A Potpourri of Opinions

  Queens of London Heather Webb Pub date: Feb. 6, 2024 Genre: Historical Fiction Rating: 4 👢👢👢👢 Summary: Maybe women can have it all, as long as they're willing to steal it. 1925. London. When Alice Diamond, AKA "Diamond Annie," is elected the Queen of the Forty Elephants, she's determined to take the all-girl gang to new heights. She's ambitious, tough as nails, and a brilliant mastermind, with a plan to create a dynasty the likes of which no one has ever seen. Alice demands absolute loyalty from her "family"—it's how she's always kept the cops in line. Too bad she's now the target for one of Britain's first female policewomen. Officer Lilian Wyles isn't merely one of the first female detectives at Scotland Yard, she's one of the best detectives on the force. Even so, she'll have to win a big score to prove herself, to break free from the "women's work" she's been assigned. When she hears about the large...

  Strangers in the Night Heather Webb Publication date: March 21, 2023 by Harper Collins Genre: Historical Fiction  Rating: 5 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷 Summary: It was the tumultuous romance that scandalized the world: Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner fought, loved, and lived life to the hilt. Now their unbridled story is brought vividly to life by Heather Webb, the bestselling author of Meet Me in Monaco and The Next Ship Home. In the golden age of Hollywood, two of the brightest stars would define—and defy—an era… She was the small-town southern beauty transformed into a Hollywood love goddess. He was the legendary crooner whose voice transfixed the world. They were Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra. Separately they were irresistible; together they were an explosive combination. Ava’s star is rising just as Frank’s career—and public image as a family man—is taking a hit. Gone are the days of the screaming bobbysoxers and chart-topping hits. Ava, however, finds herself gracing the front page of ev...

With a new blog one must take the time to introduce themselves. 😀 I've worked in museums and libraries since 2012 and have been a librarian/branch manager at several different public libraries since 2018. As a librarian I feel I am partly expected to have some kind of literary influencer presence outside of work.   During the pandemic a group of random women banded together and created the blog With A Book In Our Hands. Someone sponsored the domain name and we flooded social media on a weekly basis. We covered all genres and it was pretty remarkable. Sadly, as time went by, the enthusiasm for the blog waned and we lost several of our founding members. That, coupled with an exorbitant amount of technical issues, inclined me to think about taking the lead on my own blog.  I am fortunate that in my position I have been able to host virtual author chats with some AMAZING authors. Debut authors, USA Today bestselling authors, New York Times bestselling authors, and internatio...