Cover Crush: The Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig , Karen White

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I am not a cover designer but I can agree that cover layouts play an important role in the overall presentation of stories and I must admit, often times I first judge a book by its cover.

The Glass OceanThe Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig , Karen White

From the New York Times bestselling authors of The Forgotten Room comes a captivating historical mystery, infused with romance, that links the lives of three women across a century—two deep in the past, one in the present—to the doomed passenger liner, RMS Lusitania.

May 2013
Her finances are in dire straits and bestselling author Sarah Blake is struggling to find a big idea for her next book. Desperate, she breaks the one promise she made to her Alzheimer’s-stricken mother and opens an old chest that belonged to her great-grandfather, who died when the RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-Boat in 1915. What she discovers there could change history. Sarah embarks on an ambitious journey to England to enlist the help of John Langford, a recently disgraced Member of Parliament whose family archives might contain the only key to the long-ago catastrophe. . . .

April 1915
Southern belle Caroline Telfair Hochstetter’s marriage is in crisis. Her formerly attentive industrialist husband, Gilbert, has become remote, pre-occupied with business . . . and something else that she can’t quite put a finger on. She’s hoping a trip to London in Lusitania’s lavish first-class accommodations will help them reconnect—but she can’t ignore the spark she feels for her old friend, Robert Langford, who turns out to be on the same voyage. Feeling restless and longing for a different existence, Caroline is determined to stop being a bystander, and take charge of her own life. . . .

Tessa Fairweather is traveling second-class on the Lusitania, returning home to Devon. Or at least, that’s her story. Tessa has never left the United States and her English accent is a hasty fake. She’s really Tennessee Schaff, the daughter of a roving con man, and she can steal and forge just about anything. But she’s had enough. Her partner has promised that if they can pull off this one last heist aboard the Lusitania, they’ll finally leave the game behind. Tess desperately wants to believe that, but Tess has the uneasy feeling there’s something about this job that isn’t as it seems. . . .

As the Lusitania steams toward its fate, three women work against time to unravel a plot that will change the course of their own lives . . . and history itself.

My thoughts:

Just looking at the cover you must know the story takes place on a cruise liner. There is really nothing spectacular about the cover but knowing that the cover depicts the setting of the story and leads me to investigate further…Yeah, this is a good cover.

Stephanie M. Hopkins

Cover Crush is a weekly series that originated with Erin at Flashlight Commentary.

Other great cover crushes from my fellow book bloggers: 

Magdalena at A Bookaholic Swede
Colleen at A Literary Vacation
Heather at The Maiden’s Court
Holly at 2 Kids and Tired

 

Cover Crush: Saving Phoebe Murrow by Herta Feely

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I am not a cover designer but I can agree that cover layouts play an important role in the overall presentation of stories and I must admit, often times I first judge a book by its cover.

Saving Phoebe MurrowSaving Phoebe Murrow by Herta Feely

Upper Hand Press

Pub Date 02 Sep 2016

Description

Inspired by the tragic story of Megan Meier, who committed suicide following a cyber-bullying incident, Saving Phoebe Murrow follows DC lawyer Isabel Winthrop as she struggles to balance work and the responsibilities of being a mother and wife. She does everything in her power to keep Phoebe safe but fails when the mysterious Shane appears on Facebook and flirts with her teenage daughter.

This novel, which has won three separate awards (most recently a 2018 National Indie Excellence Award), explores the devastating impact social media can have on teenage girls along with the difficult, yet delicate relationship between mothers and their teenage daughters through five different points-of-view.

My thoughts:

I really can’t pin point why I’m drawn to this cover so much. Maybe it’s the rain on the widow effect and how the butterfly is up against it and the colors of the wings seem to be bleeding…? Does that make sense or does it sound totally morbid! *laughing* Yikes! Anyhow, the cover is great and I think it draws one in to find out more about the story.

Stephanie M. Hopkins

Cover Crush is a weekly series that originated with Erin at Flashlight Commentary.

Other great cover crushes from my fellow book bloggers: 

Magdalena at A Bookaholic Swede
Colleen at A Literary Vacation
Heather at The Maiden’s Court
Holly at 2 Kids and Tired

 

Cover Crush: The Deserving by Efren O’Brien

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The DeservingThe Deserving by Efren O’Brien

BooksGoSocial

Historical Fiction, Romance

Pub Date 16 Aug 2017

In early 1862, General Henry Hopkins Sibley and his Confederate Brigade rode across the West Texas desert from San Antonio to El Paso and followed the Rio Grande north into the New Mexico Territory.

Their goal was nothing less than to conquer the entire Western US for the Confederacy. During this time a young New Mexican named E’mile Deschampes who was only eighteen years old, enlisted in the Union Army to oppose the Confederates in New Mexico.

A prolific battle takes place at Valverde Ford near Socorro New Mexico in February of 1862, and E’mile is nearly killed there. He is rescued from the battlefield by a local villager Carmen Reyes. Together, at Valverde they begin their relationship and strange odyssey with a brutal Confederate Lieutenant, Aubrey McGrath.

Their conflict with McGrath will last nearly twenty years and almost cost them their lives. And as luck and fate play a part in life’s events, the couple encounter McGrath after the war in Santa Fe in the late 1800’s. McGrath tries again without success to kill E’mile. E’mile prepares for one final battle against his longtime rival as Carmen is kidnapped in Santa Fe by McGrath and his gang.

Will Carmen and E’mile survive to tell the tale of their ordeal with their former Civil War enemy? Or in 1881 will they both become victims to Aubrey McGrath and his evil gang?

My thoughts:

The premise of the story is of interest to me and I really like the dramatic feel to the cover. The layout definitely gives the reader an indication of what the book is about and the period the story is written in.

Stephanie M. Hopkins

Cover Crush is a weekly series that originated with Erin at HISTORICAL FICTION READER

Other great cover crushes from my fellow book bloggers: 

Magdalena at A Bookaholic Swede
Colleen at A Literary Vacation
Heather at The Maiden’s Court
Holly at 2 Kids and Tired

Wish-List 5: Audible Books 

Me IIIts my daughters first day back to school and I’ve been working on catching up on a few things that I’ve gotten behind on. For starters, I haven’t posted a Wish List- 5 post in two months! Yikes! Normally I would post it towards the end of the month but this one is special and needed to be shared sooner rather than later. Lately I have been listening to audible books more and more. For some reason-I don’t know why-I’ve had a hard time focusing on printed books and it is taking me forever to get through them. These days, I feel audio books are just as good. Here are five audio books that are on my wish-list I want to share with you. I have two available credits and I’m having a hard time deciding which ones to choose next! Opinions which two I should pick first anyone? I’d love to know! -Stephanie M. Hopkins

Pieces of HerPieces of Her by Karin Slaughter

Expected publication: August 21st 2018 by William Morrow

What if the person you thought you knew best turns out to be someone you never knew at all?

Andrea Cooper knows everything about her mother Laura. She knows she’s spent her whole life in the small town of Gullaway Island; she knows she’s never had any more ambition than to live a quiet life as a pillar of the community; she knows she’s never kept a secret in her life.

But one day, a trip to the mall explodes into violence and Andrea suddenly sees a completely different side to Laura.

Twenty-four hours later, Laura is in hospital, shot by an intruder who’s spent thirty years trying to track her down. Now, Andrea must go on a desperate journey to follow the breadcrumbs of her mother’s past. If she can’t uncover the secrets hidden there, there may be no future for either of them.

The Clockmaker's DaughterThe Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton

Expected publication: September 20th 2018 by Mantle

From the bestselling author of The House at Riverton and The Secret Keeper, Kate Morton brings us her dazzling sixth novel, The Clockmaker’s Daughter.

My real name, no one remembers.
The truth about that summer, no one else knows.

In the summer of 1862, a group of young artists led by the passionate and talented Edward Radcliffe descends upon Birchwood Manor on the banks of the Upper Thames. Their plan: to spend a secluded summer month in a haze of inspiration and creativity. But by the time their stay is over, one woman has been shot dead while another has disappeared; a priceless heirloom is missing, and Edward Radcliffe’s life is in ruins.

Over one hundred and fifty years later, Elodie Winslow, a young archivist in London, uncovers a leather satchel containing two seemingly unrelated items: a sepia photograph of an arresting-looking woman in Victorian clothing, and an artist’s sketchbook containing a drawing of a twin-gabled house on the bend of a river.

Why does Birchwood Manor feel so familiar to Elodie? And who is the beautiful woman in the photograph? Will she ever give up her secrets?

Told by multiple voices across time, The Clockmaker’s Daughter is a story of murder, mystery, and thievery, of art, love, and loss. And flowing through its pages like a river is the voice of a woman who stands outside time, whose name has been forgotten by history, but who has watched it all unfold: Birdie Bell, the clockmaker’s daughter.

CirceCirce by Madeline Miller

Published April 10th 2018 by Lee Boudreaux Books

The daring, dazzling and highly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times best seller The Song of Achilles

One of the Most Anticipated Books of 2018

“An epic spanning thousands of years that’s also a keep-you-up-all-night page turner.” (Ann Patchett)

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child – not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring, like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power – the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur; Daedalus and his doomed son, Icarus; the murderous Medea; and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from or the mortals she has come to love.

With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language and pause-resisting suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, and love and loss as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man’s world.

EdenlandEdenland by Wallace King

Published May 24th 2016 by Lake Union Publishing

Born a slave, Bledsoe had never left Our Joy plantation, and a daring escape offers his only chance for liberty. On the run he encounters Alice, an Irish indentured servant, committing what appears to be an act of murder as she burns down a shack in the Great Dismal Swamp of North Carolina.

Faced with the threat of capture, Bledsoe and Alice become reluctant allies. An epic tale unfolds as their quest for freedom pulls them from swamp to city, from North Carolina to Virginia. Somewhere between injustice and loss, they discover a hidden place that seems an Eden, where their bond and love are forged.

But the Confederate army is on the march and soon tramples their tenuous freedom. Separated, they are cast into fates they never imagined. Through it all, the hope of deliverance drives them onward and the memory of their Edenland remains, burning bright against the darkness of slavery and the American Civil War.

The Silent SisterThe Silent Sister (Riley MacPherson #1) by Diane Chamberlain

Published October 7th 2014 by St. Martin’s Press

In The Silent Sister, Riley MacPherson has spent her entire life believing that her older sister Lisa committed suicide as a teenager. Now, over 20 years later, her father has passed away and she’s in New Bern, North Carolina cleaning out his house when she finds evidence to the contrary. Lisa is alive. Alive and living under a new identity. But why exactly was she on the run all those years ago, and what secrets are being kept now? As Riley works to uncover the truth, her discoveries will put into question everything she thought she knew about her family. Riley must decide what the past means for her present, and what she will do with her newfound reality, in this engrossing mystery from international best-selling author Diane Chamberlain.