Mystery with a Twist…

Liz Adams never imagined when she moved to Charleston with her truth sniffing Labrador retriever, Duke, that she would use her skills as a private investigator to avoid winding up on Death Row.

Liz’s life is upended when her best friend, Peg, is murdered and she becomes a suspect. Liz’s gun was the murder weapon. Tensions flare between Liz and the cops as she rises to the top of their suspect list.

At the request of Peg’s father, Liz agrees to take on the investigation. Riding a roller coaster of emotions, Liz uncovers many secrets Peg kept from her despite being best friends. The suspects include a cast of characters: the ex-husband, the boyfriend, a coworker, several neighbors and family members.

Charleston Conundrum takes the reader from Charleston, South Carolina to Paris and back in the emotional unraveling of Peg’s life and death to a killer ending. It is the first book in the Conundrum series.
     
The Child Who Lived
The Child Who Lived
Ellie Midwood | 2023 | History & Politics
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Although a work of fiction, The Child Who Lived is based on true events and tells a little told story of female prisoners within Mauthausen.

The book starts in the divorce courts in 1946 where Lore's husband is filing for divorce due to her 'unacceptable behaviour'. There, she tells the story of her remarkable life before and during the war.

Lore was a political prisoner initially interred in Ravensbrück but sent to Mauthausen with another group of women there to service the needs of the men. Lore and the other women soon become like family; looking out for and supporting each other whilst trying to survive the brutal regime inflicted by the SS. Against all the odds and rules, Lore finds love and unexpectedly becomes pregnant ... a death sentence for both mother and baby. How is she going to survive and save the life of her unborn child?

This is a story of bravery, strength, love and survival and although a work of fiction and therefore there is some 'artistic licence' and a suspension of reality at times, it is a story that hits all the emotions and the characters stay with you long after you finish.

Recommended to those who enjoy reading historical fiction from this era and thank you to the author, Bookouture and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Child Who Lived.
  
No Place to Hide
No Place to Hide
J. S. Monroe | 2023 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I saw “Faustian pact” in relation to this book, and I was sold! Until I actually started reading this on The Pigeonhole, I didn’t even know what it was about - I hadn’t even read the synopsis 🫢

This is a slow burn of a novel, and the main character, Adam, has a good reason for always feeling watched. Twenty-four years ago whilst studying Medicine at Cambridge, Adam makes a pact with a student filmmaker that he probably believes will come to nothing. Or at least he hopes it never will.

When he “bumps into” an old flame from university (or he wishes she had been), the memories of the circumstances surrounding the pact come flooding back. From then on we go between two timelines, university and the present day, as Adams life starts to go down the pan.

His perfect family life, his perfect career, are both very much on the line. His past is going to have far-reaching consequences on his present.

This is dark, rather disturbing and terribly tense! You won’t be able to look at CCTV cameras, your phone or ANY modern technology in quite the same way again! I was gripped until the final page.

A fabulous read on my online book club, The Pigeonhole - and thanks to J. S. Monroe for reading along with us.
  
MM
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
42 of 220
Kindle
Meet Me Halfway ( Learning to love 1)
By Lilian T. James
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Madison gave her heart to a boy at the age of sixteen, but all she got in return was a broken heart and a swollen belly.

Alone with a baby and desperate for the love she hadn’t found, she turned to a man who sealed his claim of devotion with a diamond ring.

He promised her a family. A life. A future. But his lies had only been a cover for the personal hell he introduced her to daily.

Now, at twenty-five, Madison has long since stopped believing in love. Balancing single parenthood, three jobs, and online courses, she doesn’t have the time anyway.

So when the broody neighbor living in the other side of her duplex leaves a rude note on her door, she’s not interested.

Not in his dark hair, not in his physique, and definitely not in the dimples she’s only seen a hint of. She’s one hundred percent, absolutely, not interested.

Not even a little.

I liked this a lot more than I thought I would I mean Garret is just yum!! This is such a sweet and easy to read story about a single mum fighting through life when she meets a new neighbour. A good read.