Let's Read a Good Book......Behind The Red Door by Louise Claire Johnson

 

 

 

Behind The Red Door by Louise Clair Johnson

 I started the book with no idea  what I would find between the covers but found it captivating from the first page.  To say I  found the story of Elizabeth Arden impressive would be a total understatement,  what she did was totally amazing.  I wonder if as a girl growing up in the 60's, if I had been able to read the Arden story how it might have changed my life's dreams and goals.  
This book is written in a way that allows you to live with Arden, not as a bystander reading about her.  The author, who wove her own modern day story into Arden's was able to bring the era and the cities alive and allow you to live each second along with both Arden and herself.  For me personally, since I had been to  New York, Geneva and Canada where much of the book takes place, this added another level of feeling present.  I would recommend  this book to all females both young and young at heart.

 Thank you, NetGalley and Gatekeeper Press for allowing me to read this book.

Let's Read A Good Book...... (NOT) Sunrise on Half Moon Bay by Robyn Carr

 

 

Sunrise on Half Moon Bay

by

Robyn Carr

 

I have loved reading Robyn Carr for years but this book not so much. I do not enjoy reading about people being used and taken advantage of and by page three this book was clearly about big, smart rich sister using younger, vulnerable sister. I was turned off immediately. Then the book goes in a totally different direction as though the first chapter and the rest of the book was written by different people and who ever wrote it clearly did not read that first chapter. I found the only characters I liked was the private detective, the grocer and Ross, all minor characters, the main characters were just not appealing and not well developed. I hope this isn't a series because none of these people felt like friends and I really don't want to meet up with them again.

Let's Read a Good Book..... The Restoration of Celia Fairchild by Marie Bostwick

 

 The Restoration of Celia Fairchild  by Marie Bostwick  was one of the best books I have read in a while.
First,  I loved the characters from the very first page and would love to have a besty  like Celia and her bff Calvin.  Second, it was set in Charleston, which I love, and I enjoyed the memories of walking down Kings Street and eating at Poogan's Porch.  The characters feel like normal, every day people,  with lives full of ups and downs, the way they all come together and become friend and family will leave you feeling good with a big smile on your face and a happy heart.   This is a book you NEED to read!

 Thank you to #NetGalley  for allowing me to read and review this ARC.

Let's read a good book.....Boone (Eternity Springs: The McBrides of Texas #3) by Emily March

 

Boone  (Eternity Springs: The McBrides of Texas #3)   by Emily March.  This was my first Emily March book but it will not be my last.  The characters are all lovable and the story will suck you in and grab hold of your heart til the end.  Although this book works fine as a stand alone, I enjoyed it so much I want to read the first two books in the trilogy.  Even though this is a story with much   loss, it is much more a story full of love and hope.   The only negative is I felt the story left us hanging with the grandparents law suit story line.  It is mentioned once then never again.  There is one line about a grandmothers’ presence but since Boone’s mother is also a grandmother there is no clear distinction.  It would have been clearer to the reader if it had at least read “ Bri’s other grandmother” but I do think the reader deserved at least a page to clear up the whole situation or it should not have been thrown in at all.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this book.

Lets Read a Good Book........The Sweet Taste of Muscadines: A Novel by Pamela Terry.

 

 The Sweet Taste of Muscadines: A Novel by Pamela Terry.
First I will admit I wanted to read this book as soon as I saw the word Muscadines in the title.   As a southern girl muscadines hold a special place in my heart and bring back memories of childhood and days on  grandma and grandpa's farm.  I was not disappointed, the writer went into much detail of the southern town where the main characters  grew up and described beautifully everything we love about the south.  She also gives you beautiful descriptions of Maine and Scotland. The characters are enjoyable and the story line is that fairy tale I'm sure every child who has ever lost a parent would love to live out. This is the perfect vacation read.
Thank you  #Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Let's Read a Good Book.......Christmas Cupcake Murder(Hannah Swensen, #26) by Joanne Fluke

The Christmas Cupcake Murder is (Hannah Swensen, #26) and I have read 25 of them.   Since Hannah has been married and done wrong, I was ready to see where that would take her ( hopefully into Norman’s arms) but instead this books takes us back to the early years.   If you are a Hallmark Christmas Movie fan then this is the book for you. It has a holiday spirit, wonderful recipes, interesting characters, and a really good mystery. The plot is light and sweet and unlike the others in the series there is no murder.   This Christmas time cozy mystery is about a nice guy who has lost his memory and the whole gang pitches in to help him regain it.  As always I enjoyed my time with Hannah and this group of characters, although I did miss Hannah’s little sister who is one of my favorites, and I look forward to the next book in this series.

Thank you  Kensington Books via NetGalley for my copy.

  #ChristmasCupcakeMurder #NetGalley