Grace…President Obama & the Ten Days In the Battle for America by Chief White House speech writer, Cody Keenan. Incredibly insightful,
touchingly honest insights, Insider information, personal tid bits, moving, With the ability to both move me to tears ( listening to the accounts by the survivors of the horrific mass shooting at a Charleston South Carolina church) and make me laugh out loud ( in referencing name "appropriateness"(cont in comments)

Irish coffee murder is a trilogy of novellas, Headlined by one of my favorites… Leslie Meier. Three short Irish/Saint Patty's day themed read them in one sitting stories. These stories will give you your "wee bit of Irish" in bite size (or should I say "Sip size") doses. I recommend enjoying these stories paired with a side of Irish coffee but, skip the murder appetizer ?

Wow, this was a roller coaster ride of a book! I had a hard time putting it down and couldn't wait to pick it back up! I love that this was unpredictable, I did not have expected. One day, 24 hours. And everything can change. 4 best friends. 5 lives. And 2 neighbors. A whole lot of love, a whole lot of lies. Tragedy, reality, forgiveness, moving forward. One amazing story!

Without a Trace by Daniel Steel. A life that has a monetary value and a tangible substance, or a life that you value, filled with meaning and substancial purpose? Worth, or worthwhile. The opportunity to walk away, leave it all behind, and start over, or recognizing the need to go back in order to move forward and start over. Choices, decisions. What would you choose? I'm really surprised at some of the low �� reviews (cont in comments)...

A very different Christmas story in all the best ways! Laugh out loud funny, Oh so very implausible, and yet.... several beautiful lessons to take away from this book ��

Cheers to a beautiful and unique piece of historical fiction! A story as fine as a good French wine, a story that sparkles like a good French Chsmpagne. Rich in history, four women, three generations. Strength that belies their femininity, grace under pressure, their desire to succeed, to overcome, to survive, to thrive, and to move forward, shows uncommon courage and strength. Cheers to a beautiful and unique story 🥂 #Cheersto3023

Cheers to a beautiful and unique piece of historical fiction! A story as fine as a good French wine, a story that sparkles like a good French Chsmpagne. Rich in history, four women, three generations. Strength that belies their femininity, grace under pressure, their desire to succeed, to overcome, to survive, to thrive, and to move forward, shows uncommon courage and strength. Cheers to a beautiful and unique story 🥂 #Cheersto3023

Honey Roasted by Cleo Coyle is #19 the coffeehouse mystery series. Everyone's a buzz over the news of Bea Hastings critical and not so accidental fall and the mysterious wall climbing rescuer. Urban Grow finds itself in a sticky situation, and Claire Cosi's fiance is being a real buzz kill. This was one of my favorite coffeehouse mysteries, with a complicated plot, and several sub stories. A sweet cozy mystery.

My top 10 of 2022...

1st thing I'm going to confess is that my goal was 111 books and I fell short finishing the year at 95.

I'm always disappointed when I don't meet a goal but I'm gonna give myself a pass this year after spending the better part of 3 months purging & packing up 30 some years of stuff and moving.

Still, 95 books covered a lot of genres and I had to narrow my favorites down to 10.

The top 10 (cont in comments)

Y'all know that I would never miss a Viola Shipman or Wade Rouse book so it's no surprise that I loved this one. It has it all! A unique twist on a holiday story, mystery and romance, and generations of history - that will all tug at your heart strings. Your life can change in the blink of an eye, in the space of a few minutes, over the course of a year. And for Susan, all of these things are true. With 2 generations of(cont in comments)

Y'all know that I would never miss a Viola Shipman or Wade Rouse book so it's no surprise that I loved this one. It has it all! A unique twist on a holiday story, mystery and romance, and generations of history - that will all tug at your heart strings. Your life can change in the blink of an eye, in the space of a few minutes, over the course of a year. And for Susan, all of these things are true. With 2 previous generations(cont in comments)

Aunt peg gifts Melanie and Sam a Valentine's weekend get away along with melanie's brother and sister and MA. Peg may be in for a surotise; are two boys and all the dogs more than she can handle?!? As for Melanie and company, it shouldn't come as any surprise that a body is discovered and the death is suspicious. This may not be quite the romantic weekend Melanie and Sam, Frank and Bertie expected. An interesting twist, (cont in comments)...

I created the Cheers to 2023 Challenge for our Book Club for this coming year. Anybody here want to join in on the fun? Here is our 12 books listed in order of month...
#Cheersto2023Challenge

Zoopity, Adventures of the One Thinking Ant. A fun children's story, Words and phrases that will have you singing them instead of reading them. Wonderfully illustrated, well written, and teaching a good lesson. Think it, dream it, believe it, achieve it!

Death by smoothie by Laura Levine…
I've been reading this series from the beginning, and enjoying it most of the way. But lately… I've either outgrown the series, or Jane has just failed to grow up. What was once amusing no longer is. The plots may vary slightly, but nothing else has really changed. Except maybe Jane's wardrobe. Her wardrobe, while being limited, seems to have been stepped up a notch in this book.This is(cont in comments)...

Hands down, this is my favorite book ever in the Little People Big Dreams series! The illustrations are nothing short of groovy! This short story into the life and times of Freddie Mercury is relevant to both children and adults. With fun facts, fabulous illustrations, and a terrific timeline in the back, this will become your favorite LPBD book as well.

Note - this book is a locally self published book and not part of the Litsy Library. It is not the tagged book.
Written and illustrated by an amazing local artist, this book tells the tale of sinterkclaas' famous white horse. Living in a community rich with Dutch heritage, we celebrate our Dutch heritage throughout the year and especially at the holidays and at our world famous Tulip Time. This book is beautifully (cont in comments)...

It's been a while since I've done a #SundayMugday And I'm sure this mug has starred in Sunday mug day before but… I couldn't resist on this beautiful snowy pre Christmas Winter morning ��🎄🥰 Cheers to today being all about books and reading for me, wishing the same for you all too 📚💕 #mugshot

Charlie Boy is the 2nd book I have read by Kim Delmar Corey. I Corey writes children's historical fiction with a wonderful storytelling flare! Home to Mackinac was the 1st book I read & I loved it, not a surprise since Mackinac Island is one of my favorite places! Charlie boy is a fascinating story set in 1890s Detroit. with a peek into the exciting early days of the automobile development with the likes of the Dodge...cont in comments

The summer of 69...A summer of highs and lows; For the country- Vietnam, Man on the moon, The Chappaquiddick incident. And for the Levin family - The only son is drafted, The oldest sister is expecting twins, one sister involved in the civil rights movement, and the youngest just entering her teenagec years encounters all the expected angst and harbors a few secrets. The youngest may have a few secrets but...(cont in comments)

December means holiday books and this book is perfect to get you in the bid for the holiday season! From no room at the Inn to to many rooms at the Inn. Such a sweet story - expectations and disappointment, magic and misunderstandings, hope and dreams, forgiveness and understanding, faith and a bright future �� love Lindsay Harrels books!

The Whittiers by Daniel Steel...
I liked the plot but it fell short for me nearly every point. 6 siblings, all young adult to adult, lose their parents in a tragic accident. The family home is quite literally a mansion & it's too much for any one of the kids on their own. Eventually most all of them come home and live together as they each deal with other dramas in their personal lives. Strangely, those other dramas (cont in comments)

The Maggie Bright by Tracy Groot was our November book choice for our local author challenge...
Tracy is a Christy Award-winning author and the Maggie bright lived up to all my expectations. I love historical fiction and this book is set in 1940's England when Claire child's inheritance the Maggie Bright, a 52' yacht. Clare has big plans but the Maggie Bright holds mysteries and war intervenes. While I really enjoyed this(cont in comments)...

Hitchhiking With Larry David gets 2 thumbs up for this "stick your thumb out" book! This book manages to be laugh out loud funny while occasionally being deeply inspirational & profound. Heart warming & honest. A little bit of new age Zen & a little bit spiritual. Down-to-earth while rubbing elbows with the rich and famous. This book has been languishing on my TBR stack & I decided it was the perfect book to take on a recent road trip. Loved it!

Thanks to Net Galley for an advanced copy of Little People Big Dreams Hedy Lamarr! Hedy was a fascinating woman of many talents, extreme beauty, and extremely smart. I read Beautiful Invention a novel of Hetty Lamar a few years ago and was fascinated by her story. Little people big dreams Hetty Lamar is a wonderful book for children. With colorful and captivating illustrations, simple descriptions, and a more involved time(cont in comments)...

The High Notes by Daniel Steel... When DS is on a roll, she's really on a roll and right now I believe she is! The high notes is yet another excellent book in a string of good books from DS recently. This is the sweet and inspiring story of Iris Cooper. A child protege to be sure. Also, a traumatic childhood to be sure. Iris doesn't let that hold her back or stand in her way, no excuses… this is who she is and how she got here(cont in comments)...

Having been a Pom mom for years, I thought this would be a fun book to read. The only thing that made it OK was the pictures. I feel like I should apologize but I just really didn't find any value in this book other than a few cute pictures. To me it came off as being more about a spoiled pom parent passing on their story through the eyes of their poms. Come to think of that, it probably would have been better as a picture book, no words🤷

Beached in a Camper is the 1st in a series of kids books from a local artist & author, Kate Moynihan. Brothers Adam & Brian share the adventures (& misadventures) of camping along lake Michigan & all the good clean fun that goes with that. Well, maybe not always clean if you consider the who seagull pooped on Adam 😅 Creativity sparks many of their adventures & subtle moral lessons pepper this fun story. Can't wait to read with my grands 😊

The Christmas Spirit by beloved author, Debbie Macomber… the perfect book look to kick off your holiday reading! A sweet "once upon a time" story told by a grandmother to her grandchildren. The twist is that her "story" really did happen once upon a time. Two best friends, each thinking the other has it easier than they do, trade places. One swaps out his stressfuland busy pastorship for running his best friends bar, (cont in comments)...

Gina has lost her father, her job coma and her boyfriend. But when she loses her beloved aunt she is really bereft. And then… and unexpected it gift When she inherits her aunt's home in the heart of Bordeaux wine country. Gina decides to take a chance and start fresh and in doing so she'll receive another gift... Answers and resolution to the past, and just maybe the key to the future. This is a sweet read in a beautiful (cont in comments)...

I adore the Little People Big Dreams series & this book seemed very appropriate this fall. Like so many others, I was saddened by Queen Elizabeth's death. This book is such an awesome book to teach young children about the amazing woman that Queen Elizabeth was. The illustrations are wonderful & I love the timelines at the back of the books. This timeline stops short of Queen Elizabeth's death. Hopefully it will be updated in the next printing.

A Murder of Crows by G Carlin staple was our book groups September local authors book. Actually come we could read any book by this author and I've already read the 1st 2 in this series so this was book 3. I love mysteries, I love supporting local authors, and I love reading books that highlight local landmarks. Well written, and interesting era, and just fun to read!! Do you love supporting local authors?

Marcus Rashford Little People Big Dreams...
LPBD is my Favorite series of non fiction kids books for both kids for both kids and adults!
They are always excellent quality; cover, binding, and paper; & beautifully illustrated! Fun facts and we always learn something!
We also really like the time lines in the back of the books!

This is the 4th book in the Seaside Saga series. In this book, the fabric of this close knit group of friends begins to unravel & each one in turn feels like they have been set adrift when their world, their boat, is rocked by the death of one friend. Dreams are tossed out, relationships pushed aside, as they each try to deal with the present & the past in order to find their way back to each other & their futures. Emotional & heartwarming!

My favorite TJR book to date! This started off a little slow for me and Carrie Soto and Carrie Soto is a difficult character to like. She is a bit robotic and cold, And doesn't really care what anyone else thinks. 6 years after her retirement and, after shattering every record and claiming 20 grand slam titles, carry attempts a come back. And she comes back with her father as her coach once again. As the story develops (cont in comments)

The Edge of Summer by Viola Shipman...
All the feels! This is a multifaceted story that is that is beautifully written and wonderfully woven together. This story begins during covid. I think that's important; we shouldn't forget, we should honor this historical event by learning something from it, & moving forward in a positive manner with these lessons in mind.
Sutton Douglas struggles to come to terms with the sudden death (cont in comments)

Round Up the Usual Peacocks is the 31st Meg Langslow cozy mystery. And I've read them all! Kevin delves into some cold cases it does and sparks the wrong person's interest period of course he needs Meg's help. This call this coincides Meg's brothers wedding and everyone is pulled into multiple directions. With Meg on the case, can the mystery be wrapped up in time to enjoy the wedding? Hilarity combined with tongue and(cont in comments)...

The body guard by Katherine Center…
Center has become one of my favorite authors for her ability to combine heart touching feels with humor. A perfect beach rate, Babe, a wonderful summer or romcom. Hannah Brooks is a female bodyguard who gets assigned to Jack Stapleton, a big movie star.This book plays out with the predictability that you would expect however, there are so many unexpected tidbits that I found it thoroughly (cont in comments)...

Lilly Graham excels at historical fiction! The Last Restaurant in Paris is a beautifully written story, intricately woven, weaving back-and-forth between decades. Beautifully written, haunting, heartbreaking, touching, unforgettable. A story about overcoming heartbreak and loss, love and more heartbreak and loss, a mystery and a quest, revenge and forgiveness. I loved this book!

The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander… if books had a heart, The Littlest Library would have the biggest heart. Jess's life is just fine thank you. It's quiet and comfortable. But then her beloved grandmother passes away and she loses her job at the local library. Jess needs a new start and a new adventure.( I'm in the same place, thanks jess!) Through a random series of events (is anything really random?) (Cont in comments)...

The Hideaway by Norma Curtis is fantastic historical fiction written with a dual timeline. Thea is on summer holiday from her job at the local school. She's having a bit of a personal crisis and decides to get away from it all. Thea finds herself stumbling into a tiny town and is inexplicably drawn to a nearly hidden, somewhat ramshackle house that is available to rent.
Heidi is a 90 year old woman dealing with her (cont in comments)...

The Denim Blue Sea by Joanne DeMaio is the 2nd book in the Seaside Saga series.
What could be more perfect than a summer wedding by the sea? What could be less perfect? What could be better than old friends getting together, catching up? What could go wrong? As old hurts resurface, as old secrets come to light, as old rivalries resurface, and old relatives reappear, all may not be as it seems, all is not perfect. (Cont in comments)...

Another LPBD book complete, I've been loving this multi million - copy best selling series! I'm ashamed to say that I really didn't know much about Wilma and this book taught me. Not my favorite for the illustrations, they are a little more bland than many of the LPBD books I've read however, the story is important, I learned something, and I truly enjoyed it. This is a special book that I'll enjoy sharing with my grand kids, helping them learn.

The best Is Yet to Come by Debbie Macomber is definitely one of her best! Debbie's writing never fails to soothe my soul and infuse me with hope. Speaking of hope, Hope Goodwin needs a new beginning and looks to find that in Oceanside WA. Starting a new job and volunteering at the animal shelter Is a good start. Hope meets Shadow, a rescue dog that seems hopeless to everyone but Hope. And then she meets Cade, (cont in comments)

The Gin Sister's Promise by Faith Hogan is such a fun and inspirational read! From childhood promises to broken promises as adults. Broken trust, hard feelings, falling out, out of touch. But when Georgia, Iris, and Nola's father dies, he brings the girls together one more time with his final wishes... Will he be successful? The girls must all leave their homes and jobs in London and live together in the family home in (cont in comments)

Suspects by Daniel Steel, overall - an enjoyable read.
On the downside for me-this book follows the typical Daniel Steele model that many of her books do; ~Bad things happen to good people. Privileged good people have tons of money. Money can't buy happiness, can't bring your loved ones back but, it does allow you to live more than comfortably, to do and experience thing that many people can not which in turn can(cont in comments)...

The Hotel Nantucket is classic Ellen Hildebrand summer beach read material but, with a fun twist! History with a mystery, secrets and broken trusts, intrigue, underhanded dealings, hard work, play hard, success, broken hearts, self discovery, surprises, love. Will the newly renovated Hotel Nantucket survived its 1st season? Will it earn the coveted 5th key? Is it haunted?? Is being haunted good or bad? (Cont in comments)...

Long Way Home by Lynn Austin...

Once again Lynn strikes the perfect balance by creating a book that is both historically accurate, educational, and entertaining! Between being heart wrenching and heart touching! She seemlessly weaves a story that goes back-and-forth between War and Postwar times. Between countries & families. A story of family relationships, friendships, love, loss, and love again. A story of patience(cont in comments)...

This is a wonderful story of America's most celebrated librarian, Nancy Pearl. The little girl in the library could have been myself. I always thought the school library and the public library were magical places, still do! I love how this book showcases the power of books! How it brought Nancy out of her shell, and gave her self confidence. How it made her feel included and taught her how to make others feel included when(cont in comments)

I've read every Wade Rouse and Viola Shipman book written. I first got to know Wade's writing through his early memoirs, that's when I fell in love with his books. I've had the pleasure & honor of meeting Wade, you can't help but love the person he is! Magic Season, a Son's Story, is Wade's 1st memoir in more than a decade. What a thrill to experience wade's non fiction writing once again! Magic Season is a (cont in comments, KEEP reading!)