"With Every Memory," by Janine Rosche

"With Every Memory," by Janine Rosche

Is the life she can't remember one she'd rather forget?

One year after her family was in a tragic car accident that killed her teenage son, Lori Mendenhall returns home with a traumatic brain injury that has stolen the last eight years of memories from her, leaving the life she has returned to unrecognizable. Her once-loving husband, Michael, is a distant workaholic she isn't sure she can trust, and her once-bubbly daughter, Avery, has spent the last year hidden away in her room.

If Lori wants to reconnect with her family, she'll have to uncover the information her brain is trying to keep secret. As her memories return and past secrets resurface, it will take the whole family to repair what's been broken and find a new future together.

This book is a page turner that's for sure.  I love how each chapter goes back and forward between Lori, and her daughter Avery.  The family dynamics are spot on, and how one accident can affect each person in the family is well thought out.

Throughout the book, you think that you know what the next part of the story will be, but then another twist happens in the story.  It was quite interesting to see how the brain heals itself after a traumatic brain injury; and how Lori's memory came back to her in bits and pieces.

The relationship between Xander and Avery was really sweet and well thought out.  This was an easy book to keep up with and not overly complicated.  The story moved at a fast pace, so kept the reader interested.

Stars out of 5 : 5 A real winner for me.  Well worth reading; it's the first book I have read by this author and I look forward to reading many more of her books in the future.

 "Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell , a division of Baker Publishing Group".

"Cold Pursuit," by Nancy Mehl

 "Cold Pursuit," by Nancy Mehl

Ex-FBI profiler River Ryland still suffers from PTSD after a case went horribly wrong. Needing a fresh start, she moves to St. Louis to be near her ailing mother and opens a private investigation firm with her friend and former FBI partner, Tony St. Clair. They're soon approached by a grieving mother who wants them to find out what happened to her teenaged son, who disappeared four years ago. River knows there's almost no hope the boy is still alive, but his mother needs closure, and River and Tony need a case, no matter how cold it might be.

But as they follow the boy's trail, which gets more complicated at every turn, they find themselves in the path of a murderer determined to punish anyone who gets in his way. As River and Tony race to stop him before he kills again, an even more dangerous threat emerges, stirring up the past that haunts River and plotting an end to her future.

This is the first book in the Ryland and St. Clair series by Nancy.  After reading this, I can't wait until the next book comes out in January 2024.  Right from the get go you get sucked into this book.  There is action that has you sitting on the edge of your seat from the first page.  You just don't know where it will take you and then you take a breath for a couple of pages, and then BAM! you're right back into it.

You think you know where this story is going to go but the twists and turns involved in it, makes it a page turner.  One thing I love about reading is learning new things.  In this book's case it was SYNESTHESIA.  I had never ever heard of that word before and had no idea what exactly it meant; even though there is a paragraph describing it at the beginning of the book.  However having one of the characters in the book; Brian, having it explained the "illness" very well.

The whole book was very interesting and very well researched in my opinion, and had me thinking right throughout the book.  If you enjoy a murder/mystery type of book, this one if for you.

Stars out of 5 : 5 Loved it, and would have read it in a day, if I had, had the time.  Nancy's book's never disappoint.  Well worth reading!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. 

Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

"This Is Where It Ends," by Cindy K. Sproles

 "This Is Where It Ends," by Cindy K. Sproles

How long is a body expected to keep a secret?

When Minerva Jane Jenkins was just fourteen years old, she married a man who moved her to the mountains. He carried with him a small box, which he told her held gold. And when he died fifty years later, he made her promise to tell no one about the box or the treasure it contained.

Now at ninety-four, Minerva is nearing the end of what has sometimes been a lonely life. But she's kept her promise. Even so, rumors of hidden gold have a way of spreading, and Minerva is visited by a reporter, Del Rankin, who wants to know more of her story.

As an unlikely friendship develops, Minerva is tempted to reveal her secret to Del. But the truth of what's really buried in the box may be hidden even from her.

How long is a body expected to keep a secret? Now that is the million dollar question, and one that no one has the right answer too.  It will all depend on what you think!

I read this book in a day.  I just couldn't put it down; and not just for one reason, for many reasons.  There are so many twists and turns in this book that I had to keep turning the page.  It will come as no surprise that Minerva will die; she is 94.  The way the author wrote about her last few minutes on this earth was so moving, I was in floods of tears.  I knew what was happening, but I just couldn't stop those tears.

I think throughout this book it made you question things in your mind that were probably already there, but this book moved them up to the fore front of you brain.  It makes you think about death.  Minerva was concerned about dying alone.  I think that is a worry for many people.  Not long ago there was a documentary about older people in the UK, and it featured a man who had no living relatives left.  Every night before he went to bed, he laid out his will and all other official documents that people would need if he died through the night.  Minerva always made sure she had clean clothes on.

This book makes you realize how important friendship is, and how good for the soul having people around that cares for you.  I loved the way Del broke down the barriers of Minerva's hardened heart.  I think we all put up barriers to protect ourselves against people who have hurt us in the past.  Del chipped away at Minerva's barriers and broke through.

This would make a great book club book, as there are many topics of conversation and discussion to be had.

Stars out of 5 : 5 and very solid 5 at that.  Even the cover made me want to pick up this book.  It is well worth reading.  I wonder though if this will appeal to the older reader more than the younger readers?

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell , a division of Baker Publishing Group".

"The Long March Home," by Marcus Brotherton & Tosca Lee

"The Long March Home," by Marcus Brotherton & Tosca Lee

Inspired by true stories, The Long March Home is a gripping coming-of-age tale of friendship, sacrifice, and the power of unrelenting hope.

Jimmy Propfield joined the army for two reasons: to get out of Mobile, Alabama, with his best friends Hank and Billy and to forget his high school sweetheart, Claire.

Life in the Philippines seems like paradise--until the morning of December 8, 1941, when news comes from Manila: Imperial Japan has bombed Pearl Harbor. Within hours, the teenage friends are plunged into war as enemy warplanes attack Luzon, beginning a battle for control of the Pacific theater that will culminate with a last stand on the Bataan Peninsula and end with the largest surrender of American troops in history.

What follows will become known as one of the worst atrocities in modern warfare: the Bataan Death March. With no hope of rescue, the three friends vow to make it back home together. But the ordeal is only the beginning of their nearly four-year fight to survive.

This is not my normal type of book that I read.  However, if you get the chance please read this book.  I wasn't totally convinced I was going to enjoy this book, but it got to the stage I had to turn the page, as I needed to know what happened next.

I did not know anything about this part of the war, and what those three friends did to try and survive was unbelievable, although their story is fiction, it is based on actual facts.  Also the bond that they formed prior to the war, helped them survive the awful things that they had to go through.  

I enjoyed the story of Billy and Claire, and the story went back and forward to when they were growing up, then to the three boys, (and they were just boys) fighting together in the war.

Stars out of 5 : 5 A must read for everyone, even if you are not fond of war stories.  What these guys went through was just terrible, and everyone should know about it.  Please read this book.
 

 "Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell , a division of Baker Publishing Group".

"In the Shadow of the River," by Ann H. Gabhart

" In the Shadow of the River," by Ann H. Gabhart

If all the world's a stage, Jacci will play her part.

She only hopes her story does not turn out to be a tragedy.

In 1881, Jacci Reed is only five years old when a man attempts to kidnap her from the steamboat her mother, Irena, works on. Badly wounded during the confrontation, Irena takes Jacci aboard the Kingston Floating Palace, a showboat tied up beside them. There, Jacci's actor grandfather tends to her mother, and Jacci gets a first taste of the life she will come to lead.

Fifteen years later, Jacci is an actress aboard that same showboat and largely contented with her adopted family of actors, singers, and dancers. Especially Gabe, who has always supported her, and the gruff grandfather she has come to know and love. Jacci's mother has been gone for years, but the memory of the altercation that ultimately took her life--and the cryptic things Jacci has overheard about her past--is always there, lurking in the back of her mind.

When someone on the showboat tries to kill Jacci, it's clear her questions demand answers. But secrets have a way of staying in the shadows . . . and the answers she craves will not come easily.

I have read a number of Ann's books over the years and I find them enjoyable, but really hard work to get immersed into.  This one was no different, and although I did finish the book, it was truly hard work.

Now I did enjoy learning about life on a showboat, and the historical factor of the book, the actual story just didn't do it for me. I didn't guess who was trying to kill Jacci, or the reason why.

Stars out of 5 : 3 It was an okay book, but not one I will remember; sorry.  

 "Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell , a division of Baker Publishing Group".

"The Swindler's Daughter," by Stephenia H. McGee

 "The Swindler's Daughter," by Stephenia H. McGee

A surprise inheritance. A cache of family secrets. A choice that will change her life forever.

Lillian Doyle has lived her entire high-society life with her widowed mother, believing her father died long ago. But when news arrives that her estranged father only recently passed away--in jail--Lillian is startled to find that he has left a business and all his possessions to her, making her a rather unusual heiress.

When she arrives at her father's house in a backwoods Georgia town, the dilapidated structure is already occupied by a woman who claims it was promised to her son, Jonah. In her attempts to untangle the mess, Lillian will discover not only a family she never knew she had but a family business that is more than meets the eye--and has put a target on her back.

To discover the truth and take hold of the independence she's always dreamed of, she'll have to make friends with adversaries and strangers--and Jonah, the dusty and unrefined cowboy who has secret aspirations of his own.

I will say I wasn't sure about this book to start with, but it grows on you the more you read it.  Lillian and Jonah were perfect lead characters and it was lovely to see their chemistry grow through out the book.  Watching Lillian gain more and more independence and a back bone made you want to cheer her on.

I will say though although it wasn't a very "deep" book, it did keep me interested and wanting me to finish the book to see what happened next.

Stars out of 5 : 4 Will I remember this book next month, probably not, but it's a perfect book for some light reading on a summer's day.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell , a division of Baker Publishing Group".

"Counter Attack," by Patricia Bradley

 "Counter Attack," by Patricia Bradley

Her next move just might be her last

No sooner has Alexis Stone been sworn in as the interim chief deputy for Russell County, Tennessee, than a serial killer dubbed the Queen's Gambit Killer strikes again--this time in her hometown. Pearl Springs is just supposed to be a temporary stop along the way to Alex's real dream: becoming the first female police chief of Chattanooga. But the killer's calling card--a white pawn and a note with a chess move printed on it--cannot be ignored.

Pearl Springs chief of police Nathan Landry can't believe that his high school sweetheart Alexis (he refuses to call her Alex) is back in town, and he can't help wanting to protect the woman he never stopped loving. But as the danger mounts and the killer closes in, can Nathan come through on the promise he makes to himself to bring a killer to justice before it's too late?

This book flowed really nicely, it started at a fast pace and just kept going.  Right from the start the chemistry between Alex and Nathan was on point and they made excellent lead characters.

I will say I guessed who the killer was early on, but the author did mix things up so you did question if you thought you had guessed correctly.  I was laughing to myself about how many times Alex's life was put in danger over a short number of days.  Personally I would have quit the job and gone into hiding!

I know diddly squat about chess so that basically went over my head, all those clues, and as I said I guessed what and why the killings were happening, so you don't need to understand any chess moves.

Stars out of 5 : 4.5 A page turner of a book, but was clueless about the chess moves etc. and this book hasn't wanted me to learn how to play chess!!  

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell , a division of Baker Publishing Group".