The Music Shop [Book Review] #throwbackthursday

September 17, 2020

The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce
#throwbackthursday

Genre/Categories: Fiction, Music, Friendship

I’m linking up today with Davida @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog for #throwbackthursday.

This year as part of Blog Audit Challenge 2020 I’m going back to update older review posts. On Thursdays, I’ll be re-sharing a few of these great reads, and today I’m sharing my review of The Music Shop by favorite author Rachel Joyce, a story of friendship and music…

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

…quirky character overcomes a difficult and turbulent past and takes risks to create a better life……

My Summary:

“Set in the 1980s on a run-down street in a forgotten suburb of London, there is a small indie music shop that is jam-packed with vinyl records of every kind. Frank, the shop’s owner, has a way of connecting his customers with the exact piece of music they never knew they needed, he welcomes the lonely, and he goes out of his way to help others. One ordinary day, a beautiful young woman in a green coat, Ilse Brauchmann, comes into his music shop and changes his life. Frank feels an attraction to her and yet he fears developing any closeness; in spite of his reservations, he begins to teach her about music and they develop a close friendship based on their common musical interests. Frank is terrified of his feelings for Ilse, yet he’s drawn to this strangely still, mysterious woman with eyes as black as vinyl. It’s complicated because Ilse has secrets and Frank has a past that haunts him. Readers find out about Frank’s life with his eccentric mother through flashbacks; however, Ilse remains mysterious. While Frank and Ilse contemplate the risks of a relationship, there are events in the community that threaten the livelihood of all the small, independent shops including Frank’s music shop. A further complication for Frank is the growing popularity of cassette tapes and CDs while Frank cherishes the world of vinyl.

In The Music Shop, Frank’s greatest gift is the ability to listen, his greatest heartache is his devotion to and preservation of vinyl, and his greatest fear is having what he most wants…the love of mysterious Ilse.”

Continue here for my review of The Music Shop …

QOTD: Have you read The Music Shop or is it on your TBR?

The Switch [Book Review]

August 18, 2020

The Switch by Beth O’Leary

Genre/Categories: Women’s Contemporary Fiction, Romance

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Would you switch places with your grandmother?

Summary:

Grandmother Eileen and granddaughter Leena, both dissatisfied with their lives for different reasons, impulsively decide to swap places for two months. Seventy-nine-year-old Eileen moves into Leena’s London flat and twenty-something Leena escapes to her grandmother’s small home in a tiny rural Yorkshire village. They even switch phones! Eileen experiments with online dating and easily makes friends with Leena’s young flatmates. Leena tries to fulfill her grandmother’s responsibilities on various committees and attempts to gain credibility with the community.

My Thoughts:

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The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry [Book Review] #flashbackfriday #fridayfavorite

August 14, 2020

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Genre/Categories: Contemporary Fiction, Love Story, Found Family, Family Life

Welcome to Friday Favorite! Today in lieu of reviewing a new release, I am choosing to revisit an old favorite which I read years before starting this blog. (thanks for the inspiration Sandy’s Book a Day blog!)

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Summary:

A.J. Fikry lives on a fictional island (Alice Island) off the coast of Massachusetts. The isolated island reflects Fikry’s own mental state as he lives with consuming grief over the loss of his wife to a tragic accident. He’s lonely, drinks to excess, is grumpy and opinionated, and struggles with low book sales in the bookstore that he and his wife bought when they moved to the island. Complicating this already dire situation, Fikry’s most prized and valuable book is stolen, he is rude to a book publisher’s representative, and a baby is abandoned in his bookshop. How will Fikry pull his life together?

My Thoughts:

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How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry [Book Reviews] #throwbackthursday

August 13, 2020

How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry
#throwbackthursday

I’m linking up today with Davida @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog for
#throwbackthursday.

This year as part of Blog Audit Challenge 2020 I’m going back to update older review posts. On Thursdays, I’ll be re-sharing a few of these great reads, and today I’m sharing my review of How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry, a book about books and light romance…

Genre/Categories: Women’s Fiction, Light Romance, Books and Reading

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

A quaint English seaside village, a bookshop that needs saving, and light romance…

My Summary:

“Emilia returns to her idyllic Cotswold hometown fulfilling a promise to take care of her father’s independent bookstore, Nightingale Books, after his death. It’s clear that the bookshop is important to the community, and villagers who come into the shop have their own stories to tell. It’s evident that Emilia’s father was more than a bookseller to his customers; in addition to offering personal recommendations, he was a confidant and a greatly admired and respected friend. Can Emilia save Nightingale Books?”

Continue here for my review of How to Find Love in a Bookshop …

QOTD: Have you read How to Find Love in a Bookshop or is it on your TBR?

5 Light Women’s Fiction Reads [Book Reviews]

August 7, 2020

5 Light Women’s Fiction Reads

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Image Source: Canva

My focus-challenged COVID brain craves lighter reads recently. Does yours?

Carla @ Carla Loves to Read suggested these two authors that were just right! So, in the event that you might be looking for some lighter women’s fiction at the moment, here are five suggestions! (I’ve also linked to Carla’s reviews)

Moonlight Harbor Series by Sheila Roberts

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The Book of Lost Names [Book Review]

July 21, 2020

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

Genre/Categories: Historical Fiction, WW11, France

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Summary:

Inspired by true stories from WW11, a young Jewish woman who flees Paris with her mother after the arrest of her father finds herself committing to a forgery ring whose primary goal is to create documents that will help hundreds of Jewish children flee the Nazis. The story is told in dual timelines from the present-day perspective of Eva who is a semi-retired librarian living in Florida and the young Eva as she flees Paris and joins an underground forgery operation in a small mountain town near the Switzerland border. The Book of Lost Names becomes an important link between the two timelines.

My Thoughts:

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What You Wish For [Book Review]

July 14, 2020

What You Wish For by Katherine Center

Genre/Categories: Contemporary Fiction, Romance

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Summary:

Samantha is a happy elementary school librarian in Galveston, Texas. One day, the school loses its beloved principal and his replacement is Duncan Carpenter, someone that Sam knows from her past. She’s a bit concerned about how this will play out because she used to have a crush on Duncan. She keeps this a secret while assuring everyone that the new principal is a great person and they are lucky to have him. However, Duncan shows up as a stiff and humorless person who is preoccupied with school safety. Everything that Sam loves about her school is suddenly being systematically destroyed. How will she stand up to him and fight his policies, and how will this affect their relationship?

My Thoughts:

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The Last Train to Key West [Book Review]

June 12, 2020

The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton

Genre/Categories: Romantic Historical Fiction, Florida

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Summary:

one holiday weekend + three women in danger + a hurricane

Thanks, #netgalley #berkleypub for a complimentary e ARC of #thelasttraintokeywest for review. All opinions in this review are my own. Pub Date: June 16, 2020.

Key West is a popular destination for tourists. In the 1930s, it is also an opportunity to forget the economic depression. The three women in The Last Train to Key West have very different reasons for finding themselves in Key West on Labor Day Weekend, 1935: Elizabeth travels to Key West from New York City and is desperately searching for a WW1 veteran who is rumored to have been sent to work on the railroad; Key West native, Helen, wants to escape an abusive marriage; Mirta comes to Key West from Cuba for her honeymoon. Rounding out the weekend is an FBI agent, a kind friend, an abusive husband, a secretive groom, and the destructive 1935 Labor Day Weekend hurricane.

Henry Flagler’s Overseas Railroad

Photo Source: Wikipedia: Key West News Co

Key West, Florida

My Thoughts:

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Red Sky Over Hawaii [Book Review] #BookTour

June 9, 2020

Red Sky Over Hawaii by Sara Ackerman

Genre/Categories: Romance Historical Fiction, WW11, Hawaii, Women’s Fiction

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Welcome to my stop on the Blog Tour for Red Sky Over Hawaii by Sara Ackerman. Thanks for the invitation!

Thanks, #netgalley #harlequin for a complimentary e ARC of #redskyoverhawaii by Sara Ackerman. All opinions in this review are entirely my own.

Summary:

WW11 + Hawaii + Saving Neighbors + a Side of Cowboy Romance

The attack on Pearl Harbor during WW11 sets the events in motion. Lana has recently learned of the passing of her father. Even though they were estranged at the time of his death, Lana is saddened by his death and left with unanswered questions. As the government begins to arrest her German and Japanese neighbors as suspected sympathizers, she takes two young German girls and a Japanese fisherman and his son to a secret property hidden away in the remote rain forest of Kilauea volcano. Lana struggles to keep her secrets and those in her care safe. Would you save your neighbors in a time of crisis?

My Thoughts:

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#throwbackthursday Castle of Water by Dane Hucklebridge

April 9, 2020

Castle of Water by Dane Hucklebridge
#throwbackthursday

I’m linking up today with Davida @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog for #throwbackthursday.

This year as part of Blog Audit Challenge 2020 I’m going back to update older review posts. On Thursdays, I’ll be re-sharing a few of these great reads, and today I’m sharing my review of Castle of Water by Dane Hucklebridge….a favorite escapist, survival read. Enjoy!

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Genre/Categories: Fiction, Survival, Escapist, Action, Love Story

My Summary:

“And so it came to pass that two utterly disparate lives happened to overlap … bound together on an uninhabited island some 2,359 miles from Hawaii, 4,622 miles from Chile, and 533 miles from the nearest living soul.
Crap, as Barry liked to say.
Putain de merde, as Sophie was known to exclaim.”
― Dane Huckelbridge, Castle of Water

Sophie, an architect and honeymooner, and Barry, disillusioned with his career in finance and seeking inspiration for his love of art, end up on one very small island when their plane is hit by lightning and crashes in the middle of the South Pacific. Strangers and sole survivors and as different as night and day, Sophie and Barry wash up on a small uninhabited island and survival becomes their primary objective. Sophie and Barry draw from each other’s strengths and skills and through harrowing experiences, keep the hope of rescue alive.

Click here to find out why I loved Castle of Water….

QOTD: Have you read Castle of Water or is it on your TBR?

The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce #throwbackthursday

My Summary:

Continue here for my review of The Music Shop …

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Would you switch places with your grandmother?

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How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry #throwbackthursday

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Continue here for my review of How to Find Love in a Bookshop …

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5 Light Women’s Fiction Reads

Moonlight Harbor Series by Sheila Roberts

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Castle of Water by Dane Hucklebridge #throwbackthursday

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The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce
#throwbackthursday

How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry
#throwbackthursday

Castle of Water by Dane Hucklebridge
#throwbackthursday