General Fiction (Adult) | Romance | Women’s Fiction
Pub Date 10 Aug 2021
About the cover: I adore everything about the book cover. The brightness of the light shinning through the window; the books stacked up along the window seal; the coffee mug sitting on top of the tower of books and where the miniature van is situated on what appears to be a cabinet of sorts. Perfectly atmospheric for the story and great composition. Even the colors are pleasing to the eye.
About the book: I’m intrigued anytime a story involves books, book shoppes and libraries. Even more so when it’s a traveling book shoppe. Now, this story looks like it has a lot of romance. While I’m a romantic at heart, I’m not a romance reader in the same sense. For the exception of poetry that is…That said, the premise sounds adventurous and we all need a little adventure in our lives. -Stephanie Hopkins
Book description:
This summer will change everything!
Aria Summers knows what she wants.
A life on the road with best friend Rosie and her beloved camper-van-cum-book-shop, and definitely, definitely, no romance.
But when Aria finds herself falling – after one too many glasses of wine, from a karaoke stage – into the arms of Jonathan, a part of her comes back to life for the first time in years.
Since her beloved husband died Aria has sworn off love, unless it’s the kind you can find in the pages of a book. One love of her life is quite enough.
And so, Aria tries to forget Jonathan and sets off for a summer to remember in France. But could this trip change Aria’s life forever…?
I’m hosting a unique bookmark swap over at Instagram and I hold ephemera giveaways for our group members. We are currently on our second giveaway and this bundle is filled with so much goodness for crafting!
We are still accepting new members to our group! Our next bookmark swap is in September and we would love to have you join. Be sure to follow the hashtag below, on Instagram, to keep up with the group and to be in the loop with current and upcoming giveaways. We are currently open for US Residents only. More international spots will open soon.
We are swapping 4 bookmarks a piece. You can not only use them for books, but for your journals and notebooks! If you are interested in participating, DM me on Instagram for more information. We would love for you to be part of this group! The hashtag for our swap group: #StephslpBookmarkswap
Stephanie Hopkins
Mixed Media Artist/Abstract Painter/Book Blogger
Check out my art journey on Instagram and at my Mixed Media Art Gallery here at Layered Pages!
My wish is for you to be inspired and encouraged. -Stephanie
Check out these three books I’m hoping to get to next on NetGalley. I might have mentioned them before. Not sure what order I will read them in or if I’ll read others in-between them. I’m definitely a mood reader. One way that helps with that is to read a couple at books at once. Not literally at once, but you know what I mean.
Have a beautiful weekend and see you tomorrow! I will be posting the remaining cards of the ICAD 2021 challenge. I’m thinking about doing one more post about the challenge after that one. – Stephanie Hopkins
The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones
St. Martin’s Press
Minotaur Books
Mystery & Thrillers | Women’s Fiction
Pub Date 03 Aug 2021
Description
In the vein of the Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine Book Club pick The Other Woman, Sandie Jones’s explosive new novel The Guilt Trip will have readers gripped to the very last page.
They went away as friends. They came back as suspects.
Rachel and Jack. Paige and Noah. Will and Ali. Five friends who’ve known each other for years. And Ali, Will’s new fiancée.
The three couples travel to Portugal for Ali and Will’s destination wedding. Arriving at the gorgeous clifftop villa, the weekend away is a chance to relax and get to know Ali a little better. A newcomer to their group, she seems perfectly nice and Will seems happy after years of bad choices.
But when Rachel discovers a shocking secret about Ali, everything changes. As the wedding weekend unfolds, the secrets each of them holds begin to spill, and friendships and marriages threaten to unravel.
The Disappearing Act by Catherine Steadman
Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine
General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 08 Jun 2021
Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of Something in the Water and Mr. Nobody comes “an unputdownable mystery about the nightmares that abound in the pursuit of Hollywood dreams” (Caroline Kepnes, author of the You series).
ONE OF THE BESTBOOKSOF THE SUMMER—Entertainment Weekly • PopSugar
Once a year, actors from across the globe descend on the smog and sunshine of Los Angeles for pilot season. Every cable network and studio is looking to fill the rosters of their new shows, enticing a fresh batch of young hopefuls—anxious, desperate, and willing to do whatever it takes to make it. Careers will be made, dreams will be realized, stars will be born. And some will be snuffed out.
British star Mia Eliot has landed leading roles in costume dramas in her native country, but now it’s time for Hollywood to take her to the next level. Mia flies across the Atlantic to join the horde of talent scrambling for their big breaks. She’s a fish out of water in the ruthlessly competitive arena of back-to-back auditioning. Then one day she meets Emily, another actress from out of town and a kindred spirit. Emily stands out in a conveyor-belt world of fellow auditionees. But a simple favor takes a dark twist when Emily disappears and Mia realizes she was the last person to see her.
All Mia has to go on is the memory of a girl she met only once… and the suffocating feeling that something terrible has happened. Worse still, the police don’t believe her when she claims the real Emily has gone missing. So, Mia is forced to risk the role of a lifetime to try to uncover the truth about Emily, a gamble that will force her to question her own sanity.
Out of the Rain by V.C. Andrews
Gallery Books
General Fiction (Adult)
Pub Date 02 Nov 2021
Description
Following the events of The Umbrella Lady, young Saffron Faith Anders searches for family and love in this spine-tingling gothic fairy tale from the New York Times bestselling author of the Flowers in the Attic series and Landry series—now popular Lifetime movies.
After escaping the trauma of the Umbrella Lady’s home, thirteen-year-old Saffron Faith Anders is determined to find the father who abandoned her all those years ago. But when she finds him in a nearby town, Saffron is shocked to discover that he has married a woman he clearly had been involved with before her mother’s death. Worse, her father insists Saffron pretend to be his niece so he can continue to con his new wife’s family. Desperate for her father’s love, she goes along with the farce, but it soon becomes clear that perhaps it is better to face the world alone than trapped in a toxic and potentially dangerous family.
I can’t get over how fast this year is flying and there are still many books to be read! How is your reading going this year? Are you reading more or less books?
This month I’ve read two printed books from my own bookshelf, two NetGalley ebooks and listened to three audio books. Not bad considering how busy have been with other projects. I no longer consider myself an official book reviewer but I am still working on getting through my galley reads. I went a little crazy when I first joined a few years ago. That happens to newbies on NetGalley.
A couple of the books, I’ve read before and wanted to re-visit them. Can you believe I’m still undecided on how I would rate them? I don’t like the five-star rating system we have in place. Not all parts of a story are equal and the system needs to be changed. The two books I re-read are The Blackbird Season by Kate Moretti and Liar, Temptress, Solider, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott. Have you read those two books? I noticed a contradiction in Abbott’s book right off the bat. Even minor details are important not to miss. I’m surprised the editor missed it.
Tomorrow I’m blogging about three books I thinking about reading next! Be sure to check out my 2021 Books Read and follow Layered Pages by email to keep up with the latest. -Stephanie Hopkins
Are you sure you could tell the difference between murder and suicide?
Having had more than enough of the big city, Detective Charlie McClung moves to a small town looking for a simpler life. Turns out his first case is the most complicated of his career.
A young woman is found shot and while everyone is telling him suicide, his gut, and the dead woman’s beautiful neighbor, are telling him something quite different.
How far can he dig before he uncovers secrets never meant to be unearthed? Throw in a shady police chief and an unexpected love interest and McClung quickly finds himself with more trouble than he ever imagined.
My Thoughts:
I love a good mystery and while it’s not often I read cozy ones, I enjoyed Brilliant Disguise. Discovering that the story takes place in Georgia made it all the better!
The story began with a death by a gun shot and Marion the next-door neighbor, doesn’t believe it was a subside. Marion knows her friend Dianne would never commit such a travesty as taking her own life. Soon after the heart-breaking indecent, McClung interviewed Marion and they hit it off pretty quickly. They soon joined forces to find out what happened to Dianne and they uncover a cover up that took them into the heart of the very police force he works for.
The story flowed well and there was enough intrigue and suspense to keep you me invested. I have to admit, there were only two characters in the story I cared about and surprisingly neither of them was Marion. Strange that seeing that she is the star of the show, along with McClung. That said, since McClung likes her, maybe she will grow on me. I did, however, want to walk in her garden and try one of her freshly baked cookies and sit with her and talk about books.
Brilliant Disguise is one of the better cozy mysteries I’ve read. I look forward to reading the next book in this series!
Stephanie Hopkins
I obtained a galley copy from the publishers through NetGalley for an honest review.
About the Cover: I love images of country homes and their setting on the edge of woods. I lived in rural North Georgia for nine years with a home on the edge of woods before moving back to the suburbs. I would often sit at the kitchen table that faced the woods and spent a lot of time thinking about the history of the land and the people that lived there before us. This book cover is atmospheric and I like the mirror effect of the image. You can image all sorts of stories the house and trees hold.
About the Book: I like reading a wide range of genres though I am extremely choosy about the horror genre for several reasons but there are a few I will read or give it a try. Maybe I chose this one because it takes place in the country and the story touches on family secrets. Did I mention I love the title of the book?! Definitely an eye catcher.
Stephanie Hopkins
Book Description:
Hardcover, 530 pages
Published July 20th 2021 by Del Rey Books
A family returns to their hometown—and to the dark past that haunts them still—in this masterpiece of literary horror by the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers
Long ago, Nathan lived in a house in the country with his abusive father—and has never told his family what happened there.
Long ago, Maddie was a little girl making dolls in her bedroom when she saw something she shouldn’t have—and is trying to remember that lost trauma by making haunting sculptures.
Long ago, something sinister, something hungry, walked in the tunnels and the mountains and the coal mines of their hometown in rural Pennsylvania.
Now, Nate and Maddie Graves are married, and they have moved back to their hometown with their son, Oliver.
And now what happened long ago is happening again . . . and it is happening to Oliver. He meets a strange boy who becomes his best friend, a boy with secrets of his own and a taste for dark magic.
This dark magic puts them at the heart of a battle of good versus evil and a fight for the soul of the family—and perhaps for all of the world. But the Graves family has a secret weapon in this battle: their love for one another.
I’m thrilled to be sharing with you all this week’s ICAD’s. The abbreviation ICAD means, “Index Card A Day.” This challenge was created a few years ago by artist Tammy and her challenge has really grown over the years. Below, is her IG account where you can find out more about her and her art.
Day 41
Day 42
Day 43
It is absolutely wonderful to see the collection of cards I’ve made thus far. I have them sitting pretty on my bookshelf in a ceramic basket. Where is the picture? I’m going to share it on the last post of this challenge. I can’t wait! Like all the previous weeks, I love this week’s cards!
I look forward to sharing the rest of this week’s challenge and the following week with you next Saturday! My wish is for you to be inspired and encouraged. Have a blessed weekend! -Stephanie Hopkins
Check out my art journey on Instagram and at my Mixed Media Art Gallery here at Layered Pages!
Congrats to Gwen Strauss’s book publication of, “The Nine”
(The True Story of a Band of Women Who Survived the Worst of Nazi Germany!”)
About the book:
St. Martin’s Press
History
Pub Date 04 May 2021
“This haunting account provides yet more evidence not only of the power of female friendship but that the often-unrecorded courage and resilience of ordinary women must be honoured and celebrated. It’s a most inspiring read…Utterly gripping.” —Anne Sebba, author of Les Parisiennes
The Nine follows the true story of the author’s great aunt Helene Podliasky, who led a band of nine female resistance fighters as they escaped a German forced labor camp and made a ten-day journey across the front lines of WWII from Germany back to Paris.
The nine women were all under thirty when they joined the resistance. They smuggled arms through Europe, harbored parachuting agents, coordinated communications between regional sectors, trekked escape routes to Spain and hid Jewish children in scattered apartments. They were arrested by French police, interrogated and tortured by the Gestapo. They were subjected to a series of French prisons and deported to Germany. The group formed along the way, meeting at different points, in prison, in transit, and at Ravensbrück. By the time they were enslaved at the labor camp in Leipzig, they were a close-knit group of friends. During the final days of the war, forced onto a death march, the nine chose their moment and made a daring escape.
Drawing on incredible research, this powerful, heart-stopping narrative is a moving tribute to the power of humanity and friendship in the darkest of times.
“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” — Mary Lou Cook
I am taking the week off of blogging and to work on bringing you more creative content for future posts. Please be sure to check out my art journey on Instagram and at my Mixed Media Art Gallery here at Layered Pages! I will continue to post new pictures on those media platforms. My wish is for you to be inspired and encouraged. Have a beautiful week!
Many congrats to Rhys Bowen’s book publication of, “The Venice Sketchbook!”
About the Book:
Caroline Grant is struggling to accept the end of her marriage when she receives an unexpected bequest. Her beloved great-aunt Lettie leaves her a sketchbook, three keys, and a final whisper…Venice. Caroline’s quest: to scatter Juliet “Lettie” Browning’s ashes in the city she loved and to unlock the mysteries stored away for more than sixty years.
It’s 1938 when art teacher Juliet Browning arrives in romantic Venice. For her students, it’s a wealth of history, art, and beauty. For Juliet, it’s poignant memories and a chance to reconnect with Leonardo Da Rossi, the man she loves whose future is already determined by his noble family. However star-crossed, nothing can come between them. Until the threat of war closes in on Venice and they’re forced to fight, survive, and protect a secret that will bind them forever.
Key by key, Lettie’s life of impossible love, loss, and courage unfolds. It’s one that Caroline can now make right again as her own journey of self-discovery begins.
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“Juliet “Lettie” Browning, an English woman, is a woman of strength and courage. The life she experienced and saw during her stay in Venice were during uncertain times. Her will to behave uprightly puts her in many dangers but her resilience is an example to us all…read more of my review at this post link.” -Stephanie Hopkins
Layered Pages 