TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “WHEN I WAS YOU”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events: First Chapter/Intros, originally hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea and now hosted by I’d Rather Be at the Beach; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is an Amazon Prime freebie:  When I Was You, by Minka Kent.

 

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Intro:  Part I – Brienne

They told me I was lucky.

The doctors, the nurses, the police officer who found me lying bloody, stabbed, and beaten in an alley outside my office under a moonless sky—all of them said the same thing.  “You’re lucky you didn’t die.”

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Teaser:  I browse through the rest of her photos, pausing on one of those cliche close-ups of a fresh manicure, her nails painted a familiar-to-me shade of “Barefoot in Paris,” only that isn’t what concerns me about this picture. (p. 65).

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Synopsis:  After barely surviving a brutal attack, Brienne Dougray rarely leaves her house. Suffering from debilitating headaches and memory loss, she can rely only on her compassionate new tenant, Dr. Niall Emberlin, a welcome distraction from the discomfiting bubble that has become her existence.

But Brienne’s growing confidence in her new routine is shaken when she stumbles across unsettling evidence that someone else is living as…her. Same name. Same car. Same hair. Same clothes. She’s even friended her family on social media. To find out why, Brienne must leave the safety of her home to hunt a familiar stranger.

What she discovers is more disturbing than she could have ever imagined. With her fragile mind close to shattering, Brienne is prepared to do anything to reclaim her life. If it’s even hers to reclaim.

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Would you keep reading?  I know that I’m intrigued.

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “SHELTER MOUNTAIN”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events: First Chapter/Intros, originally hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea and now hosted by I’d Rather Be at the Beach; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is a book I have had for quite a while:  Shelter Mountain (Book 2), by Robyn Carr.

 

 

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Intro:  A fierce and unseasonably cold September wind blew chilly rain against the windows.  Preacher wiped down the bar, and while it was only seven-thirty, it was already dark.  No one in Virgin River would be out on a night like this.

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Teaser:  The question caused her to suddenly go still, her cup frozen in midair.  Not her dad, so scrappy and short-tempered.  Not her mom who, without knowing or meaning to, had trained her to be a battered wife. (p. 60).

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For the second time in a year, a woman arrives in the small town of Virgin River trying to escape her past.

John “Preacher” Middleton is about to close the bar when a young woman and her three-year-old son come in out of the wet October night. A marine who has seen his share of pain, Preacher knows a crisis when he sees one—the woman is covered in bruises. He wants to protect them, and to punish whoever did this, but he knows immediately that this is more than just instinct. Paige Lassiter has stirred up emotions in this gentle giant of a man—emotions that he has never allowed himself to feel.

Then Paige’s ex-husband turns up in Virgin River. And if there’s one thing the marines’ motto of Semper Fi—always faithful—has taught Preacher, it’s that some things are worth fighting for.

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Would you keep reading?  My interest has been piqued recently by the release of the Virgin River show on Netflix.

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “THE PLAYGROUND”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events: First Chapter/Intros, originally hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea and now hosted by I’d Rather Be at the Beach; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is a recent download:  The Playground, by Jane Shemilt.

 

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Intro:  (The Truth)

It was surprising how quickly things took off in the end, like a bonfire, one of those big ones the children loved so much.  Some nights I hear that sound of crackling again, like a bomb ticking down.  I wait for the roar and see the flames; the scent of scorching fills the air.  I can feel that searing heat.

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Teaser:  (Summer Holidays)

Later the police would pore over the videos we took that summer, play them over and over, looking to see where it all began.  They start—as everything does—with the children.  Poppy and Sorrel waiting by the door, wearing dress-up clothes.  Charley and Blake being dropped off, Izzy arriving. (p.61).

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Synopsis:  Over the course of a long, hot summer in London, the lives of three very different married couples collide when their children join the same tutoring circle, resulting in illicit relationships, shocking violence, and unimaginable fallout.

There’s Eve, a bougie earth mother with a well-stocked trust fund; she has three little ones, a blue-collar husband and is obsessed with her Instagrammable recipes and lifestyle. And Melissa, a successful interior designer whose casually cruel banker husband is careful not to leave visible bruises; she curates her perfectly thin body so closely she misses everything their teenage daughter is hiding. Then there’s Grace, a young Zimbabwean immigrant, who lives in high-rise housing project with her two children and their English father Martin, an award-winning but chronically broke novelist; she does far more for her family than she should have to.

As the weeks go by, the couples become very close; there are barbecues, garden parties, a holiday at a country villa in Greece. Resentments flare. An affair begins. Unnoticed, the children run wild. The couples are busily watching each other, so distracted and self-absorbed that they forget to watch their children. No one sees the five children at their secret games or realize how much their family dynamics are changing until tragedy strikes.

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What do you think?  I have been eyeing this book for a while.  Would you keep reading?

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “ALL THE FLOWERS IN PARIS”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events: First Chapter/Intros, originally hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea and now hosted by I’d Rather Be at the Beach; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is a new Sarah Jio book, a hardcover format that will go on my growing bookshelves:  All the Flowers in Paris.

 

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Intro:  (Caroline)

September 4, 2009

Paris, France

How could he?  My cheeks burn as I climb onto my bike, pedaling fast down the rue Cler, past the street vendors with their tables lined with shiny purple eggplants and bunches of flowers, pink peonies and golden sunflowers standing at attention in tidy buckets, past Cafe du Monde, where I sometimes get a coffee when I’m too tired to walk to Bistro Jeanty, past an old woman walking her tiny white poodle.

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Teaser Tuesday:  (Celine)

“I’ll only be gone an hour at the most,” I say to Papa the next morning as I button my coat.  The snow is falling heavily, and by the looks of the heavy clouds above, there doesn’t appear to be an end in sight. (p. 128).

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Synopsis:  When Caroline wakes up in a Paris hospital with no memory of her past, she’s confused to learn that for years she’s lived a sad, reclusive life in a sprawling apartment on the rue Cler. Slowly regaining vague memories of a man and a young child, she vows to piece her life back together—though she can’t help but feel she may be in danger. A budding friendship with the chef of a charming nearby restaurant takes her mind off her foggy past, as does a startling mystery from decades prior.

In Nazi-occupied Paris, a young widow named Céline is trying to build a new life for her daughter while working in her father’s flower shop and hoping to find love again. Then a ruthless German officer discovers her Jewish ancestry and Céline is forced to play a dangerous game to secure the safety of her loved ones. When her worst fears come true, she must fight back in order to save the person she loves most: her daughter.

When Caroline discovers Céline’s letters tucked away in a closet, she realizes that her apartment harbors dark secrets—and that she may have more in common with Céline than she could have ever imagined.

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I was thoroughly engrossed in this book, and kept reading until I finished it.  What do you think?

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “DELUSIONS OF GRANDMA”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events: First Chapter/Intros, originally hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea and now hosted by I’d Rather Be at the Beach; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is a book from a favorite author:  Delusions of Grandma, by Carrie Fisher.

 

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Intro:  The Chinese have a curse.  “May you live in interesting times.”  As curses went, Cora felt that this was truly the best she’d ever heard.  Not that she was particularly fond of curses, but in her opinion this one was eminently applicable, far superior to the generic “Go to hell” or the cheery “Break a leg” or even the medieval “A pox on your house.”

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Teaser Tuesday:  They went on this way, settling into something long on distance, close on comfort, short on lackluster, on Blixen.  With phones cradled between shoulder and ear, faces turned sideways into their pillows, muffling the talk, they spread their histories out before one another like Middle Eastern traders tenderly unwrapping treasures—“For you, special price.” (p. 54).

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Synopsis: The actress-author of Postcards from the Edge explores maternity in her latest novel, featuring a very pregnant woman’s lively odyssey to rescue her Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather from a nursing home. 150,000 first printing. National ad/promo.

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What do you think?  Would you keep reading?

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BOOKISH FRIDAY: “THE LOOK-ALIKE”

Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which I  share excerpts from books…and connect with other bloggers, who do the same.

Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Then give us the title of the book, so others can add it to their lists!

What a great way to spend a Friday!

Today’s feature is a NetGalley ARC of a 1/20/20 book release:  The Look-Alike, by Erica Spindler.

 

 

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Book Beginning:  (Prologue)

Tranquility Bluffs, Wisconsin – Winter – 12:06 a.m.

Sienna Scott nearly tripped over the body.  With her hood up and head down against the driving snow, she couldn’t see more than a few inches in front of her feet.

It was the blood that stopped her, although she didn’t realize that’s what it was, not at first.

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Friday 56:  The memory crashed over her, bringing with it a cold sweat. 

The click of all four doors locking.  Realizing she was trapped inside.  Pounding, screaming, for help…

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Synopsis:  Sienna Scott grew up in the dark shadow of her mother’s paranoid delusions. Now, she’s returned home to confront her past and the unsolved murder that altered the course of her life.

In her mother’s shuttered house, an old fear that has haunted Sienna for years rears its ugly head—that it was she who had been the killer’s target that night. And now, with it, a new fear—that the killer not only intended to remedy his past mistake—he’s already begun. But are these fears any different from the ones that torment her mother?

As the walls close in, the line between truth and lie, reality and delusion disintegrate. Has Sienna’s worst nightmare come true? Or will she unmask a killer and finally prove she may be her mother’s look-alike, but she’s not her clone?

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I am looking forward to this one.  What do you think?

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “MEG & JO”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events: First Chapter/Intros, originally hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea and now hosted by I’d Rather Be at the Beach; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is a recent purchase:  Meg & Jo, by Virginia Kantra.

 

 

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Intro:  (Prologue)

Christmas Eve, Then

Bunyan, North Carolina

“Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.

White Christmas was playing on the TV, but this year the scenes of soldiers far from home made her throat ache.  It felt weird to be watching the movie without Dad.  Everything felt wrong this year.

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Teaser Tuesday:  (Meg)

I could take care of this.  I took a deep breath of cold air and knocked on Hannah Mullett’s door.

I was good at taking care of things.  Helping people with their problems.  That used to be my job, helping people who needed money, making the numbers work so they could get a loan, buy a car, start a business, everything in black and white. (p. 98).

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Synopsis:  The timeless classic Little Women inspired this heartwarming modern tale of four sisters from New York Times bestselling author Virginia Kantra.

The March sisters—reliable Meg, independent Jo, stylish Amy, and shy Beth—have grown up to pursue their separate dreams. When Jo followed her ambitions to New York City, she never thought her career in journalism would come crashing down, leaving her struggling to stay afloat in a gig economy as a prep cook and secret food blogger.

Meg appears to have the life she always planned—the handsome husband, the adorable toddlers, the house in a charming subdivision. But sometimes getting everything you’ve ever wanted isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

When their mother’s illness forces the sisters home to North Carolina for the holidays, they’ll rediscover what really matters.

One thing’s for sure—they’ll need the strength of family and the power of sisterhood to remake their lives and reimagine their dreams.

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What do you think?  Do these snippets remind you of that timeless classic?  Would you keep reading?

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BOOKISH FRIDAY: “REGRETTING YOU”

Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which I  share excerpts from books…and connect with other bloggers, who do the same.

Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Then give us the title of the book, so others can add it to their lists!

What a great way to spend a Friday!

Today’s feature is a recent download:  Regretting You, by Colleen Hoover.

 

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Book Beginning:  (Morgan)

I wonder if humans are the only living creatures that ever feel hollow inside.

I don’t understand how my body can be full of everything bodies are full of —bones and muscles and blood and organs—yet my chest sometimes feels vacant, as if someone could scream into my mouth and it would echo inside of me.

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Friday 56:  She still hasn’t responded when I pull into her driveway.

Just when I’m about to call her, she comes tumbling out of her house, her backpack hanging from the crease of her elbow while she attempts to slide on a shoe.

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Synopsis: Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would like nothing more than to be nothing alike.

Morgan is determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she did. By getting pregnant and married way too young, Morgan put her own dreams on hold. Clara doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Her predictable mother doesn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.

With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the household is Chris–Morgan’s husband, Clara’s father, and the family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences will reach far beyond just Morgan and Clara.

While struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one boy she’s been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets, resentment, and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back together.

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What do you think?  Do the snippets grab you?

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “BIG LIES IN A SMALL TOWN”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events: First Chapter/Intros, originally hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea and now hosted by I’d Rather Be at the Beach; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is a NetGalley ARC of a book that will be released on 1/14/20:  Big Lies in a Small Town, by Diane Chamberlain.

 

 

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Intro:  (Prologue)

Edenton, North Carolina

March 23, 1940

The children knew it was finally spring, so although the air still held the nip of winter and the grass and weeds crunched beneath their feet, they ran through the field and woods, yipping with the anticipation of warmer weather.  The two boys and their little sister headed for the creek, drawn to water, as they always were.  The girl, only three and not as sure-footed as her brothers, tripped over something and landed face-first in the cold water of the creek.  Her big brother picked her up before she could start howling, cuddling her close against his thin jacket, a hand-me-down from one cousin or another.

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Teaser:  (Anna)

February 28-1940

Anna awakened with a weight on her chest that made it hard to breathe.  She knew that weight.  It had been with her off and on since her mother’s death in November, and she knew why it was so heavy and breath-stealing this morning:  today was February 28.  Her mother would have turned forty-four today. (60%).

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Synopsis:  North Carolina, 2018: Morgan Christopher’s life has been derailed. Taking the fall for a crime she did not commit, she finds herself serving a three-year stint in the North Carolina Women’s Correctional Center. Her dream of a career in art is put on hold—until a mysterious visitor makes her an offer that will see her released immediately. Her assignment: restore an old post office mural in a sleepy southern town. Morgan knows nothing about art restoration, but desperate to leave prison, she accepts. What she finds under the layers of grime is a painting that tells the story of madness, violence, and a conspiracy of small town secrets.

North Carolina, 1940: Anna Dale, an artist from New Jersey, wins a national contest to paint a mural for the post office in Edenton, North Carolina. Alone in the world and desperate for work, she accepts. But what she doesn’t expect is to find herself immersed in a town where prejudices run deep, where people are hiding secrets behind closed doors, and where the price of being different might just end in murder.

What happened to Anna Dale? Are the clues hidden in the decrepit mural? Can Morgan overcome her own demons to discover what exists beneath the layers of lies?

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What do you think?  Do the excerpts grip you?  Would you keep reading?

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “THE POISON GARDEN”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events: First Chapter/Intros, originally hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea and now hosted by I’d Rather Be at the Beach; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is The Poison Garden, by A. J. Banner.

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Intro:  (Prologue)

I am running through the woods in the waning moonlight, splatters of blood on my hands, the wind whipping in from the sea.  Tall firs bend and sway, branches crackling, breaking in the gale.  I am lost but must keep moving.  I once knew these trails, could find my way with my eyes closed, but that was long ago.

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Teaser:  I took her place at the desk, clicked on the sign-in window, and tried a range of possible passwords, from his social security number, his July birthday, to the name of his first pet, a dog named Rambo.  No luck.  Nothing worked.  I was locked out. (p. 61).

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Synopsis:  Elise Watters seems to have it all—a blissful marriage, a gorgeous Victorian home surrounded by lush gardens, and a dream job running her late mother’s herbal boutique.

But on the eve of her first wedding anniversary, Elise makes a shocking discovery that turns her life upside down and casts doubt on everything she thought she knew—about her marriage, her friends, and even herself. As she treads into dangerous territory, Elise is forced to wonder: Is her whole future at stake? Or is paranoia getting the best of her?

If she is to believe what she sees, Elise has every reason to fear for her life…

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What do you think?  Would you keep reading?

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