Review: The Bookstore on the Beach by Brenda Novak

The Bookstore on the Beach by Brenda Novak
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Published: April 2021

Three generations of women joined together for a life-changing summer.
Mary, the grandmother, who has deep secrets from her past she would like to remain there.
Autumn, the mother, is unsure whether to move on with life even though her husband has been missing for over a year.
Taylor, the daughter, has a secret of her own, and a new friend she isn't sure she wants to be just friends with.

Thanks to Harlequin Trade Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I was swept up in all the drama this book had to offer. A missing husband, teenage pregnancy, and 35-year-old secrets. I fell in love with the characters and was rooting for their success. I knew how it was going to end, but I was hoping that would not be the case. I was disappointed with the ending which is why it got 3.5 stars instead of 4.

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Harlequin Holiday Blog Tour

HARLEQUIN HOLIDAY BLOG TOUR 

Christmas from the Heart by Sheila Roberts
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Published: September 2019
 
Olivia "Livi" Berg lives in a small town near Seattle, Washington. Her sole purpose is to raise money for her non-profit, Christmas from the Heart and help as many people as she can in her small town. When she goes to one of their benefactors for a donation for the upcoming year, she is met with resistance. How in the world are they going to be able to help everyone that they helped before without this company's help? Guy Hightower is the benefactor who is not giving to Christmas from the Heart this year. His company has not been doing well since the death of this father and he is determined to turn that around, which means having to make some hard decisions. But when his car breaks down outside of Livi Berg's town, he will find out what Christmas from the Heart is all about.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the opportunity to read and review this book.

It's the time of year when we all like to cozy up under a warm blanket and watch Hallmark and Lifetime movies. I can see this book being on one of those stations.

Livi Berg despises Guy Hightower even before she has met him. How dare he call her a leech when all she is trying to do is provide for the people of her small community. Guy Hightower doesn't know Livi Berg at all, but can't believe she can't take no for an answer. But when he finally meets her, he can't believe how he was ever able to say no to her in the first place.

I usually do not read a lot of holiday themed books, I also do not watch those movies I talked about earlier, but I'm trying to change things up a bit. So this holiday season, I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and reading three holiday novels. I'll let you know which I like the best when it is all said and done.




Coming Home for Christmas by RaeAnne Thayne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: September 2019

Seven years ago, Elizabeth Sinclair Hamilton walked away from her family, and wasn't heard from again, until now. Her husband, Luke, never gave up hope that she was still alive, but now he is angry that she hasn't returned to her family and even more angry because the new district attorney is ready to press charges against him for her death. Determined to clear his name, he brings Elizabeth home to prove to the entire town, he did nothing to hurt his wife. But once she is back in town and he finds out what really happened to her, the anger starts to melt away. Will Luke and Elizabeth be able to rebuild the life they once had or is it lost forever?

Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Usually, I'm not the kind of girl who reads Christmas stories. This one grabbed me right from the very start and wouldn't let me go until the very end. At first I thought this was going to be a romance novel, and it did have to deal with love, but more of love of family and all the things this season is about.

What would you do if one day your significant other just seemed to vanish from the face of the earth? Would you move on with your life after a while or would you never give up the search for them? The truth behind Elizabeth's story is hard to believe and I wonder if the author knows someone with a similar story. Trying to decide how the family dynamic is supposed to look after so long is something the Hamilton family will try to overcome this holiday season. Will Elizabeth be able to regain the trust of her family? Will her kids still want her in their life after her avoidance for so long?

This is a great family novel, I think many people will enjoy.


Christmas in Silver Springs by Brenda Novak
My rating: TBD
Published: October 2019

Tobias Richardson has only been out of jail for five months, but he is determined to stay on the straight and narrow while living in Silver Springs. 

Harper Devlin has just ended her marriage to Axel Devlin, whose music career has just taken off.  She is in Silver Springs with her sister for the holidays in order to make sense of the new life she has.

The moment Tobias sees Harper, he can see the hurt in her eyes, but he needs to stay away from her because he is not the right guy for her.  Harper, isn't sure if she'll be able to move on without Axel in her life, but will meeting Tobias change all of that?

I've made it about half way through the book and I'm loving it.  I'm not sure what is going to happen between Harper and Tobias, but I can't wait to find out.



Thank you to Harlequin for the opportunity to read this Holiday novels and for participating in this Blog Tour.  See below for more about these authors and how to purchase each book.


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Author Bio for Sheila Roberts:

Sheila Roberts lives on a lake in the Pacific Northwest. Her novels have been published in
several languages. Her book, Angel Lane, was an Amazon Top Ten Romance pick for 2009.
Her holiday perennial, On Strike for Christmas, was made into a movie for the Lifetime Movie
Network and her novel, The Nine Lives of Christmas, was made into a movie for Hallmark . You
can visit Sheila on Twitter and Facebook or at her website http://www.sheilasplace.com

Author Bio for RaeAnne Thanye:

New York Times bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne finds inspiration in the

beautiful northern Utah mountains where she lives with her family. Her books have won

numerous honors, including six RITA Award nominations from Romance Writers of America and

Career Achievement and Romance Pioneer awards from RT Book Reviews. She loves to hear

from readers and can be reached through her website at www.raeannethayne.com

Author Bio for Brenda Novak:

Brenda Novak, a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author, has penned over sixty novels. She is a six-time nominee for the RITA Award and has won the National Reader's Choice, the Bookseller's Best, the Bookbuyer's Best, and many other awards. She also runs Brenda Novak for the Cure, a charity to raise money for diabetes research (her youngest son has this disease). To date, she's raised $2.5 million. For more about Brenda, please visit www.brendanovak.com

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Review: Finding Our Forever by Brenda Novak

Finding Our Forever by Brenda Novak
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cora has just moved to the town of Silver Springs California, hoping to start a new life with a new job teaching art. She's teaching a a school for troubled boys called, New Horizons and Cora is really drawn to its founder Aiyana. Besides the teaching job, Cora has other reasons to be in Silver Springs. Will she be able to find the answers she is looking for, or will the decisions she makes along the way hinder her ability to discover the truth about herself?

While I have many Brenda Novak books on my Kindle, this is the first of her titles that I have actually read. I was drawn to this book initially because of its setting of Silver Springs, the town I live in is called Silver Spring. I was even more drawn to the book by the characters because I have members of my immediate family with similar names to the characters in the book.

Cora Kelly was adopted 28 years ago. Since that time she has been on a quest to find her mother and find out why. She loves her adoptive parents wholeheartedly, but still has a desire to know where she comes from. Her birth mother was at a reasonable age to keep a child, 21, so what were the circumstances that made her decide that adoption was the best idea, especially since in her investigation she finds out that her birth mother has adopted several children over the years.

This was a very compelling story. It drew me in immediately and I couldn't put it down. I read it in just a few hours over a couple of days. I can't imagine what it would be like to not know your birth parents. And then searching your whole life to find them, with a closed adoption. In Cora's quest to find all this information, she falls in love and faces conflict with her adoptive parents. It's a great story for everyone who likes a little romance in their lives.

If you enjoy Ms. Novak's books, consider joining her book club on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/brend...

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