A Potpourri of Opinions

The Prisoner B. A. Paris Publication Date: November 1, 2022 by St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio Genre: Thriller, Suspense Rating: 4 👢👢👢👢 Summary: Amelie has always been a survivor, from losing her parents as a child in Paris to making it on her own in London. As she builds a life for herself, she is swept up into a glamorous lifestyle where she married the handsome billionaire Ned Hawthorne. But then, Amelie wakes up in a pitch-black room, not knowing where she is. Why has she been taken? Who are her mysterious captors? And why does she soon feel safer here, imprisoned, than she had begun to feel with her husband Ned? My thoughts : B.A. Paris has become a go-to author for me whenever I'm in the mood for something suspenseful. What began with an abduction turned into the unraveling of a web of lies, cover ups, and murder. While this story started off fast, overall it was a slow build up. Paris use of short chapters helped to keep the reader on the right path. The main ...

The Cloisters Katy Hays Publication date: November 1, 2022 by Atria Books Genre: Mystery/Thriller Rating: 4 👢👢👢👢 Summary: When Ann Stilwell arrives in New York City, she expects to spend her summer working as a curatorial associate at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Instead, she finds herself assigned to The Cloisters, a gothic museum and garden renowned for its medieval art collection and its group of enigmatic researchers studying the history of divination. Desperate to escape her painful past, Ann is happy to indulge the researchers’ more outlandish theories about the history of fortune telling. But what begins as academic curiosity quickly turns into obsession when Ann discovers a hidden 15th-century deck of tarot cards that might hold the key to predicting the future. When the dangerous game of power, seduction, and ambition at The Cloisters turns deadly, Ann becomes locked in a race for answers as the line between the arcane and the modern blurs. A haunting and magical blend ...

The Brilliance of Stars (Jack and Ivy #1) J'nell Ciesielski Publication date: November 1, 2022 by Thomas Nelson Genre: Historical Romance Rating: 4 👢👢👢👢 Summary: Washington DC, 1914.   Ivy Olwen knows how to survive on the streets without two coins to rub together. But when she finds herself whisked into a secret society that seeks to maintain the balance of good and evil in the world, she can’t believe there’s more to life than just surviving. In the hallowed and historied halls of Talon, she learns European languages and ballroom dancing, as well as demolitions and sharpshooting—in short, everything a spy and assassin will need to survive in the field. The first day Jack Vale meets Ivy, he knows she is not to be underestimated. The second day, he knows his heart will belong to no one else. Between sparring bouts and constellation gazing, Jack takes Ivy under his wing, and the two form a bond that soon turns to love. While the rest of the world tumbles into war, the two e...

The Girls in Navy Blue Alix Rickloff Publication date: November 1, 2022 by William Morrow & Company  Genre: Historical Fiction Rating: 5 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷 Summary:  A gripping and compelling dual timeline novel about three women who joined the Navy during WWI to become yeomanettes and the impact their choices have on one of their descendants in 1968. 1918 - America is at war with Germany, and, for the first time in history, the US Navy has allowed women to join up alongside the men. Ten thousand of them rush to do their part. German-American Marjory Kunwald enlists in the Navy to prove her patriotism. Suffragette Blanche Lawrence to prove that women are the equal of men. And shy preacher’s daughter Viv Weston in a desperate attempt to hide from the police.  Even as the US military pours into France and the war heats up, the three yeomanettes find friendship and sisterhood within the Navy. But all their plans for the future are thrown into chaos when Viv’s dark...

The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey Serena Burdick Publication date: November 1, 2022 by Park Row Genre: Historical Mystery Rating: 4 🍷🍷🍷🍷 Summary:  What if you could write a new ending for yourself? England, 1898. When Evelyn first married the famous novelist William Aubrey, she was dazzled by his brilliance. But their newlywed bliss is brief when William is gripped by writer’s block, and he becomes jealous of Evelyn’s writing talent. When he commits the ultimate betrayal—stealing a draft of her novel and passing it off as his own—Evelyn decides to write her way out of their unhappy marriage. California, 2006. Abigail always wondered about her father, his identity forever lost when her mother unexpectedly died. Or so Abigail thought, until she stumbled upon his photo and a message that her great-great-grandmother was the author Evelyn Aubrey, leading Abigail on a journey to England in search for answers. There, she learns of Evelyn’s shocking disappearance and...

Dawnlands (The Fairmile #3) Philippa Gregory Publication Date: November 8, 2022 by Atria Books Genre: Historical Fiction Rating: 4 🍷🍷🍷🍷 Summary:  It is 1685, England is on the brink of a renewed civil war against the Stuart kings and many families are bitterly divided. Ned Ferryman cannot persuade his sister, Alinor, that he is right to return from America with his Pokanoket servant, Rowan, to join the rebel army. Instead, Alinor has been coaxed by the manipulative Livia to save the queen from the coming siege. The rewards are life-changing: the family could return to their beloved Tidelands, and Alinor could rule where she was once lower than a servant. Alinor’s son, Rob, is determined to stay clear of the war, but when he and his nephew set out to free Ned from execution for treason and Rowan from a convict deportation to Barbados, they find themselves enmeshed in the creation of an imposter Prince of Wales—a surrogate baby to the queen. From the last battle in the desolate S...

The Call of the Wrens Jenni L. Walsh Publication date: November 15, 2022 by Harper Muse Genre: Historical Fiction Rating: 5 👢👢👢👢👢 Summary:  Introducing the little-known story of the daring women who rode through war-torn Europe,   carrying secrets on their shoulders . . . 1917 England An orphan coming of age without a penny to her name, Marion joins the Women’s Royal Navy Service (the “Wrens”) as a motorcycle despatch rider on the Western Front, assigned to train and deliver carrier pigeons to the front line. Despite the hardships and constant threat of danger, Marion feels as if she finally belongs and that she has a purpose. Meanwhile, she and her childhood best friend, Eddie, dream of a future after the war—until tragedy strikes. 1936 England A society girl, Evelyn has overcome a childhood disability and has found her true passion in automobile racing. When England enters WWII, Evelyn sees an opportunity to use her skills as a despatch rider, but her par...