Review: Welcome To Hickville High by: Mary Karlik

Title: Welcome To Hickville High
Author: Mary Karlik
Publisher:  GPK Publication LLC
Series: Hickville High #1
Format: e-book (293 p.)

Description:

The Universe has completely dumped on High School senior Kelsey Quinn’s life. Credit card at Nordstrom’s? Deactivated. Honda Accord? Sold. Life in the burbs of Chicago? Gone. And it’s all her sister’s fault. Yep. Drugs, alcohol, and getting caught with the boss’s son was all it took. Dad loses job, family loses money, and the next thing she knows she’s crammed in a cell on wheels for the next two days as they make their way to a dilapidated farmhouse in Texas. But Kelsey doesn’t just leave the good life in Chicago. She leaves the boy who-has-it-all, Drew Montgomery.

Hillside senior, quarterback, Austin McCoy works for Kelsey’s dad at the feed store and helps with the farm chores in the morning. He sees through Kelsey’s surly attitude to the girl whose eyes light up when she’s with the animals. He is determined to help Kelsey see that not only does she love the Farmville life, but that the guy she really wants is him.

Will Austin convince Kelsey he’s the guy she wants? Will Kelsey embrace the simple life and find forgiveness for her sister?

My Thoughts: 

This book follows the Quinn family whose had to uproot their life and move to Hickville Texas due to job issues with Kelsey's dad and a scandal with her sister Ryan.  From the lap of luxury to the lap of hell is where Kelsey finds herself now.  She ends up with one friend before school begins senior quarterback Austin McCoy who finds himself drawn to Kelsey regardless of her boyfriend in Chicago.  Will Kelsey and her family survive Hickville or will they run as far from it as possible?

I love this series it's a cute ya that shows cute guys are everywhere and even in Hickville they have their share of drama and scandal.  This book pulled you in and reminds you of your high school days.  Or if you are still young enough reminds you of your friends.

I think Ms. Karlik did a fabulous job with the Hickville Series so far.  It's strong and can be read as a stand alone or part of a series which it is.  Can't wait to continue the adventure with Hickville Confessions.

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Review: More Than Neighbors by: Shannon Stacey

Title: More Than Neighbors
Author: Shannon Stacey
Publisher: Harlequin Special Edition
Series: Blackberry Bay #1
Format: e-book ARC (224 p.)
Source: NetGalley

Description:

The only thing they have in common is a property line!

He’s trying to uncover his past.

She’s hoping for a brighter future.

Cam Maguire is in Blackberry Bay to unravel a family secret. Meredith Price has moved next door with her daughter. He’s unattached. She’s a widowed single mom. He’s owned by a cat. She’s definitely team canine. All these neighbors have in common is a property line. One they cross…over and over. And Cam thought he knew what he wanted—until his family’s secret changes everything.

My Thoughts: 

This book follows two people who seem to have nothing in common widowed Meredith Price whose moved back where she spent her childhood to give her daughter a better life.  Then there is Cam who is trying to figure out what to do with a cottage by the bay that his grandmother left him.  A woman he hardly knew and a father he never even got to meet.  What he didn't count on was Meredith or little Sophie and the impact they would have on him.

I loved this book it was fabulous and reminded me why I love Ms. Stacey's books they are so real and you find yourself rooting for characters hoping they will figure life out.  They definitely go round and round trying to figure out what they want and what they aren't saying to each other.  By the end you find yourself having trouble letting go of the series and wanting more.

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Review: Mrs. Lincoln's Sisters by: Jennifer Chiaverini

Title: Mrs. Lincoln's Sisters
Author: Jennifer Chiaverini
Publisher: William Morrow
Format: e-book ARC (352 p.)
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Description:

The New York Times bestselling author of Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker returns to her most famous heroine, Mary Todd Lincoln, in this compelling story of love, loss, and sisterhood rich with history and suspense.

In May 1875, Elizabeth Todd Edwards reels from news that her younger sister Mary, former First Lady and widow of President Abraham Lincoln, has attempted suicide. 

Mary’s shocking act followed legal proceedings arranged by her eldest and only surviving son that declared her legally insane. Although they have long been estranged, Elizabeth knows Mary’s tenuous mental health has deteriorated through decades of trauma and loss. Yet is her suicide attempt truly the impulse of a deranged mind, or the desperate act of a sane woman terrified to be committed to an asylum? And—if her sisters can put past grievances aside—is their love powerful enough to save her? 

Maternal Elizabeth, peacemaker Frances, envious Ann, and much adored Emilie had always turned to one another in times of joy and heartache, first as children, and later as young wives and mothers. But when Civil War erupted, the conflict that divided a nation shattered their family. The Todd sisters’s fates were bound to their husbands’ choices as some joined the Lincoln administration, others the Confederate Army.

Now, though discord and tragedy have strained their bonds, Elizabeth knows they must come together as sisters to help Mary in her most desperate hour. 

My Thoughts: 

This book follows Mary Todd's sisters and through then a version of Mary Todd Lincoln we may not know all about.  Mary has been having a rough go of it since her husband died, but is she really crazy or just starved for the spotlight again?

Her son has had no choice but have his mother declared insane and placed in a mental health facility, but is Mary really in need of that or is she upset that the limelight is off her know that her husband is dead and she is no longer the first lady?

Her sisters come together to try to figure out what to do or how to keep the attention off the family and protect them from Mary's antics.  But can they really or will this put a black streak on the Todd family?

This book gives you a look into the Todd family going back and forth from when they were kids all the way up to the present every other chapter is the present while the other chapters were in the past.  You learn more about the family than you probably know, and how Mary Todd was determined to live her life regardless of whether or not she was insane.

It was a great period piece for those who want to learn more about the famous first lady and her family.  It was riveting to see how the family overcame so much and was able to carve there mark on history.  I thoroughly enjoyed this story and can't wait to see what the author comes up with next.

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Review: Tell Me Three Things by: Julie Buxbaum

Title: Tell Me Three Things
Author: Julie Buxbaum
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Format: e-book (328 p.)
Source: Personal Purchase

Description:

Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?

It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.

In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved? 

My Thoughts:

In this book we follow Jessie Holmes whose adjusting to a lot of new things like a new family as her mom had died and she and her dad are now living in California with her dad's new wife and her son Theo.

About adjusting to a new school which is vastly different then Chicago where she is from and trying to figure out her place in L.A. and her new family.  

Also Jessie has been receiving emails and im's from SN who is remaining annoymous to her but knows exactly who she is, and tries to help her blend in with this new town and new life.

All Jessie really wants is to go home to Chicago.  As she doesn't have much say she tries hard to blend in but ends up on the mean girl Gem's radar which is anything but good.  When Gem crosses a line Theo defends his younger half sister, and makes a statement that has needed to made in the beginning.

Will Jessie ever meet SN or does she already know who it is?

This book was very captivating pulling you into the world of the mega rich and glamorous.  You also get to see what blended families go through in the beginning when they are trying to figure out their roles with their step-kids.  

SN does help alot along the way even when Jessie gets fustrated about Cali.  He's a sounding board she really needs at times to encourage her to give California a chance and that not everyone is a complete jerk.  

I loved how it ended it was so perfect and made for a great read.

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Review: Charity's Burden by: Edith Maxwell

Title: Charity's Burden
Author: Edith Maxwell
Publisher: Midnight Ink
Series: Quaker Midwife Mystery #4
Format: e-book ARC (271 p.)
Source: NetGalley

Description:

Quaker midwife Rose Carroll seeks the true cause of a young mother's death

The winter of 1889 is harsh in Amesbury, Massachusetts, but it doesn't stop Quaker midwife Rose Carroll from making the rounds to her pregnant and postpartum mothers. When Charity Skells dies from an apparent early miscarriage, Rose wonders about the symptoms that don't match the diagnosis. She learns that Charity's husband may be up to no good with a young woman whose mother appears to offer illegal abortions. A disgraced physician in town does the same, and Charity's cousin seems to have a nefarious agenda. With several suspects emerging, each with their own possible motives, Rose and police detective Kevin Donovan race against time to solve the case before another innocent life is taken.

My Thoughts:

This is the fourth book in the Quaker Midwife mysteries it follows Rose Carroll whose is a local midwife during the 1800's in Amesbury Massachusetts.  In this book Rose gets a summon from a client (Charity Skells) of hers who needs her help quickly.  Upon arriving Rose figures out quickly that something is very wrong and rushes the girl to the hospital where she dies.  Rose is adamant something isn't right for Charity.  She inturns heads to the police station to talk to her detective friend Kevin Donovan for help finding out what happened only to be informed by the head to not visit the station unless to inform of local police matters and not snooping.

The more Rose digs into the death of Charity the more she learns about abortions done back then and legalness of them, which they aren't legal at all.  Could Charity's husband hired someone to kill her?  Or was it one of the herbal doctors using unsafe methods for abortion? 

While this is going on Faith and Zeb get engaged and plan to get married soon.  Which has Rose wondering when she herself will wed her beloved David Dodge.  Everyone gathers together for the special day.

I love this book series and have read them all as they keep the reader engaged wondering what will happen next to Rose or those she lives with and works with.  It is definitely a series anyone who loves time periods will enjoy and it's not so boggled down useless information it keeps the reader engaged until they very end!

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Review: The Diva Spices It Up by: Krista Davis

Title: The Diva Spices It Up
Author: Krista Davis
Publisher: Kensington Books
Series: The Domestic Diva Mystery #13
Format: kindle e-book ARC (352 p.)
Source: NetGalley

Description:

After a celebrity ghostwriter dies on the job, Old Town’s favorite entertaining expert and sporadic sleuth, Sophie Winston, whips up an impromptu investigation in the new Domestic Diva mystery from New York Times bestselling author, Krista Davis . . .

Sophie never considered ghostwriting as a side gig, until former actress and aspiring lifestyle guru, Tilly Stratford, trophy wife of Wesley Winthrope, needs someone to write her celebrity cookbook. Sophie agrees, hoping she’ll earn enough bread on this assignment to finish her bathroom renovations. But as it turns out, Sophie isn’t the first foodie to get a taste for recipe ghostwriting, and if the marginalia are any indication, this project could be a killer . . .

Wesley claims professional ghostwriter, Abby Bergeron, suddenly abandoned Tilly’s cookbook with no warning. But Sophie quickly discovers that Abby may be more ghost than writer now . . . and her disappearance was no accident. So Sophie cracks open a fresh investigation, but sifting the seasoned murderer from this sampling of salty suspects won’t be easy. Will Sophie savor another case closed or will the culprit simply melt away?

Includes delicious recipes and entertaining tips!

My Thoughts:

This book follows Sophie who is brought in by her ex- Mars to help his clients wife ghostwriting her cookbook, when the previous cook disappeared and quit.  Tilly hires Sophie very quickly and Sophie can't help but wonder what happened to the previous cook Abby Bergeron.  As Sophie begins to try to piece together what happened strange things happen which make Sophie really wonder what is up!

Soon bodies are piling up and Sophie finds herself with more questions that answers.  Sophie can't rap her head around all that is going on and it's going to take a duo to straighten all this stuff out.  Will Sophie figure it out in time or will her number be up as well?

I love Sophie she's great she doesn't pretend to be what she isn't.  She's so down to earth and someone you could talk to and be friends with and every time I visit Old Town I feel like it's going back to visit a group of friends you haven't seen in a while but you know the time hasn't changed the friendship.

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