I was cringing throughout a lot of this story. From all the murdered men to why they were murdered. While I do believe they all deserved it we can't just take justice in our own hands. Can we? If you were abused, either beat by a spouse or sexually assaulted by a predator, wouldn't you want to get even? If you could. If you could get away with it. I think most of us would. If we are honest.
This is a must read. It will be in my top twenty at the end of the year. This book was so good. A sad tale of what life was like for women who loved reading back in 1895. And what happened if they disobeyed their husband. Yes I said disobeyed. Can you imagine?
5 stars
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/08/the-secret-book-society-by-madeline.html
@madelinemmartin
@harlequinbooks @htpbooks @htpbooks_audio
I've read an enjoyed all of this author's previous books. I enjoyed this one. The best in my opinion was her very first book, A FLICKER IN THE DARK... It was so good.
This book is about a young woman whose sister went missing. Natalie was the oldest of the two sisters. When she went out the window to meet up with someone it was the last time she was seen.
3.75 stars
https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/08/forget-me-not-by-stacy-willingham.html
I've read and loved, through many tears, so many of this author's books. They always make me cry and always make me think about things. This one was good. It was sad. It made me think. But it was not my favorite book. I was a little let down.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/08/my-sisters-only-hope-by-alison-ragsdale.h...
@bookouture
I have read and enjoyed several of this author's books. I have also learned quite a bit from each. This one is about a women I had never heard about. I'm very glad this was written. Not just for the story but for the info. How a female was a force to be during several wars. As a photojournalist. And as a strong, albeit, tiny female.
4.5 stars
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/08/the-last-assignment-by-erika-robuck.html
This is one book you don't want to miss. If you love a good edge of your seat thriller. A mystery to hold your interest from start to finish. . It is definitely in my top ten of the year.
I listened to the audio and I am blown away at how good the narrator, Emily Pike Stewart, did. She made each character her own. The realistic voices were spot on perfection. I'll definitely listen to more by this narrator.
This book was so much fun to read. Yes it was a book about a serial killer. Yes she was older and had retired. Yes she starts killing again. But..... You may find yourself rooting for her to not get caught. To get away with everything. Just maybe you will like Lottie...
Grab this one. It's so good.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/08/too-old-for-this-by-samantha-downing.html
@smariedowning
@berkleypub
This is Megan Miranda's best yet. Riveting. Thrilling. A story to keep you guessing until the end.
I throughly enjoyed this story. It had so much. So many good thrills. So much family drama. So much to keep you guessing and most likely you will be wrong. Family secrets can be deadly. Or possibly they can keep your loved ones alive.
4.75 stars
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/08/you-belong-here-by-megan-miranda.html
I love this author. Her books never seem to disappoint me in any way. This one is her latest. Set in Lisbon during the second World War. About two strong females who happen to be attractive and have the brains we all know females can and do have.
I enjoyed this book very much.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/08/the-secret-librarian-by-soraya-m-lane.htm...
I enjoyed this book. It drove me crazy in parts but I still enjoyed it. I figured out the twists so no big deal there. I also knew what Mandy had hidden.
Not a favorite but still. I'm glad I read it.
Full review:
https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/08/the-locked-ward-by-sarah-pekkanen.html
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I thought it was so well written and engaging. I recommend it to anyone who loves a good historical. A friendship made story. Secrets revealed. And so much more.
This is my second book by this author. It was good. I liked this one even better than In The Hour Of Crows. Still about death and things that happen after death.
This is a kind of strange story. Or at least it was for me. I liked it very much. It's a bit goth and southern charm. A bit of a mystery and thriller. Also a few murders thrown in for good measure.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/08/grave-birds-by-dana-elmendorf.html
This is now my favorite book by this author.
This book is very emotional. Even when things are good. When things go as you want them too, it's emotional. I laughed in a few places at the things children said. Overall though I cried many tears for the characters in this novel.
This book will be in my top reads for 2025!!
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/08/the-lies-they-told-by-ellen-marie.html
The Blum family moved to Maine from Brooklyn, NY. A small town in Maine where everyone knows everyone. There are few secrets. Gus Blum got a job at the college. Claire is going to start her own clothing business. Wolf starts middle school. Hazel starts her senior year of high school. All should be great. But then something happens that no one could have seen coming.
After Julia's husband is murdered right in front of her Julia becomes reclusive. She orders her groceries delivered. Works from home. She is afraid to go out in case the killer is out there waiting. But when she receives a call about inheriting a lot of money and a villa in Italy what is she suppose to do.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-unraveling-of-julia-by-lisa.html
If I had not have the audio of this one I don't think I would have finished it. Not that it's all bad. Parts are very good. But parts are so unbelievable that they made me cringe. Not in a good way either. This story had great potential but alas it fell a bit short.
While the descriptions were wonderful and you certainly felt like you was at this lake, And David's glass mansion was one I could picture, I didn't believe a lot of what happened.
WOW... What a story. What a book. This one was so full of manipulating and lies and just plain bad that I didn't want to put it down. It was a quick read for me too.
You meet a lot of women in this story. And a lot of men. Could the women all be the same woman? Or could it be that the men are all the same man. So many liars are involved. So much drama.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/07/dont-let-him-in-by-lisa-jewell.html
I think this will be another favorite author for me. I loved her book A Sorceress Comes To Call. It was outstanding. This one was also good. Not quite as good as Sorceress though. I didn't get the Snow White vibe everyone says it's based on. I did enjoy it though and it has a princess named Snow and lots of mirrors. This was just a way darker read than any Snow White book I've ever read. Still good.
This was a very compelling story. Based on true events but is fiction. It's very realistic and heartfelt. It's so obvious the author did great research into this. A tough subject matter too. Fiction but based on the truth. Based on what happened way to often by Nuns in the Catholic churches. In the homes they kept for girls who needed love and understanding, not abuse and shame.
A must read.
For a debut this is really good. I was pulled right into the story. It has the best first chapter ever. The end of the first chapter literally made me gasp out loud. I didn't see it coming.
This is a story of love. Also a story of loss. It's the story of a family. Tom, Honor and their daughter Chloe. They are on vacation in Paris.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/07/finding-grace-by-loretta-rothschild.html
This book was a pleasure to read. It had a tough subject matter but overall it was a beautifully written story of women, friendships, being there for each other, and moving pass abusive relationships. It is in two different time periods that eventually meet. I enjoyed this book so much. Even the hard parts were good. Not hard to read.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/07/lightning-in-mason-jar-by-catherine-mann....
I gave this book five stars. Not because I loved it. I hated it. I think the author did a fantastic job of writing it. I think he did a fantastic job of making it emotional. It was such a sad book though. I cried so much while reading this book. It is definitely a heartbreaking tearjerker. It's definitely shattering.
If you have lost a child do not read this book.
https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-river-is-waiting-by-wally-lamb.html
Excellent book. While I don't believe it was quite as good as her Addie LaRue book, it is still excellent. Grabs you and won't let go. And I'm not big on books about or with vampires. lol I loved it.
A MUST READ....
This book will definitely be in my top ten book of the year. It was perfection. A story that kept me turning the pages. Kept me in tears and even a laugh or two. Mostly it made me believe in life. As hard as things are now and were back then, there is always hope for the future. Never give up...
This is the story of a family.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-stolen-life-of-colette-marceau-by.htm...
This was such a fun book. Yes it was intense and in places it was very emotional. But it was still a fun one. You get to know about Auntie Em. From when she was young and single. To when she met and fell in love with Uncle Henry. How Dorothy came to live with them.
This book if full of Easter Eggs from The Wizard of Oz so be sure and look for them.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/06/before-dorothy-by-hazel-gaynor.html
This is about a woman, Claire, who takes a job cataloging antiques to sale. They belong to Hannah Reeves. A very rich woman who has been almost elusive since her father's death many years prior. While working, Claire, learns there is a secret library in the mansion. She is adamant about finding it.
A wonderful book...
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-secret-library-of-hanna-reeves-by.htm...
I loved this author's book THE LIES I TELL, and this one is even better. I devoured it.
This one had me guessing all the way through every time I thought I had it figured out something else happened and I WAS SO WRONG. I didn't know until the end. Or know as much as it allowed us to know.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-ghostwriter-by-julie-clark.html
@julieclarkauthor
@sourcebooks @bookmarked
Definitely one of my favorite authors. I always want to read a Kimberly Belle book. And I'm never disappointed.
This story is set in Amsterdam. It's about two women. One married to a very rich man. One who recently moved to Amsterdam after a divorce. This is about how diamonds may not always be a girls best friend....
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-expats-affair-by-kimberly-belle.html
@kimberlybellebooks
This was my first read by this author. I will look for more.
Quote on the last page that got to me:
“We are emigrants and we exist in two worlds, one past, one present, and we are nourished by both.“
I enjoyed this book a great deal. It started out a little slow for me. To much on the ship I think. Though it was a necessary part of the story.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-famine-orphans-by-patricia-falvey.htm...
Marguerite by the Lake
This is the second book I've read by this author. I believe this is her second book. Though it was fairly good, it was also a bit of a let down for me. Not bad, but not one that wowed me either. It kept me turning the pages and guessing what was coming though. That was a good thing.
The best thing about this was the narration.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/06/marguerite-by-lake-by-mary-dixie-carter.h...
Death At A Highland Wedding
I've enjoyed this series so much. I already look forward to the next book. I am rooting for Gray and Mallory to end up together. Though she has gone back 150 years in the past and basically decided to stay there Mallory pretty much has fallen for Gray.
Such a good book!!
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/06/death-at-highland-wedding-by-kelley.html
@kelleyarmstrongauthor
@stmartinspress
Little Child Gone
This is the best series I've read. The best thriller series. I'm so glad there will be more Nikki Hunt books. This author knows how to pull you in and keep you turning the pages. Holding your interest and making you feel like you are there. Stacy Green is one fantastic thriller/mystery writer.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/06/little-child-gone-by-stacy-green.html
@authorstacygreenwhisenand
@bookouture
The Girls of Good Fortune
By the author of SOLD ON A MONDAY, which was my all time favorite by this author. This one pulls you right in and keeps you wanting more.
You meet Celia in prison at the beginning of this story. Set in the late 1800's and told from before Celia's imprisonment and after. You get to know her and how she became a prisoner.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-girls-of-good-fortune-by-kristina.htm...
Letters From Strangers
I read and listened to this book. The narrators did such a good job. It felt like I was right in the middle of the drama. And boy was there drama. But it was so good. A well written story. It will make you stop and think about what you would do in this situation. Both as the mothers and as the child.
Full review coming June 2nd as part of a book tour.
The Man Made of Smoke
You follow Dan Garvie from when he was just a kid who escaped a serial killer at a rest stop. Dan was with his parents and his best friend Sarah. He always felt guilty that he didn't save the little boy that was with this man. The boy with the haunted eyes. The scared child that it seemed everyone turned their backs on.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-man-made-of-smoke-by-alex-north.html
Roll the Sun Across the Sky
What a book. This is my favorite book by this author. It will grab you and not let go. It's a heartbreaking and happy story all in one. I cried and laughed. I hated Arden and loved her. This was just a great story.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/05/roll-sun-across-sky-by-barbara-linn.html
@barbara_linn_probst
@shewritespress
I did enjoy this book. It was well written and in places edge of your seat scary. While some characters, most of them, I didn't like there were some I did. Even though parts were unbelievable it was still very good. This author has a way of pulling you into her books and not letting you go until the very end. And what an ending. That part made me cry. It was perfect...
https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-artist-of-blackberry-grange-by.html
To me this book started out kind of slow. I didn't have a hard time putting it down. It was good. It was very interesting. There are a couple of stories going on and finding how they relate was interesting. For the most part I was lost for a while. When it did pick up though I enjoyed it.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-amalfi-curse-by-sarah-penner.html
Five students at an esteemed college go missing. Right after another students body is found. Natasha Belov's body was found in a cave. Everyone assumed she was caught in the cave and drowned when the tide came in. But could it have been murder and could the five students who have gone missing be responsible. And where are these students now.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/05/parents-weekend-by-alex-finlay.html
This book was a delight to read. A light hearted story with some intense scenes along the way. I enjoyed it very much.
It's about two children who escape an orphanage where their older brother put them. Join a wagon train and take off to find their pa in Colorado.
A fun and heartfelt read.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/05/tough-luck-by-sandra-dallas.html
@sandradallas
@stmartinspress
@macmillan.audio
This was an excellent debut. A beautifully written story of such pain, hope, and love. Addiction, loss, love. There are some parts that made me weep. But overall it was just a great debut novel.
This is the story of the Bright family.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-bright-years-by-sarah-damoff.html
@sarahdamoff
@simonandschuster
This is a story about a woman, Alex Kelley, who is hired to ghost write a book about an orphanage. She uncovers a lot of things but this story does not go into great detail about the abuse that happened at Coram House. It's there but not in such detail that this book is hard to read. You know what happened by the testimonies of the grown kids who lived it. Who witnessed it. Who survived...
Seems I am alone with my thoughts about this book. I did not enjoy it. It was so repetitive aggravating for me. I'm sorry but to me it was just ok. Maybe awful. I honestly hate to write this kind of review. To me this was just not that good.
Gorgeous cover...
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/04/such-good-mom-by-julia-spiro.html
@stmartinspress
@netgalley
A new to me author. I enjoyed this one but the ending was not good. It kind of left to much to the imagination.
Two sisters. One adopted. One jealous.
When Taylor comes to live with Rae and Cassie she has no idea what to expect. She's just a child and wants to see her birth mother more than anything. She has no idea what happened. Or what is to become of her.
https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-french-honeymoon-by-anne-sophie.html
I found this story interesting. It had me a bit confused at times as it was kind of hard to keep the three main characters separated. All three are female and seem all about books and the library. The boxcar library. But still overall it was a good book. Kept me reading.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-boxcar-librarian-by-brianna-labuskes....
@brilabuskes
@williammorrowbooks
A favorite author of mine. This book is such a good one. Both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Catherine Ryan Hyde always gives you something to think about and makes you shed lots of tears. I've read so many of her books and will continue too.
There are a few characters that you will love. Each has a story.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/04/michael-without-apology-by-catherine.html
This was an unusual story. While I really enjoyed it for the most part I also found parts to be tedious. I didn‘t connect with any of the characters and to me it‘s important to do that. Overall though it was an ok book.
This is a heartbreaking story. But filled with so much heart and hope.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-fishermans-gift-by-julia-r-kelly.html
@juliakellywrites
@simonandschuster
This was one of the very best audios I have ever listened too. It had several narrators that did a wonderful job of bringing the story to life. Making you feel the characters laughter and pain. They did such a good job of holding my interest throughout the whole story. I have to highly recommend you listen to this one....
An absolute must read...
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/04/strangers-in-time-by-david-baldacci.html
I've read and honestly loved several of this author's books. Each is unique and held me captive throughout. This one is no different. This is a beautiful story filled with so many emotions. Love, betrayal, loss, new life, goodbyes, beginnings. Love lost and possibly found. So much emotion in this story set on and around Sable Island.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/04/all-our-beautiful-goodbyes-by-julianne.ht...
@juliannemaclean
This is a heartfelt and heartbreaking story of the holocaust. Set in Italy and told through a young woman named Lili‘s pov. She was so strong and resilient. Even when she thought she was weak she pressed on. Taking care of her best friend‘s small son. She also found love and after the war made a life with Thomas in the USA.
Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/04/one-good-thing-by-georgia-hunter.html
