Review: Cottage by the Sea

After a family tragedy, Annie's life comes to a screeching halt. Unsure of what to do with her life, she returns to a seaside vacation village from her childhood. After she sleeps through the night, she realizes that this place could heal her.

Quickly, she finds a job and moves into the cottage her family used to rent. Annie's hoping to find herself again and to get her life back on track. But what she doesn't imagine is finding herself a whole new family.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this story and I loved the seaside community. I loved Annie's relationship with Keaton. My heart ached for him and his family life. I just wanted to give him a great big hug. I really loved Mellie's character - I would have liked to learn more about her past. I enjoyed her banter with Annie. While this book tackles healing of all sorts - from several different types of abuse, it's a hopeful peaceful read.

Cover Thoughts: Gorgeous
Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: Debbie Macomber should be an auto-buy author for libraries.

If You Like Pins (17)

I read some fun picture books that inspired these recent pins.

Books Featured:

It's a Puppy's Life

Can I be Your Dog?

Rescue and Jessica

Puppy Puppy Puppy

Madeline Finn and the Library Dog

Books Featured:

The Library Book

Bunny's Book Club

Violet and Victor Write the Best Ever Bookworm Book

Bear's House of Books

Story Book Knight

Books Featured:

The Better Tree Fort

The Little Red Fort

The Fort that Jack Built

Fort Building Time

Up in the Leaves

On Your Radar (15)

Title:  Ten After Closing

Author:  Jessica Bayliss

Publisher: Sky Pony Press

Publication Date: October 2018

Why it Should be on Your Radar:

* Dual Timelines

* Romance

* Strict Parents

* Art

* Thriller

* Action/Danger

* Family

* Domestic Violence

* Trust Issues

* Friendship

* reviewed for SLJ

Picture Book Review: It's a Puppy Life

The life of puppies - in photographs.

An excellent book with amazing photographs. I love the playfulness of the puppies and how the book shares just one day in puppies' life. Plus there's a breed guide at the end of the book which showcases the puppies photographed. 

Perfect for those who love pups.

And for older readers, check out Underwater Dogs:

Review: Good Luck with That

I reviewed Kristan Higgins' newest book over at Fresh Fiction - you can read the review here.

But I will say this:

Another winner of a book from Kristan Higgins. I've come to expect so much from her books and she never disappoints.

Blog Tour: Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding

About the Book:

The date is set and arrangements are being made for royal amateur sleuth Georgie Rannoch’s wedding! At last, she will wed the incredibly charming, always mystifying Darcy O’Mara. With a dress in the works and a royal wedding party ready to waltz her down the aisle, Georgie’s next affair is finding a place to live with her betrothed after the big day.

But alas—house-hunting is harder than it seems! After visiting a series of less-than-glamorous lodgings, Georgie’s luck finally turns around when she’s invited by a close family friend to live in his grand estate in the English countryside. Georgie expects a life of luxury and elegance, but is met with a very different reality…

At Eynsleigh Manor, Georgie finds a gaggle of incompetent servants and a run-down estate. And when she wakes up in the middle of the night to find a gas tap running in her bedroom, Georgie suspects something rotten is afoot…will she have the chance to walk down the aisle, or will death get in the way of her happy ever after?

About the Author: 

Rhys Bowen is the New York Times Bestselling Author of the Royal Spyness Series, Molly Murphy Mysteries, and Constable Evans. She has won the Agatha Best Novel Award and has been nominated for the Edgar Best Novel. Rhys’s titles have received rave reviews around the globe.

My Review: This is book number 12 in the series and I've enjoyed reading them all. I loved this one for the wedding talk, especially the conversations about the dresses - and the princesses. I loved the moments between Lady Georgiana and her grandfather, he's a favorite character of mine. I also love Queenie; she's come into her own later in the series and I appreciate her.  I enjoyed learning more about Eynsleigh Manor - both the good and the bad. Of course I enjoyed the moments with the Queen and Fig. I can't wait to read what happens next!

If you haven't read these book, you're in for a treat.

Review: Rainy Day Friends

* Book 2 in the Wildstone series *

Lanie took a temporary job to get away from the pain in her life. Not the pain of losing her husband - but the pain at discovering the truth behind his life. The moment she walks into the winery, where she'll head up the new marketing campaign, she realizes that she's in over her head with the Capriotti family.

While they're all super sweet, they also want to know everything about Lanie. She's not ready to share her humiliation - especially not with Mark. He's a single dad of twin girls, with a great smile. If she's not careful, she could fall for him.

Lanie doesn't need more heartache, not when she's still trying to heal from the past.

My Thoughts: I adored this book, I didn't want it to end. I loved the banter between Lanie and Mark - and how she tried to keep everyone at arm's length. But also how that never worked. I really loved the Capriotte family and I hope we see so much more of them in this series. They really stole my heart - from the twins' antics to the gruffness of Mia. I really loved River too. I loved how Cora embraced everyone as family and how that all worked out. I can't wait to read more in this series.

Cover Thoughts: Adorable, but doesn't exactly fit the story
Source: My Library

 Library Recommendation: It's Jill Shalvis - her books should be automatically purchased for public libraries.