Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

Title: Beautiful Lies

Author: Lisa Unger

Publication: 5 December 2006

Format: ebook

Amazon Description

What if your family was a lie? What if your name was a lie? What if your whole life was just a pack of Beautiful Lies?

If Ridley Jones had slept ten minutes later or had taken the subway instead of waiting for a cab, she would still be living the lie she used to call her perfect life. Instead, she's in the wrong place at the right time to unleash a chain of events that begins with a mysterious package on her doorstep. A package that informs her that her entire world is just an illusion. Forced to question everything she knows about herself, Ridley wanders into dark territory, where everyone is hiding something.

Sexy and fast-paced, Beautiful Lies is a true literary thriller. Lisa Unger takes us on a breathtaking ride in which every choice Ridley makes creates a whirlwind of consequences that are impossible to imagine.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

Lisa Unger has been popping up in my "You May Also Like...." recommendations for years and I finally decided to take the plunge thanks, in large part, to still needing a "U" author for my alphabet reading challenge for the year. 

Whatever gets me to grab the book, right?

I was immediately pulled in by the description and the prologue had the "edge-of-your-seat" feel that I tend to gravitate towards ... when I'm not gravitating towards rom-coms, historicals, cozies, satires ...

Okay, I tend to gravitate in a lot of different directions.

Unfortunately, maybe ... but maybe not ... so does Beautiful Lies. 

That glorious "edge-of-your-seat" thriller feeling shifts drastically once the Prologue ends and the main story begins. I'm not used to the protagonist/narrator of a so-called thriller being quite as chatty as Ridley is and I'm not entirely sure that I like it. Hence, the "unfortunately, maybe." Then again, it's just so different than the norm that I've felt myself somehow sucked in to the one-sided conversation with Ridley. Sometimes it has felt like an actual conversation as I nod in agreement with whatever she's saying. Hence, the "but maybe not."

It has taken me almost an entire week to do so, but I've finally reached 80%. It hasn't been the "edge-of-your-seat" thriller that I was hoping, and at times it was a bit too easy to put down and forget about. I'll see it through to the end, though, because I'm spite of it lacking what I was looking for, it's still a good story and there are still some questions I hope will be answered.

Hopefully I won't put it down again before I get those answers because I do look forward to gravitating in another direction soon. After all, I've got other letters still yet to tackle, a shipment of Jason Pargin books on the way, all of those Bernard Cornwells already sitting on my shelf, at least half a dozen Austen-inspired whatnots calling my name, over thirty NetGalleys waiting and, hopefully, some thrillers that may actually keep me on the edge. 

Of course, there is also another Ridley book already in my Kindle cloud so I may just continue the conversation we've been having sooner than later ...

 

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader

The Do-Over by Sharon M Peterson (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

 

 Title: The Do-Over

Author: Sharon M Peterson

Publication: 1 August 2022

Format: Kindle eARC via NetGalley & Bookouture

Amazon Description

“Look, you’re a nice girl but I don’t think we should see each other anymore.” The voicemail ends and I freeze in the dentist’s chair as I realize… I’ve just been dumped on live radio.

It took the most humiliating break-up for me to see that my life is in serious need of a do-over. Cue my anti New Year’s resolutions that even I can’t fail at:

1. Stop dating. (Men are the worst.)
2. Stop trying to lose weight. (I’m never giving up chocolate.)
3. Stop working so hard. (Selling mortgages is not my dream career.)
4. Stop trying to live up to unrealistic expectations. (Start living my best life.)
5. Stop trying to please my mother. (It’s not possible.)

But it turns out number five is harder than I thought, as she begins her campaign to get me back with my ex. So, what’s the perfect solution to keep her out of my love life? An imaginary boyfriend—at least he was supposed to be imaginary until I blurted out my neighbor’s name…

Nate, the bad boy next door with gorgeous hazel eyes, a razor-sharp jawline and a mysterious scar, might be hot, but he’s definitely not my boyfriend. Now all I need to do is stick to my resolutions while also keeping my interfering family away from my non-existent lover who has no idea that we’re fake dating. What could possibly go wrong?

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I am absolutely blown away by the debut novel by Sharon M Peterson and I'm so very grateful to Bookouture for not only giving her a deal (which I am hoping is a great big one with a lot more to come), but for letting me read it prior to release via NetGalley.

It's a rom-com in the best sense of the phrase. There is a lot of coffee-spurting-through-the-nose "com" (I so want to be like Perci's grandmother when I grow up), and a sweet little swoony "rom" ... but the greatest "rom" of all is the self-rom Perci finds. 

It was difficult to pick the Teaser part of today's post. My notebook is full of quotes, my ebook is full of highlights, and I am most definitely full of awe. Each chapter starts with a "Mimi-ism" -- words of wisdom from Perci's grandmother -- and each one is worthy of a teaser post all of their own. Rather than do that, though, here are some of my favorites and the rest you will just have to read for yourself when you buy this book:

• "One day, you'll need to be the bigger person. Eat all the cake you can no to prepare yourself."
• "Always choose kindness. Unless the other person's a jackass. Then all bets are off."
• "Hell hath no fury like a woman who is pissed off at her man."
• "Drinkin' your sorrows away only works till the beer runs out."
• "All a woman needs is a man who treats her like an angel and kisses like the Devil." 
• "An ending is just the beginning of something new." 

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"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

 

I'll Sleep When I've Read... Hearts of Briarwall by Krista Jensen

 

Title: Hearts of Briarwall 

Author: Krista Jensen 

Publication: 2 August 2022

Format: Kindle eArc via NetGalley & Shadow Mountain 

Amazon Description

Lydia Wooding is fascinated by the latest inventions the new century brings, including motorcars. She longs for the independence they represent and believes that women should have a say in the future of the industry―just as they should have a say in suffrage, adventure, and, of course, love.

Spencer Hayes is a man of practicality and innovation, but he lacks the financial backing to make his dream a reality. When he contacts his childhood friend, Andrew Wooding, about a promising business venture, he is invited to Briarwall Manor to discuss the terms. Once there, he is surprised to find that Andrew's once shy, younger sister, Lydia, has grown into a young woman of beauty, wit, and a bit of fire. Even better, the two share a passion for motorcars.

Andrew, however, is wary of cars, having lost his parents in a tragic auto accident when he and Lydia were young. And he's not sure a relationship between his sister and Spencer is the best idea―not when Sir Lawrence is available and could match both Lydia's social status and her fortune.

Torn between risking their hearts and being loyal to their dreams in an era of whirlwind change, Spencer and Lydia anchor themselves with the determination they both share: to live life to its fullest.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I have come to the overwhelming conclusion that if I see a book from Shadow Mountain listed on NetGalley and it has the "Proper Romance" banner on the cover, I need to request it immediately. Each one I have read so far has been absolutely delightful and exactly what I have needed -- even if I was under the impression that the last thing I wanted at the time was any sort of romantic drivel. 

These are definitely not drivel. They are not pure fluff. They are not bookporn with half-hearted storylines thrown in between sexy-time excerpts. These are perfectly proper romances.

I spent most of Saturday afternoon and evening reading my latest grab from Shadow Mountain -- Krista Jensen's Hearts of Briarwall, which will be released August 2nd. My son kept shooting me strange looks from across the room every time I laughed ... or swooned ... or sniffled. When I was finally finished (and he was relieved that it was finally time to go to bed), he asked if I was so speechless over it that my review would simple be :

 I laughed. I swooned. I cried. And then I did it all again.  

It would be pretty accurate, but I didn't fully cry. Just almost. And generally they would have been happy tears rather than ugly ones ... though that was tempting a few times.

I really cannot think of anything to dislike about this book (except, of course, for the characters we're meant to dislike). I hope that it is only the first we see of the Wendy League girls. They each have such uniqueness to them and I would love to see them all again ... and again ... and again ... and then maybe the brothers ... or new League members or ...

If you want to share whatever has kept you up past your bedtime because you just needed one more chapter ... or the entire book ... please comment! My TBR pile is already toppling, but I can always add more.

The Big Four by Agatha Christie (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

 

Title: The Big Four

Author: Agatha Christie

Publication: 27 January 1927

Format: paperback & ebook

Amazon Description

A ruthless international cartel seeks world domination! Framed in the doorway of Poirot's bedroom stood an uninvited guest, coated from head to foot in dust. The man's gaunt face stared for a moment, then he swayed and fell. Who was he? Was he suffering from shock or just exhaustion? Above all, what was the significance of the figure 4, scribbled over and over again on a sheet of paper? Poirot finds himself plunged into a world of international intrigue, risking his life to uncover the truth about 'Number Four'.

 Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I couldn't decide what I wanted to read next so asked my child to "pick a shelf between one and three." So, being my child, he chose four and said that meant the stairwell corner shelves that are home to my Christie collection (and a few others). Even better? The next title on my chronological reading (and sometimes re-reading) happened to be The Big Four. Obviously my child is a genius of some sorts.

Sadly work was far too crazy to get anything really read and this is my first time for this one so I can't tell you yet how amazing it is (because Agatha ... and Hastings), but I did manage to grab the blips to be able to post something.  

 

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader

Gallows Thief by Bernard Cornwell (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

 

 Title: Gallows Thief

Author: Bernard Cornwell

Publication: 1 October 2001

Format: Kindle ebook

Amazon Description

The year is 1820. Rider Sandman, a hero of Waterloo, returns to London to wed his fiancée. But instead of settling down to fame and glory, he finds himself penniless in a country where high unemployment and social unrest rage, and where men—innocent or guilty—are hanged for the merest of crimes.

When he's offered a job as private investigator to re-open the case of a painter due to be hanged for a murder he didn't commit, Sandman readily accepts—as much for the money as for a chance to see justice done in a country gone to ruins.

Soon, however, he's mired in a grisly murder plot that keeps thickening. Sandman makes his way through gentlemen's clubs and shady taverns, aristocratic mansions, and fashionable painters' studios determined to rescue the innocent young man from the rope. But someone doesn't want the truth revealed.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

Last week I received a $25 gift card from work for being "Employee of the Month" for June. I used it to nab five Bernard Cornwell books from ThriftBooks ... which pushed me over the rewards edge for a free book ... so now there are six Cornwells on the way from ThriftBooks ... at least four or five more already on my shelves at home ...

and then there's this one : Gallows Thief. 

I don't know why I didn't grab one of the ones I already own and, instead, opted to download this on Hoopla thanks to my library ... and I ended up ordering a hard copy anyway. I will likely be done with the ebook long before the paperback could possibly arrive, but by the time I had hit the 10% mark I knew that it was one that I would have to own.

If you don't already know Bernard Cornwell, he's the mastermind behind the books that became The Last Kingdom on Netflix ... and the far-too-short-lived Sharpe which I will eventually binge on BritBox ... and the first installment of his Warlord Chronicles Arthurian-legend-based trilogy is currently in production in Wales.

The man is a freaking historical rockstar. 

This is not fluffy brain candy, kids. 

Do not attempt unless you want your life to be overthrown.

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"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

 

The Scoundrel's Daughter by Anne Gracie (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

 

Title: The Scoundrel's Daughter

Author: Anne Gracie

Publication: 24 August 2021

Format: Kindle ebook

Amazon Description

When Lady Charlton is forced into becoming London's most reluctant matchmaker, sparks fly and romance ensues, from the national bestselling author of Marry in Scarlet.

Alice, Lady Charlton, newly-widowed and eager to embrace a life free of her domineering husband  is devastated when a scoundrel appears, brandishing letters that could ruin her. To prevent their publication he wants Alice to find a noble husband—a lord!—for his daughter, Lucy.

Alice is forced to agree to his blackmail but when Lucy arrives, she has absolutely no interest in her father's scheme. A lord, she says, will only look down his nose at her—and she's having none of that!

Desperate to retrieve the letters, Alice enlists the aid of her handsome young nephew, Gerald, who in turn seeks the help of his former commanding officer, James, Lord Tarrant. James is soon beguiled by the marriage-averse lady and sets out to teach her about love.  Meanwhile, Gerald and Lucy strike sparks each time they meet.

To combat the dastardly plot, Alice and Lucy must learn to trust each other. But can Alice put the past behind her and open her heart to love?

 

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

Yet again I grabbed a book from NetGalley without noticing that it is not the first in a series. I don't care if they all claim to be stand-alones ... I just can't do it without feeling like I'm missing something so I will always backtrack if I can. Luckily for me, my library had a digital copy of the first in Anne Gracie's The Brides of Bellaire Gardens series so I'm able to dive in before reading the second which is due to be released in less than two weeks.

This is actually two love stories: Gerald and Lucy, James and Alice. The best relationship, though, is most definitely that between Lucy and Alice. They both have preconceived notions about the other when Lucy is thrust into Alice's life -- a life that she was just about to start reclaiming as her own. Watching them learn about each other and themselves in the process was even better than the "will they won't they (but of course they will)" enemies-to-lovers of Gerald and Lucy ... and even the mostly-swoon-worthiness of widowed father/ex-soldier James. I have a thing for ex-soldiers so that was an automatic plus for James. There were times, though, when I thought that both Alice and Lucy deserved better ... and that "better" may be going with their original ideas of remaining single ... but all in all I was pleased with how everything turned out. 

 

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader

The Lady and the Highwayman by Sarah M. Eden (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

  

 Title: The Lady and the Highwayman

Author: Sarah M Eden

Publication: 3 September 2019

Format: Kindle ebook

Amazon Description

Elizabeth Black is the headmistress of a girls’ school in 1860s Victorian London. She is also a well-respected author of ”silver-fork” novels, stories written both for and about the upper-class ladies of Victorian society. But by night, she writes very different kinds of stories--the Penny Dreadfuls that are all the rage among the working-class men. Under the pseudonym Charles King, Elizabeth has written about dashing heroes fighting supernatural threats, intelligent detectives solving grisly murders, and dangerous outlaws romancing helpless women. They contain all the adventure and mystery that her real life lacks.

Fletcher Walker began life as a street urchin, but is now the most successful author in the Penny Dreadful market, that is until Charles King started taking all of his readers. No one knows who King is, including Fletcher’s fellow members of the Dread Penny Society, a fraternity of authors dedicated to secretly fighting for the social and political causes of their working-class readers. The group knows King could be an asset with his obvious monetary success, or he could be the group’s undoing as King’s readership continues to cut into their profits.

Determined to find the elusive Mr. King, Fletcher approaches Miss Black. As a fellow-author, she is well-known among the high-class writers; perhaps she could be persuaded to make some inquiries as to Mr. King’s whereabouts? Elizabeth agrees to help Fletcher, if only to insure her secret identity is never discovered. What neither author anticipated was the instant attraction, even though their social positions dictate the impossibility of a relationship.

For the first time Elizabeth experiences the thrill of a cat-and-mouse adventure reminiscent of one of her own novels as she tries to throw Fletcher off her scent. But the more time they spend together, the more she loses her heart. Its upper-class against working-class, author against author where readers, reputations, and romance are all on the line.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I grabbed the fourth book in The Dread Penny Society series off of NetGalley and, of course, decided that I had to backtrack to the beginning and I am so very glad that I did. The Dread Penny Society is a secret organization run similarly to Parliament but with a very different and very mixed membership -- and funded, primarily, with the sale of penny dreadfuls. Their goals are: 

saving working children from abusive masters, feeding poor families, finding work for those searching, rescuing far too many women held against their will in places of ill repute , finding better situations for children in the most desperate of circumstances.

Yeah, I know. I still cheat at teasers. Still a pirate. Still break rules. Deal with it.

If you so desire, you can consider the extra blip to be penance for having both of my main blips for the day occurring before even hitting the 10% mark. It just didn't seem fair to give the background intro to the hero without doing the same for the heroine.

Believe me, there is soooooo much more that I wanted to share. The story of Fletcher and Elizabeth is an absolute delight -- as is the fact that it is enhanced with snippets from the stories that they have written for their own penny dreadfuls. I almost always complain when a book talks about a fictional piece of fiction that I long to get my hands on and read. Sarah M Eden has taken care of at least part of the frustration here and I am very thankful to her for that. I have yet to finish the book so I don't know yet if I'll be finishing all three or not -- Sarah's, Fletcher's, and "Mr. King's", but I am still thankful for what I have gotten so far.

The fourth in the series is being released in early September so expect quite a bit of Dread Penny between now and then. I'm already mourning the end of the series that I have just started to read. Luckily, Goodreads lists "75 distinct works" for Eden so I may be okay...

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"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

 

Murder at Mallowan Hall by Colleen Cambridge (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

 

Title: Murder at Mallowan Hall

Author: Colleen Cambridge

Publication: 26 October 2021

Format: Kindle ebook

Amazon Description

The first in an exciting new historical mystery series set in the home of Agatha Christie!

Colleen Cambridge's charming and inventive new historical series introduces an unforgettable heroine in Phyllida Bright, fictional housekeeper for none other than famed mystery novelist Agatha Christie. When a dead body is found during a house party at the home of Agatha Christie and her husband Max Mallowan, it's up to famous author's head of household, Phyllida Bright, to investigate...

Tucked away among Devon's rolling green hills, Mallowan Hall combines the best of English tradition with the modern conveniences of 1930. Housekeeper Phyllida Bright, as efficient as she is personable, manages the large household with an iron fist in her very elegant glove. In one respect, however, Mallowan Hall stands far apart from other picturesque country houses...

The manor is home to archaeologist Max Mallowan and his famous wife, Agatha Christie. Phyllida is both loyal to and protective of the crime writer, who is as much friend as employer. An aficionado of detective fiction, Phyllida has yet to find a gentleman in real life half as fascinating as Mrs. Agatha's Belgian hero, Hercule Poirot. But though accustomed to murder and its methods as frequent topics of conversation, Phyllida is unprepared for the sight of a very real, very dead body on the library floor...

A former Army nurse, Phyllida reacts with practical common sense--and a great deal of curiosity. It soon becomes clear that the victim arrived at Mallowan Hall under false pretenses during a weekend party. Now, Phyllida not only has a houseful of demanding guests on her hands--along with a distracted, anxious staff--but hordes of reporters camping outside. When another dead body is discovered--this time, one of her housemaids -- Phyllida decides to follow in M. Poirot's footsteps to determine which of the Mallowans' guests is the killer. With help from the village's handsome physician, Dr. Bhatt, Mr. Dobble, the butler, along with other household staff, Phyllida assembles the clues. Yet, she is all too aware that the killer must still be close at hand and poised to strike again. And only Phyllida's wits will prevent her own story from coming to an abrupt end...

 

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

You may have figured out by now that I am a huge Agatha Christie fan. Perhaps even moreso than Jane Austen. I don't have any Jane tattoos, after all, but I do have Poirot, Marple, Tommy & Tuppence ... I think that counts as a win for Agatha.

Much in the same way that I spent years avoiding Austen "spin-offs" and "inspired by"s, I was a bit skeptical about Murder at Mallowan Hall. Maybe even more-so because they few that I have attempted so far have largely been complete garbage. This one, however, is so not. It is the story of a fictional murder investigation by the fictional housekeeper at the fictional estate of the definitely not fictional Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller Christie Mallowan and her also not fictional second husband, Max. It has been on my radar since before it was released and now that I have the second in the series waiting on my NetGalley shelf, I figured it was a good time to grab it and see if the second was worth the "Request Now" click.

I was hooked by the end of the first page. By the end of the first chapter I was seriously debating waiting to read the rest until I could have a hardcopy in my greedy little hands. I decided, though, to keep going with the ebook because, well, I didn't want to have to wait even for Prime's two-day shipping. It has been an absolutely crazy week at home and at work and my last attempt at a book was a bust (hence no Tuesday post), so I lost myself at Mallowan Hall whenever I could and, thankfully, had a significant amount of time to do so Thursday. 

I may not be able to wait until October to dive into the next one. 

 

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader