Search

Search only in certain items:

The Victory Garden
The Victory Garden
Rhys Bowen | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I Was the Wrong Audience for this Book
Emily Bryce is about to turn twenty-one, and she is ready to start doing something to help with the war effort. Her parents have kept her at home with her mom hoping to find someone from the aristocracy to marry her off to, but Emily is determined to find her own path. Then Emily meets Robbie, an Australian pilot recovering from an injury at a hospital in the area. Even though her parents forbid it, she keeps seeing him behind their back. She also soon joins up with the Women’s Land Army, helping to keep the farms in England running to provide food for everyone. Will her parents ever accept her choices?

I’ve been a fan of Rhys’s mysteries for years, so I decided to give this book a try. As I suspected going in, this is not a mystery, but more of a coming of age story set in the England of 100 years ago. Unfortunately, I don’t think I was the target audience since I had trouble getting into it. There is a lot happening, and that was part of the problem. The story takes place over a year, and to get the entire time frame and the all Emily goes through into the story, at times I think we were cheated out of watching Emily deal with everything happening. That resulted in some things we were told about and not shown. On the other hand, Emily is a wonderful main character, and I was definitely rooting for her to succeed. I did tear up a time or two. And I felt we got a clear picture of what life was like in 1918 England for those who didn’t fight during the war – something that is often overlooked when we think about the cost of a war.
  
Picture of Innocence
Picture of Innocence
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
My name is Lydia. I’m 12 years old. I’m not an evil person, but I did something bad.
My name is Maddie. I’d never hurt my son. But can I be sure if I don’t remember?
With three children under ten, Maddie is struggling. On the outside, she’s a happy young mother, running a charity as well as a household. But inside, she’s exhausted. She knows she’s lucky to have to have a support network around her. Not just her loving husband, but her family and friends too.
But is Maddie putting her trust in the right people? Because when tragedy strikes, she is certain someone has hurt her child – and everyone is a suspect, including Maddie herself…
The women in this book are about to discover that looks can be deceiving… because anyone is capable of terrible things. Even the most innocent, even you.
This is the story of every mother’s worst fear. But it’s not a story you know… and nothing is what it seems.

Picture Of Innocence is a dark psychological thriller.
This novel had me utterly hooked!
The story follows the lives of two women: Maddie and Lydia, and the theme is nature versus nurture.
I really enjoyed the two stories of two women in two different periods of time and watching how those stories intertwined.
This is one devious thriller!
There are so many twists, turns and red herrings in this book; you will be guessing and open mouthed even down to the last page!
I won’t give any spoilers, suffice to say that it’s shocking and dreadful and heartbreaking all at the same time.
 I have to commend T. J. Stimson for a brilliant read!

Many Thanks to AVON Books, UK and NetGalley for a wonderful read
  
TH
The Hawaiian Quilt
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Hawaiian Quilt by Wanda E. Brunstetter & Jean Brunstetter is a refreshing new twist on Amish fiction. This is not your typical Amish story. There is such faith, hope, dreams, heartbreak and determination throughout this wonderful story. This one will keep you turning pages right up to the very end so you can see how it ends.

A very different type of Amish story, we are going to Hawaii, and we are using cameras and cell phones, and doing tourist things, we are also on a cruise ship.
Four dear friends decide to take a trip of a lifetime, and decide to take a cruise to Hawaii and Mexico, this is happening before they join the Amish church. Now you can picture these sheltered young women being on this exciting journey, how different for them. Mandy, Ellen, Barbara and Sadie decide early on their trip to each take separate side trips and then share their experiences with each other so that they are able to see more. Mandy and Ellen are late getting back to the ship while in Kawai and when they get to the dock the ship is gone. These girls sure had God’s hand on them, you can imagine all kind of bad things happening, but they end up staying with Christians and this is where the lost quilt comes into the story.

I enjoyed this quick read, questioned some of Mandy’s actions, but then remembering they are in their run around time, but I could see that Ellen was more set in her faith. The ending to me left a lot to be desired, it seemed a bit rushed, but then I didn’t write the book, and as I said this is a very different Amish story.

I received this book from Barbour Publishing and Shiloh Run Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
  
The Other Woman
The Other Woman
Sandie Jones | 2018 | Thriller
8
8.3 (15 Ratings)
Book Rating
#BewareOfPammie #TheOtherWoman
#BewareOfPammie #TheOtherWoman
Domestic Suspense Thriller you won't want to put down. The cover alone is captivating then opening the book and reading the Prologue, holy wow can we say it makes you want to read it right away!!!!!
PROLOGUE
"She looks beautiful in her wedding dress. It fits her perfectly and is exactly what I'd imagined she'd go for: elegant, understated, and unique --- just like her. My heart breaks that her day will never come, but she doesn't need to know that yet.
I think about the guests who won't attend, the picture frames with no photographs, the first dance that will be silent, the cake that won't get eaten, and I feel my resolve weakening. I pull myself up. This is not a time for doubt.
There is still so much work to do, so much more pain to inflict, but I will not be deterred. I failed once before, but this time, I'll get it right. There's too much at stake to get it wrong."
Just wow!!! And which character is this coming from? Adam the fiancé? Pammie (Adam's mom and future mother-in-law)? James? (the jealous at times brother of Adam) Someone else in Emily's circle????

This book is about a romance that happened very quickly between Adam and Emily, a devious mother named Pammie, a brother who seems to want Emily for himself … Do you really know the family you will become in-laws with and will Emily find out too late who they really are? What secrets will be revealed? Get ready for an entertaining, twisted thriller you will not want to put down until the very end with lots of manipulation, guesses, and questions.. oh scratching your head moments like WTF …
  
    Jazzy ABC - Music Education

    Jazzy ABC - Music Education

    Education, Games and Stickers

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Learn about music instruments and letters in a fun and interactive game! Featured on Apple's Best...