If you love cozy mysteries you will love this book and the whole series. I love this town in Kentucky and all the crazy characters. I love the idea of a coffee shop that has animals up for adoption in them. This story is another great tale in this series. This one kept me wondering till the end who had committed the murder. I really am looking forward to reading the next book in the series to see what is going to happen in the next book. I received a copy of this book from the author for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
I give this book a five out of five stars.
PUBLISHER DESCRIPTION
Welcome to the Bean Hive Coffeehouse where the coffee is as hot as the gossip!
“Fabulous fun and fantastic fried food! Kappes nails small town mystery with another must-read hit. Don’t miss this one!” – Darynda Jones, New York Times Bestselling Author of Eighth Grave After Dark
Welcome to Honey Springs where the gossip flows as freely as the coffee. and The Bean Hive Coffee shop was usually the magnet to where it all occurred.
Honey Springs, Kentucky is abuzz with the opening of a new holistic health spa. There are all sorts of outsiders in town to visit and participate in the opening. A reviewer from a famous magazine is there, but he has the bad habit of writing scathing reviews of everywhere he visits. Could this be trouble for the grand opening?
Add to the mix Loretta Bebe (the town socialite) wants her granddaughter, Birdie, to work for Roxy, so what if she has a bad reputation that’s a mile long?
Things get a little frothy after the famous magazine reviewer turns up dead and the weapon is found on Birdie. Do you think Loretta is going to let anyone but Roxy Bloom use her lawyering skills to solve the murder? You’re darn-tootin’ she aint!
Grab your coffee and hold on to your hat, this southern mystery is full of red-herrings with all sorts of snorts that’ll having you wanting to stay for bit longer at the Bean Hive!
This author never disappoints me with her stories. I loved the characters. Each of the main characters has a tiny secret that we get to learn during the story. I loved that this has so much inspiration running through it. This made me laugh and cry and it was hard to put down. I received a copy of this book from Waterbrook and Multnomah for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
I give this story a five out of five stars.
A lost ring brings together two wounded souls—a youth minister haunted by the past and a spunky church custodian—in this heartwarming romance from the bestselling author of The Librarian of Boone’s Hollow.
“Kim Vogel Sawyer is an amazing storyteller who crafts each of her stories with page-turning excitement and rich character development.”—Tracie Peterson, bestselling author of the Golden Gate Secrets series
Growing up in the foster care system, Jase Edgar always dreamed of one day starting his own family. But his fiancée’s untimely death shattered his plans. Moving to Kansas and serving as a youth minister should be a fresh start, but he can’t seem to set aside his doubts about God’s goodness long enough to embrace his new life.
Newly-appointed church custodian, Lori Fowler is battling her own challenges. Her strained relationship with her father and her struggles with overeating convince her she’s not worthy enough for love. When an Amish weaver enlists their help locating the owner of a ring found among the donated clothing she uses as fabric, Jase and Lori find themselves drawn to each other. But will they be able to release the past and move forward from this moment into a joyful future?
I loved reading about Caroline, Nella and Eliza. These are three strong women. I enjoyed how the story went from the past to the present. I loved learning about the many ways that plants can be used to make poisons. This was fascinating. It is sad that so many women felt the need to murder. This story shows how each of these women grows as the time goes on. I always enjoy reading about the late 1700’s. I received a copy of this book from Harlequin for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
I give this book a five out of five stars.
The Lost Apothecary : A Novel
Sarah Penner
On Sale Date: March 2, 2021
9780778311010, 0778311015
Hardcover
$27.99 USD
320 pages
About the Book:
In this addictive and spectacularly imagined debut, a female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them—setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course. Pitched as Kate Morton meets The Miniaturist, The Lost Apothecary is a bold work of historical fiction with a rebellious twist that heralds the coming of an explosive new talent.
A forgotten history. A secret network of women. A legacy of poison and revenge. Welcome to The Lost Apothecary…
Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary’s fate is jeopardized when her newest patron, a precocious twelve-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries.
Meanwhile in present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, running from her own demons. When she stumbles upon a clue to the unsolved apothecary murders that haunted London two hundred years ago, her life collides with the apothecary’s in a stunning twist of fate—and not everyone will survive.
With crackling suspense, unforgettable characters and searing insight, The Lost Apothecary is a subversive and intoxicating debut novel of secrets, vengeance and the remarkable ways women can save each other despite the barrier of time.
About the Author:
Sarah Penner is the debut author of The Lost Apothecary, to be translated in eleven languages worldwide. She works full-time in finance and is a member of the Historical Novel Society and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. She and her husband live in St. Petersburg, Florida, with their miniature dachshund, Zoe. To learn more, visit slpenner.com.
She would come at daybreak—the woman whose letter I held in my hands, the woman whose name I did not yet know.
I knew neither her age nor where she lived. I did not know her rank in society nor the dark things of which she dreamed when night fell. She could be a victim or a transgressor. A new wife or a vengeful widow. A nursemaid or a courtesan.
But despite all that I did not know, I understood this: the woman knew exactly who she wanted dead.
I lifted the blush-colored paper, illuminated by the dying f lame of a single rush wick candle. I ran my fingers over the ink of her words, imagining what despair brought the woman to seek out someone like me. Not just an apothecary, but a murderer. A master of disguise.
Her request was simple and straightforward. For my mistress’s husband, with his breakfast. Daybreak, 4 Feb. At once, I drew to mind a middle-aged housemaid, called to do the bidding of her mistress. And with an instinct perfected over the last two decades, I knew immediately the remedy most suited to this request: a chicken egg laced with nux vomica.
The preparation would take mere minutes; the poison was within reach. But for a reason yet unknown to me, something about the letter left me unsettled. It was not the subtle, woodsy odor of the parchment or the way the lower left corner curled forward slightly, as though once damp with tears. Instead, the disquiet brewed inside of me. An intuitive understanding that something must be avoided.
But what unwritten warning could reside on a single sheet of parchment, shrouded beneath pen strokes? None at all, I assured myself; this letter was no omen. My troubling thoughts were merely the result of my fatigue—the hour was late—and the persistent discomfort in my joints.
I drew my attention to my calfskin register on the table in front of me. My precious register was a record of life and death; an inventory of the many women who sought potions from here, the darkest of apothecary shops.
In the front pages of my register, the ink was soft, written with a lighter hand, void of grief and resistance. These faded, worn entries belonged to my mother. This apothecary shop for women’s maladies, situated at 3 Back Alley, was hers long before it was mine.
On occasion I read her entries—23 Mar 1767, Mrs. R. Ranford, Yarrow Milfoil 15 dr. 3x—and the words evoked memories of her: the way her hair fell against the back of her neck as she ground the yarrow stem with the pestle, or the taut, papery skin of her hand as she plucked seeds from the flower’s head. But my mother had not disguised her shop behind a false wall, and she had not slipped her remedies into vessels of dark red wine. She’d had no need to hide. The tinctures she dispensed were meant only for good: soothing the raw, tender parts of a new mother, or bringing menses upon a barren wife. Thus, she filled her register pages with the most benign of herbal remedies. They would raise no suspicion.
On my register pages, I wrote things such as nettle and hyssop and amaranth, yes, but also remedies more sinister: nightshade and hellebore and arsenic. Beneath the ink strokes of my register hid betrayal, anguish…and dark secrets.
Secrets about the vigorous young man who suffered an ailing heart on the eve of his wedding, or how it came to pass that a healthy new father fell victim to a sudden fever. My register laid it all bare: these were not weak hearts and fevers at all, but thorn apple juice and nightshade slipped into wines and pies by cunning women whose names now stained my register.
Oh, but if only the register told my own secret, the truth about how this all began. For I had documented every victim in these pages, all but one: Frederick. The sharp, black lines of his name defaced only my sullen heart, my scarred womb.
I gently closed the register, for I had no use of it tonight, and returned my attention to the letter. What worried me so? The edge of the parchment continued to catch my eye, as though something crawled beneath it. And the longer I remained at my table, the more my belly ached and my fingers trembled. In the distance, beyond the walls of the shop, the bells on a carriage sounded frighteningly similar to the chains on a constable’s belt. But I assured myself that the bailiffs would not come tonight, just as they had not come for the last two decades. My shop, like my poisons, was too cleverly disguised. No man would find this place; it was buried deep behind a cupboard wall at the base of a twisted alleyway in the darkest depths of London.
I drew my eyes to the soot-stained wall that I had not the heart, nor the strength, to scrub clean. An empty bottle on a shelf caught my reflection. My eyes, once bright green like my mother’s, now held little life within them. My cheeks, too, once flushed with vitality, were sallow and sunken. I had the appearance of a ghost, much older than my forty-one years of age.
Tenderly, I began to rub the round bone in my left wrist, swollen with heat like a stone left in the fire and forgotten. The discomfort in my joints had crawled through my body for years; it had grown so severe, I lived not a waking hour without pain. Every poison I dispensed brought a new wave of it upon me; some evenings, my fingers were so distended and stiff, I felt sure the skin would split open and expose what lay underneath.
Killing and secret-keeping had done this to me. It had begun to rot me from the inside out, and something inside meant to tear me open.
At once, the air grew stagnant, and smoke began to curl into the low stone ceiling of my hidden room. The candle was nearly spent, and soon the laudanum drops would wrap me in their heavy warmth. Night had long ago fallen, and she would arrive in just a few hours: the woman whose name I would add to my register and whose mystery I would begin to unravel, no matter the unease it brewed inside of me.
I really wasn’t too sure if I wanted to read this book at first since it is based around WWll and I was getting burned out by this era, but I am so glad I read it. I did not want to put the book down till I knew what was going to happen to Evelyn and Peter. These were fantastic characters. This was a very tough time to live in especially during and right before the war started. Evelyn was brave to be a reporter in Germany. This book was so well written. I received a copy of this book from Revell for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
I give this book a five out of five stars.
PUBLISHER DESCRIPTION
Munich, 1938. Evelyn Brand is an American foreign correspondent as determined to prove her worth in a male-dominated profession as she is to expose the growing tyranny in Nazi Germany. To do so, she must walk a thin line. If she offends the government, she could be expelled from the country–or worse. If she fails to truthfully report on major stories, she’ll never be able to give a voice to the oppressed–and wake up the folks back home.
In another part of the city, American graduate student Peter Lang is working on his PhD in German. Disillusioned with the chaos in the world due to the Great Depression, he is impressed with the prosperity and order of German society. But when the brutality of the regime hits close, he discovers a far better way to use his contacts within the Nazi party–to feed information to the shrewd reporter he can’t get off his mind.
This electric standalone novel from fan-favorite Sarah Sundin puts you right at the intersection of pulse-pounding suspense and heart-stopping romance.
I loved the suspense and the romance that happens in this book. I loved Sam and Emma. I could not figure out until almost the end who was so obsessed with Emma. The author dies a great job of leaving some clues but not quite enough to let you know who is obsessed too early. I did not want to put this book down. I received a copy of this book from Revell for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
I give this book a five out of five stars.
PUBLISHER DESCRIPTION
Natchez Trace Ranger and historian Emma Winters hoped never to see Sam Ryker again after she broke off her engagement to him. But when shots are fired at her at a historical landmark just off the Natchez Trace, she’s forced to work alongside Sam as the Natchez Trace law enforcement district ranger in the ensuing investigation. To complicate matters, Emma has acquired a delusional secret admirer who is determined to have her as his own. Sam is merely an obstruction, one which must be removed.
Sam knows that he has failed Emma in the past and he doesn’t intend to let her down again. Especially since her life is on the line. As the threads of the investigation cross and tangle with their own personal history, Sam and Emma have a chance to discover the truth, not only about the victim but about what went wrong in their relationship.
Award-winning author Patricia Bradley will have the hairs standing up on the back of your neck with this nail-biting tale of obsession, misunderstanding, and forgiveness.
This was a quick book of roller coaster suspense. There was some type of action almost every time you turned around. I really like Dulcie and Austin. There are some tough topics that are referred to in this story. Dulcie lived through some tough times as a child and still was suffering as an adult. I received a copy of this book from Celebratelit for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
I give this book a four out of five stars.
About the Book
Book: Vanished in the Mountains
Author: Tanya Stowe
Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense
Release date: February 3, 2021
A search for missing women leads to a deadly pursuit.
When domestic violence counselor Dulcie Parker uncovers evidence of a human trafficking ring in the Four Corners area, she’s determined to stop it or die trying. With corruption all around her and killers on her trail, Deputy Sheriff Austin Turner’s the only one she can trust. But can they work together to expose the crime ring before she becomes the next victim?
Tanya Stowe is a Christian Fiction author with an unexpected edge. She is married to the love of her life, her high school sweetheart. They have four children and twenty-one grandchildren, a true adventure. She fills her books with the unusual…mysteries and exotic travel, even a murder or two. No matter where Tanya takes you…on a trip to foreign lands or a suspenseful journey packed with danger…be prepared for the extraordinary.
More from Tanya
When my children were very young, my husband and I took a trip to Colorado for a family reunion. After the reunion we traveled through Colorado to see the sights. We stopped in Silverton and my sister and I took my young son and daughter down the narrow-gauge railroad to Durango. Riding the swaying train down slopes covered in pine trees with the rushing white water of the Animas River below, I knew I’d write about the area someday. Many years later my husband and I took our first “kid-less” vacation in our motorhome. We stayed in a campground on the Navajo Nation next to Canyon de Chelly. We had no running water or electricity and that night, a storm blew in from the west. We watched the sky change to hues of purple and pink and then sat mesmerized as lightning strikes crossed the magnificent valley. Once again, I planted the scenes in my mind, determined to write about them one day. Little did I know both vacations would combine into one story. I hope you find my memories of the Four Corners area as unforgettable as I did! Blessings!
I loved the two previous books in this series and loved this one even more. This was my favorite of the series. I love Luke and Marianne. I loved learning about some of these first drug trials. This was fascinating. I did not want to put this book down. It was fun to read about the feud between these two families. I recommend reading this series in order because it is a great series and you will enjoy them better in a row. I received a copy of this book from the author for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
I give this book a five out of five stars.
Luke Delacroix has the reputation of a charming man-about-town in Gilded Age Washington, DC. In reality, he is secretly carrying out an ambitious agenda in Congress. His current mission is to thwart the reelection of Congressman Clyde Magruder, his only real enemy in the world.But trouble begins when Luke meets Marianne Magruder, the congressman’s only daughter, whose job as a government photographer gives her unprecedented access to sites throughout the city. Luke is captivated by Marianne’s quick wit and alluring charm, leading them both into a dangerous gamble to reconcile their feelings for each other with Luke’s driving passion for vital reforms in Congress.Can their newfound love survive a political firestorm, or will three generations of family rivalry drive them apart forever?
If you enjoy reading about birdwatching or about the unions of Great Britain during the mid 1960’s to the late 1970’s you will really enjoy this story. In between you learn about how a couple meet and then live after they get married. John and Jean-Louise go through a lot as they mature over time. I enjoyed the characters a lot. I received a copy of this book from Smith Publicity for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
I give this book a four out of five stars.
JOHN is brought up on an isolated farm near York, spends his spare time birdwatching, lives with an unsympathetic stepfather and loving mother, and attends Hull University as the government pays his expenses. He worries about serious relationships with girls and has no idea of what career to follow. His experience so far is as a farm hand and a hospital porter. A letter he finds at home confirms his biological father is alive but has no intention of helping him.
On Bonfire Night 1965 (Guy Fawkes Night), during his final undergraduate year, he meets a fellow student, JEAN-LOUISE, and a romantic relationship develops. In many ways she is different from John; she is a town girl, brought up by loving parents, is an only child, has opposing politics and knows what she wants to be – a fashion buyer for Marks & Spencer. The obstacle is her mother is ill with muscular dystrophy and she must help take care of her parents. She surprises John by encouraging his birdwatching. John joins Ford of Britain as a graduate trainee and after an uncertain start, is placed in industrial relations and decides to study for a graduate degree with the Institute of Personnel Management. He also discovers more about his real father.
What happens to the couple during the subsequent 10 years as they navigate their careers, have to deal with events that take place in Britain during the period and manage personal issues at home, are the subjects of this book. There is panic buying during the 1974, 3-day working week, the affects on home life of Britain’s entry into the Common Market, annual inflation driven above 25 percent in part because of trade union militancy, and many other national incidents.
A unique feature of the novel is the use of bird species to illustrate human behavior and character. At the end of each chapter there is an illustration of the featured bird from that chapter to provide a summary of the bird’s appearance and habitat in case the reader is interested.
The novel blends British history, ornithology, success at work, discrimination against women and the challenges of home life into a single story.
I do not know quite how to describe the way I felt reading this book. I really enjoyed the historical aspects of this book. I have never read about this person before. It was interesting to read about Juan Luis Vives. I did not really enjoy how some of the story was written. I was getting confused about some of the story when it was being written through the part of the diary. I received a copy of this book from ireadbooktour for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
I give this book a four out of five stars.
Book Title: The Secret Diaries of Juan Luis Vives by Tim Darcy Ellis Category: Adult Fiction (18 yrs +), 246 pages Genre: Literary fiction, historical fiction, religious historical fiction Publisher: Tellwell Release date: 2020 Format available for review: print, and ebook (mobi file (for Kindle) Will send print books out: USA and Canada Tour dates: Feb 1 to Feb 12, 2021 Content Rating: PG-13 + M. Includes some f-words, religious profanities, and mature themes (addiction, adultery)
“A fast-paced and richly engaging story about an intriguing historical figure… Ellis writes all of this with marvellous gusto that’s more reminiscent of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall (2009) than of a more traditional Tudor novel.” – Kirkus (starred review)
“In this beautifully detailed, thrilling historical novel, author Tim Ellis brings back to life the largely forgotten Juan Luis Lives, a Spanish Jew and leading Renaissance humanist…This enthralling story is sure to please lovers of high drama, international intrigue, momentous history and psychological thrillers.” – Blueink (starred review)
“With its clear portrayal of inner conflict, The Secret Diaries of Juan Luis Vives is a provocative, multicolored historical novel that examines hidden faith… Ellis’s intricate biographical novel approaches the Spanish scholar and Renaissance humanist through absorbing journal entries.”– Foreword Clarion
“A fast-moving, highly enjoyable historical drama, which features one of Western civilization’s most interesting men during the dazzling age of the Renaissance. Ellis draws his characters so wonderfully, and none is better than the lead. The smart, charming, and earnest humanist is depicted as the embodiment of a better world to come.” – Indiereader Review
Book Description:
The Secret Diaries Of Juan Luis Vives chronicles the epoch-making adventures of Spanish humanist Juan Luis Vives. The novel begins as Vives writes in self-imposed exile in Bruges, Spanish Netherlands in 1522. He is on the run from the Spanish Inquisition which has devastated his Jewish family in Valencia. Later, Thomas More invites Vives to the English court to tutor princess Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. The plot reaches its climax as Vives navigates the murky world of English politics during the reign of King Henry VIII, ever trying to negotiate an escape from Spain for his family, and for the Jewish people. The early modern period in Europe was a time of incredible instability. Economic depressions were the norm in Northern Italy, the Holy Roman Empire, and large swaths of England and France. Wars were endemic, with power politics and religion playing leading roles in massive bloodletting. Despite the darkness, great men and women of courage and intellectual curiosity also defined the age as one of scientific discovery, humanism, and scholarship. One of the great titans of the early modern period was Spanish scholar Juan Luis Vives. In the novel, Vives is the embodiment of the cosmopolitanism of the intellectual elite during the Renaissance. As a secret follower of Judaism, and thus a major outlaw according to the thinking of his own Catholic monarch, Vives walks a swaying tightrope. He was a genius and a philosopher who had a lot to say (he has since been dubbed ‘The Godfather of Psychoanalysis,’ Zilboorg 1941, and the ‘Father of Psychology,’ Watson, 1915), however, if he speaks too loudly not only his survival but that of his entire people hangs in the balance. Along the way, the reader is given close up and intimate and unique views of well-known figures such as Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Sir Thomas More and his devoted daughter, Margaret Roper. Buy the Book: Amazon ~ B&N Add to Goodreads
Meet the Author:
Tim Darcy Ellis (BA BSc, MHSc) is a writer, physiotherapy business owner and formerly a professional archaeologist. Tim studied Archaeology at the University of York (BA Hons 1988) and as a professional archaeologist, worked on sites throughout England and Wales. He held posts at the Museum of London and the British Museum’s medieval galleries. Tim is currently Managing Director and Principal Physiotherapist of Excel Physiotherapy and Wellness. He qualified as a physiotherapist at the University of East London in 1998. He moved to Sydney in 2000 where he completed his master’s degree in 2002. Tim is chief writer of Excel Life magazine: writing and teaching extensively on health and wellness and specializing in the treatment of complex hip and pelvic pain.
I really enjoyed reading about the 2 sets of twins meeting each other. I enjoy reading about how identical twins can be so different from each other even though they look alike. This story had many twists and turns and I like that they think they are going there as mail order brides. I look forward to reading the next book in the series. I received a copy of this book from edelweiss for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
I give this book a five out of five stars.
PUBLISHER DESCRIPTION
Prepare for a double dose of romance and fun when two sets of Amish twins find love.
Identical brothers Zeb and Zeke Bontrager aren’t looking for love. They have their hands full with a new horse farm, a half-finished ranch house, and a wild colt, thanks to Zeke’s hasty business dealings. Now Zeb must contend with Zeke’s bad decisions, hidden debts, and tendency to avoid responsibility, which threaten their good standing in the Birch Creek Amish community.
When a newspaper ad prompts Darla King to travel to Birch Creek in search of a husband, her identical twin, Amanda, promises their parents she’ll convince Darla to come home. After all, Amanda is the responsible and reliable one. She has always protected Darla, who acts on impulse and trusts people too easily. The sisters’ close relationship is strained as Darla asserts her independence and Amanda grapples with regrets of her past and the longings of her own heart.
When Zeb and Amanda join forces to protect Darla and Zeke from each other, none of them can possibly predict the outcome as all four come face-to-face with their highest hopes and deepest insecurities in the first installment of the Amish Mail-Order Bride series.
