Paris in the late 1800's? during the Belle Epoque?, antique furniture and paintings, and journals from an apartment's original inhabitant. All of these things made A PARIS APARTMENT a book that will keep you glued to the pages.

Who wouldn't want to go to Paris? April was an art history major and an auctioneer. When her boss told her she would be going to Paris to put value on an apartment's contents that had been closed up for 70 years, she couldn't pass up the chance even though her marriage was a bit rocky.

When April found the journals of Marthe de Florian, they made the apartment’s contents even more valuable and the book quite enticing. The journals told about Marthe de Florian's life and her connection and relationships with artists and other famous people.

Famous people such as Victor Hugo and Giovanni Boldini were part of the book's intrigue. Marthe de Florian had quite a colorful life.

A PARIS APARTMENT was a bit rough getting started, but once the journals were found, they and the Parisian atmosphere ?drew you into the era and its living style.

?A PARIS APARTMENT is based on a real apartment and a real person. Ms. Gable did a great deal of research and weaves the story so masterfully that you don't even know it is history, but it definitely revealed a wonderful hidden part of Paris.

For a debut novel, the writing ?and storyline were marvelous. A PARIS APARTMENT has beautiful, descriptive writing, and the journals made it oh so good.

April’s rocky marriage seemed to be a side story, but the apartment, its contents, and the journals are historical aspects that I thoroughly enjoyed and what kept me reading.

The ending was marvelous as April met an eighty-seven-year-old family member of Marthe de Florian who fills in the gaps of Marthe’s life.

ENJOY, and don't give up too early. :) 4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

What was the intrigue and what was the secret about the book Annie always wanted to read but never did?

Why was her mother so evasive about that book?, The Missing Duchess,? and who was the Duchess of Marlborough?

Why did she and her mother really go to London?

Would the book and their trip to London reveal secrets in Annie's life?

?We follow Annie in present day and Pru, Win, and The Duchess (Mrs. Spencer) in the not so distant past.

Annie meets a British citizen who knew The Duchess, Pru?, and Win. Pru is the caregiver for the feisty Duchess. Win is the author who wrote the book about The Duchess who claims she really isn't a Duchess. Getting the story for his book was difficult for Win because The Duchess kept her life under wraps.

Annie gets the low down about all three characters from a British citizen, Gus, and she also trespasses into the house The Duchess lived in.

I enjoyed Annie's trips into the the house. I always love finding secrets and finding treasures from the past.

I enjoyed the back and forth in time and the "real time" story from Pru, The Duchess, and Win.

The characters in I'LL SEE YOU IN PARIS were quirky and fun. I loved The Duchess...she was a character.

I like this quote that was inside the book:

"Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." Marcel Proust

I'LL SEE YOU IN PARIS was very light and enjoyable with memorable characters and was well researched. I love the cover and the revelations at the end.

I do have to say the book was a bit confusing at times, but it is oh so good and so very creative.

ENJOY!! 4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

A summer home filled with years of memories, a book filled with years of written memories, and a home that is eroding away and about to fall off the cliff.

The Cliff House, appropriately named, has been the summer home on Nantucket for the Young/Packard/Codman family for over one hundred years. The women maintained the house, but now only Cissy is left, and she doesn't want to give up and face the reality that the house will be falling into the ocean before too long.

To help her mother come to the realization that she cannot continue to live in the summer home, Bess comes back home after four years. The memories are pretty strong for Bess and even more so when she finds the book containing the thoughts of the guests and family members who stayed there, but she can't convince her mother to leave.

THE BOOK OF SUMMER follows the family from 1939 to present day with flashbacks from entries in the memory book kept at the house. I actually enjoyed the present-day story more than the past.

THE BOOK OF SUMMER is a pleasurable read and a book I enjoyed because of the family drama, its secrets, and the characters. The characters are comical and lovable as well as stubborn. The reader gets to meet each generation of the women who kept the house going.

THE BOOK OF SUMMER was a bit confusing at first and didn't grab me right away like her other two books, but it definitely grabs your attention as you meet the characters and learn more about the history of Cliff House. That gorgeous cover draws you in as well.

THE BOOK OF SUMMER is delightful, thoughtful, and a book about families that has you focusing on your family history.

ENJOY when you read THE BOOK OF SUMMER. 4/ 5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Just who is Tom Fitzwilliam? Does anyone really know?

To the outside world he is a handsome, popular, successful man, but is he really all that?

Strange things always happen in the neighborhoods where Tom lives, and Melville Heights is no exception.

There is spying in the neighborhood by his son, there are women in love with Tom, and there is a neighbor, Mrs. Tripp, who thinks Tom is the cause of numerous strange things happening to her and has remembered something about Tom that happened a few years ago.

Could Mrs. Tripp be right about Tom and everyone else wrong thinking he is perfect? She doesn't give up.

Tom’s son, Freddie, is definitely odd and frightening.

There are other characters that play some major roles such as Joey who is a suspect in a murder investigation that occurred in the neighborhood and who has a crush on Tom Fitzwilliam.

WATCHING YOU is definitely a study in human nature with nosy neighbors being the focus. It seemed that everyone was spying on someone with Freddie being the major one.

As the book continues, the mystery about who Tom really is and who the murdered person is at the beginning of the book are slowly revealed.

WATCHING YOU has a lot of unlikable and odd characters, but that is what made it good and typical Lisa Jewell.

I was asking myself just who is anyone in this twisty, strange, but excellent thriller that had me wondering about all of the characters and what was happening.

If you enjoy Lisa Jewell’s books, you won’t want to miss reading WATCHING YOU.

The ending revelations are GREAT!! 4/5

This book was given to me as an ARC by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Ivy and Mary was here."

Those words are the beginning, the ending, and the basis of NECESSARY LIES. Those five words go full circle in this incredible, haunting book.

You will be transported to another world as you read NECESSARY LIES. A world of poverty and illiteracy as well as pity for the way the families had to live.

Jane, a physician's wife, was the new social worker dealing with the Hart and Jordan families. The families worked on a farm owned by Mr. Gardiner who had connections with both families - connections that were not on the up and up. The Hart girls, Ivy and Mary Ella, were the biggest problems for the family and definitely the social worker. Together each family told a lot of secrets and "necessary lies" to the social worker.

The book's characters were genuine and will tug at your emotions. One thing after another happens to the family, and the social worker gets drawn into the family's plight even though the social services agency told her some of things she was doing for the family were not acceptable.

The book flowed very nicely and was divided into chapters told in the voice of the main characters. You will become attached to the characters as I did and will be staying up late to "turn the pages" of this well-researched and beautifully written, poignant book based on a true program implemented in North Carolina.

NECESSARY LIES is the perfect title because lies were necessary for the characters to survive. It is heart wrenching yet informative as you follow the characters through their inadequate, restricted days. I thoroughly enjoyed this insightful, sensitive first book I have read by Diane Chamerblain. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

"Ivy and Mary was here."

Those words are the beginning, the ending, and the basis of NECESSARY LIES. Those five words go full circle in this incredible, haunting book.

You will be transported to another world as you read NECESSARY LIES. A world of poverty and illiteracy as well as pity for the way the families had to live.

Jane, a physician's wife, was the new social worker dealing with the Hart and Jordan families. The families worked on a farm owned by Mr. Gardiner who had connections with both families - connections that were not on the up and up. The Hart girls, Ivy and Mary Ella, were the biggest problems for the family and definitely the social worker. Together each family told a lot of secrets and "necessary lies" to the social worker.

The book's characters were genuine and will tug at your emotions. One thing after another happens to the family, and the social worker gets drawn into the family's plight even though the social services agency told her some of things she was doing for the family were not acceptable.

The book flowed very nicely and was divided into chapters told in the voice of the main characters. You will become attached to the characters as I did and will be staying up late to "turn the pages" of this well-researched and beautifully written, poignant book based on a true program implemented in North Carolina.

NECESSARY LIES is the perfect title because lies were necessary for the characters to survive. It is heart wrenching yet informative as you follow the characters through their inadequate, restricted days. I thoroughly enjoyed this insightful, sensitive first book I have read by Diane Chamerblain. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

We all have dreams...some are fulfilled, some are not. Teddi Overman knew she had a talent for refinishing antique furniture even though her mother told her there was no future in it. Her mother wanted her to be a secretary.

Teddi didn't want to be a secretary. Teddi pursued her dream but had reservations about leaving her family when she did. She was so far away from them, and since she had left secretly in the middle of the night and on a bad note, there was some regret on her part. Her decision was a good one in the long run, though.

LOOKING FOR ME is another spectacular read by Beth Hoffman. The book faces family issues, friendships, dreams, unearthed talents, tragedies, regret, and heartbreak, but also has wonderful lessons. You will need a kleenex as you follow Teddie Overman from her childhood to adulthood. You will share in her triumphs and also her let downs.

You will follow the Overman family as the book goes back and forth in time. Mama was an odd character who was always pessimistic. Teddi was loveable, hopeful, ambitious, optimistic, and a joy. Josh was a sad character. Daddy was a wonderful character. Grammy was the perfect grandmother. Stella and Olivia were perfect friends for Teddi.

The book is about memories....so important, yet so painful. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the setting, the storyline, and the lessons learned. The book was uplifting and sweet but will also bring tears to your eyes....good tears.

LOOKING FOR ME is about the relationship between family members and how tragedies can tear them apart and also about talents that we shouldn't waste. If you are an antique buff, you will be thrilled.

LOOKING FOR ME perfectly describes how we all are looking for something in our lives that usually takes root in our childhood. The quote from page 206 made an impression on me and seems to sum up what Ms. Hoffman was trying to convey:

"We will be known forever by the tracks we leave."

This quote stayed with me long after I turned the last page of the book.

The book is written in Ms. Hoffman's customary beautiful, effortless storytelling style. It conveys the fragility and beauty of family and the determination to never give up.

This is a must read so you can soak up the depth of, the warmth of, and the beauty of Ms. Hoffman's writing, and share in the benefit of her words of wisdom about being happy.

I absolutely loved this book. 5/5

This book was given to me by the author free of charge and without compensation in return for an honest review.

Flying dishes, prom gowns, red high-heeled shoes, embarrassing school days....what more could a child take.
Cee Cee Honeycutt lived with her parents who consisted of a mother who thought she missed out on life since she left her home town in Georgia to marry an older man and her father, an absent traveling salesman. Life didn't really turn out very well for anyone in the family, but once Cee Cee met Great Aunt Tootie, her life was something she never would have imagined.

Here is how she happened to be with Aunt Tootie.....one day as Cee Cee's mother was coming back from the Goodwill store wearing her newest prom gown, she absentmindedly ran into the street and was hit by an ice cream truck and died. Cee Cee was then moved to Savannah, Georgia, with her Great Aunt Tootie, but not before her loving neighbor, Mrs. Odell, told her about the Life Book we all have with pages that need to be turned when the time comes.

And what a page in Cee Cee's life was turned when she arrived in Savannah....loving people to surround her and protect her, especially Oletta, Aunt Tootie's cook, and of course Aunt Tootie who showered Cee Cee with hugs and affection that had been lacking in the previous twelve years of her life. Cee Cee’s unconventional neighbors and a beautiful home also helped add pages to her Life Book.
You will absolutely LOVE this book especially if you like sweet, nostalgic, heartwarming reads with a Southern charm...some of the scenes were laugh-out-loud and others brought tears to your eyes with the tenderness.

The characters were lovable and genuine. It is a beautiful, touching read...just like a BIG hug.
Going to end my review with a quote from Oletta, my favorite character: "Don’t go wastin’ all them bright tomorrows you ain’t even seen by hangin’ on to what happened yesterday. Let go, child. Just breathe out and let go.” Page 290 Cee Cee definitely had “bright” tomorrows to put in her Life Book thanks to all the loving women in her life.

Thanks, Miss Hoffman… This is going to be one of my all-time favorite books.

5/5

What hold could Old Nick have over Ma that would make that room her world? Why didn't she just leave? Or maybe she wasn't able to leave?

Jack's fifth birthday definitely wouldn't be what a normal five-year-old would be delighted with, but Jack was happy to spend the day with his Ma in their ordinary, same-as-always routine. They spent every day in the "room" with the food and clothing that Old Nick provided for them.

Ma doesn't allow Old Nick to see Jack but she never tells Jack why. Ma and Jack's days are creatively spent inventing things, measuring everything in the room that has been Ma's space for the past seven years, reading books and changing the characters to suit them, and watching the clock so they know when it is time to eat or sleep. They never leave their "room," and Jack really doesn't know any better or know anything about the outside world except what his Ma tells him when they read books.

As much as Ma tries to protect and shelter Jack, he begins to question what is beyond the walls they live in. Ma tries to divert Jack's attention to other things, but sometimes it is unavoidable......especially the night when Jack overheard a conversation between Ma and Old Nick about him and the life Old Nick provides for her.

One comment made by Old Nick that stuck in my mind was: "I don't think you appreciate how good you've got it here," "Do you?" Page 69 To me that would be highly questionable....how good could life be simply living in a room and never going outside?

I grew to hate Old Nick and how he treated both of them. When you find out the "whole" story, you won't want to stop reading.

This book is about fear, abuse, control, a mother's love, and wanting the best for your child. At first you may want to put the book down, but don't do it....you will share Ma's feelings of fear for Old Nick and her dependence on him and also the heartbreak of Jack's acceptance of the only life he has known. You will fall in love with sweet, innocent, literal Jack, and you will think about both characters and their experience long after you turn the last page.

To me this was actually a "creative" thriller...excellent storyline. I really liked the book. 5/5

A Lovely Wife is definitely a misnomer. A demented psycho is more like it.

Everything Millicent does seems innocent on the outside, but it is truly evil. She plans things that will benefit her and only her with her family being at the brunt of the control issues she has. Millicent is definitely a character to hate.

One day after a number of years of marriage, she had the most bizarre plan. Her husband who was never given a name in the book did what he did to keep Millicent pleased most likely because he was afraid of his wife.

MY LOVELY WIFE is unbelievable, but Ms. Downing does an excellent job of keeping you engaged from the first page, and the engagement doesn’t stop just like Millicent doesn't stop the murders of young women.

Ms. Downing's debut is unique and well-written, but also has a story line that is unthinkable and unimaginable.

If you enjoy a fast-paced book that takes you on a crazy ride and will have you biting your nails, then MY LOVELY WIFE will be a book you will want to take a look at.

You HAVE to read this book to believe what the characters are doing. You won't be able to turn the pages quickly enough. 5/5

This book was given to me as an ARC by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

How could a charm bracelet stir up so many emotions and curiosity?

After Arthur's wife passed away and he was cleaning out her things, his discovery of a hidden charm bracelet had him curious about what each charm meant. He also wanted to know why he never saw Miriam wearing it and why she had it hidden in the toe of a boot.

This charm bracelet pulled him out of his hermit slump and onto adventures he never dreamed of as he traced where each charm came from and what their meaning was to Miriam. He had a few surprises.

Every adventure made him wonder what his wife's life was like before she met him. He couldn't stop searching for the meaning of each charm. These adventures also made him feel guilty he never took Miriam anywhere.

Arthur's finds and discussions with the people he met left him happier and more confident. He also was helping those he met come to grips with what they were dealing with.

Arthur was an absolutely endearing, charming, sweet character for me. I really enjoyed his antics and his thinking and especially the adventures he took us on.? We traveled the globe with him. I wanted to know the answers about the charms too and loved sharing Arthur's days.

THE CURIOUS CHARMS OF ARTHUR PEPPER is an adorable, enchanting, uplifting read. Be prepared to fall in love with Arthur Pepper.

THE CURIOUS CHARMS OF ARTHUR PEPPER has a very clever, enjoyable story line that gives you a nice cozy feeling. It felt like a big hug that you didn't want to end.

Give yourself a marvelous treat, and don't miss reading THE CURIOUS CHARMS OF ARTHUR PEPPER.

There aren't enough delightful words to describe this book. 5/5

A knock on the door in the middle of the night could only mean one thing, right? Bad news.

If it were Estelle, though, it would be good news so Benedict decided to answer the knock.

Much to his surprise, it wasn't Estelle, but Gemma who announced that she was his niece from America and she had lost her purse, her passport, and her phone. She wanted to stay with Uncle Ben. What else could he say but yes?

Gemma was a bit on the troublesome side, but she also was good for Benedict since the house was pretty lonely after Estelle left.

Gemma was the one who was helping Benedict change even though Gemma was pretty closed mouth about why she appeared on his doorstep and didn't want to call her father to let him know where she was.

Benedict was sweet but naive and had a heart of gold. He and Gemma grew together, and Gemma helped Benedict in his jewelry shop - a shop Gemma said needed some new ideas and changes just like Benedict did.

Gemma also was playing matchmaker as she helped her Uncle Ben get his wife back.

I thoroughly enjoyed Benedict and felt sorry for him as he worked through living without his wife. His jewelry shop and their love just hadn't been enough for them after they were unable to have children after eight years.

RISE & SHINE, BENEDICT STONE was a heartwarming read about family, about trying new things, and about trying to get what you need in life.

If you need an uplifting read for any reason, RISE & SHINE, BENEDICT STONE fits the bill. It brings back memories and thoughts of the precious things we all have in our lives and truly need to focus on.

A friendship made in an internment camp during WWII that lasted only eighteen months, but bonds and memories that lasted a lifetime.

Elise and Mariko met during WWII while attending school in an internment camp for Japanese and German Americans.

We follow both girls through their eighteen months in the camp as well as after even though the friends never saw each other again until they were older adults. They tried to connect with each other, but they never were able to.

At this time in their lives, Elise was suffering from dementia, and she found out Mariko was dying from stage four breast cancer.

Even though Elise had trouble remembering things, she remembered enough to find Mariko, to get on a plane, and to find her before they both were no longer alive.

THE LAST YEAR OF THE WAR is a marvelous history lesson and a testament to enduring friendship and learning lessons and making decisions.


The subject matter wasn't light, but it was wonderful learning more about this time in history. I actually wasn't aware of all that happened. It is very obvious that Ms. Meissner did extensive research and perfectly fit the facts into her book.

If you enjoy historical fiction and Ms. Meissner's books, you will want to make room on your bookshelf for THE LAST YEAR OF THE WAR.

As all of her books, the beautiful flow of Ms. Meissner's writing and her attention to detail make the book a treat to read. 5/5

This book was given to me as an ARC by the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Pepper is back and as usual something is brewing. The brew is that she is pregnant and has no place to go.

Pepper did have some money, though, because she found an old Mercedes at her sister's home, got it in perfect working order, and sold it. Little did Pepper know that the car and Annabelle, the woman who bought the car, had a colorful and intense history of love, loss, and complications that involved the car.

What secrets do both Annabelle and Pepper have? Will they both reveal them after Annabelle Dommerich takes Pepper with her to her home? Will they be able to share their secrets since after one day at Annabelle's, Pepper finds that Annabelle has disappeared on one of her trips with no return date leaving Pepper at the house with Annabelle's housekeeper and dogs.

ALONG THE INFINITE SEA has beautiful descriptions, wonderful characters, secrets that everyone likes to hear, and amazing characters. Annabelle is a character you can't help but love. Pepper is fun and both Annabelle and Pepper are quite likable yet very mysterious. When Alice arrives, the story gets even more interesting.

ALONG THE INFINITE SEA is another book of Ms. Williams that I thoroughly enjoyed. I enjoyed the back and forth in time and the way Ms. Williams knows how to tell a story. Her way with words and the story line kept me wanting more. The story of Annabelle and the revelation of the history of the car and her marriage was very intriguing.

Women's fiction fans will have another read that will stay with them after turning the last page. The Schuyler girls always have something fun or disastrous going on in their lives.

If you haven't read any of Ms. Williams' books, you definitely want to take a look at them. I know you won't be disappointed. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Falling in love with a younger man while you are still married and then having a younger woman come along wasn't the best thing to happen to Mrs. Theresa Marshall.

A CERTAIN AGE began with an excerpt from a murder trial then moved to alternating chapters and told of the life of high society and how they adapted social protocol to whatever they wanted.

We follow Mrs. Marshall, Mr. Marshall, Captain Rofrano, and Miss Fortescue in the scandalous antics they were all involved in. Decisions had to be made and?? Sophie Fortescue had the most difficult decision, even though her father was the one that would be making the decision about who she was to marry.

Ms. Williams again perfectly portrays the time period and how women in wealthy families really didn't have a choice about choosing their spouse. After the marriage proposal was made, an investigation into the Fortescue family adds another layer to the book. The Fortescues are not who they say they are, and a house that Mr. Rofrano grew up in was part of their secret.

Once the secret was revealed and Sophie Fortescue was more outspoken, the book heated up with an ending that was oh so good with an unexpected twist.

I enjoyed the characters, but Mrs. Marshall and Mr. Fortescue were my least favorites. Mr. Fortescue was too controlling, and Mrs. Marshall was too sneaky for me.

A CERTAIN AGE was beautifully written as all of Ms. Williams’ books even though it took me a while to get connected, but it was still enjoyable.

The book's cover is stunning, and the book is patterned after an opera titled Der Rosenkavalie.

Miranda has come back after eighteen years to the island where she has spent every summer since her mother married into the prestigious Fisher family. She hasn’t told anyone the reason why she has returned to Winthrop’s Island with bruises that no one mentions, but since she stays for a relatively long time, the reason can be assumed even though it might be the wrong guess.

Miranda's return isn’t a welcome event even after all of this time, though, because of her testimony at the trial of the lighthouse keeper’s son back in 1951 when she was eighteen and in love with the accused.

Miranda hadn’t grown up with the elite and wealthy. When her mother married Hugh Fisher after her father was killed in WWII, she is introduced to that life and also sees how the year-round residents who fish and work as domestics live.

THE SUMMER WIVES goes back and forth from 1930 to 1951 and then to 1969. We learn about Miranda’s life, the lives of the Fisher and Monk families, the lives of other island residents, and how the lives of the domestic help are all connected by one specific incident during those years.

I enjoyed the story from the 1950’s the best. It was the most interesting and the least confusing. The 1930’s didn’t make sense to me how it fit in, but as I kept reading, I found out that it kept a secret and held a BIG surprise.

Ms. Williams has written another book that will hold your interest but has a bit of confusing story line with all the back and forth.

THE SUMMER WIVES is a story of the typical antics and lives of privileged families. We learn that most of the Winthrop Island families may have had money, but most of them are not happy.

THE SUMMER WIVES has a great setting, good story line, and has characters with problems and secrets both past and present.

I enjoyed Ms. Williams’ latest even though it dragged a bit at times, but the ending had it all coming together and was very satisfying. 4/5

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I would give this book a 10 if I could. Loved it...absolutely amazing....the writing is a masterpiece.

All the mysteries and secrets of the Mountrachet family are revealed....the ending is superb.

The story goes back and forth in time telling the story of how little Nell was put on a boat to Australia without an adult and how the portmaster and his wife in Australia took her in as their own. Nell's life makes a complete turn around for her when her father tells her on her 21st birthday that she isn't really his child.

The book tells of the generations before and after Nell. It is masterfully written...you don't want to put it down until you find out who Nell really is and until you find all the secrets about how she arrived on the boat and in Australia and the significance of the forgotten garden....the garden plays a huge part in the unraveling of the secrets and mysteries in the book.

I usually don't re-read books, but I would re-read this just to be sure I "got" all the facts straight...it was just fantastic....the story was very clever and the characters unforgettable....I didn't want the book to end.

To be sixteen, to witness a murder, and to keep it a secret your entire life? When would Laurel find out the "real" reason for the murder. After fifty years, she needed to ask, but could she really find the answer? She had to. Time was running out.

Set in England and moving from the 1930's to 2011, you will follow Laurel as she continues to keep this secret and attempts to find out why her mother stabbed a visitor on her brother's birthday. Did the baby see or remember anything? Could that be possible? What if he did remember? Laurel, her father, and her mother were the only ones that were supposed to know, but were they?

The storyline is intriguing and the descriptions are amazing as you go back and forth in time to see what Laurel's mother's life was like as a child and also as a young adult and what life was like for Laurel, her sisters, and her brother as they grew up on a quaint farm in a loving family. Dorothy, Laurel's mother, lead a very significant life and had interesting people in her life that shaped her and her decisions.

The book seamlessly moves between time periods giving creative details of each era in the characters' lives and has you wanting to know more. An amazing storyline that keeps you guessing about the real reason for the murder and one that makes you want to be a part of the story in order to be part of the life the characters lead in each decade of their lives.

Finding out about her mother's motives and life before she was married was a goal Laurel was determined to solve before her mother died, and her mother is the only one who could give the answers to many questions, but could their dying mother tell all? Once clues about Dorothy's past begin to surface, you will be as anxious as Laurel was to find out other secrets her mother kept to herself all her life and secrets that caused her mother to commit murder.

This book was marvelous and captivating as all of Kate Morton's books, and the ending is absolutely SUPERB.

I thoroughly enjoyed the walk through Laurel's life and the flashbacks to her mother's life. Don't miss this book or any book Kate Morton has written...you will be taken away with her exceptional writing and fantastic storytelling skills as she weaves lives and situations together into incredible books. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Alice the author and sister of Theo and Sadie the detective.

Would these two women be able to find information about the disappearance 70 years ago of 11-month old Theo - if they worked together on this cold case even though the police had not been able to find one clue or to find Theo?

Alice had lived the nightmare of her brother's disappearance, and Sadie wanted to investigate the years-old case after she found the sprawling, abandoned estate of the Edevane family.

I LOVED exploring the estate and finding the clues of the case with Sadie and finding things that were left by the family. I would have loved to live on the estate as well as to be a part of the investigating.

THE LAKE HOUSE goes back and forth in time and is filled with mystery, hidden passageways, intrigue, family secrets, and all of Ms. Morton's wonderful, creative writing skills, marvelous story lines, and descriptions that get better each time you turn the page and that put you right at the scene or definitely wanting to be there with the characters.

?Ms. Morton knows how to keep her readers interested and not want the book to end.? Twists and turns seem to be Ms. Morton's trademark along with marvelous, surprise endings. And what a spectacular ending THE LAKE HOUSE has. You will love it!!

Ms. Morton had me hooked on her book THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN, and THE LAKE HOUSE is going to be right up there with it as one of my all-time favorites. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.?

An old house, an old sketch book, an old murder, an old photograph, and a lot of mysteries. Who doesn’t love all of those?

THE CLOCKMAKER’S DAUGHTER has it all.

THE CLOCKMAKER’S DAUGHTER goes back and forth in time looking for clues to connect Elodie’s present-day questions and findings to the time when her mother was alive and how a country manor and other mysteries seem to have a connection to her mother. She KNOWS there is some connection with everything she finds circling around Birchwood Manor.

Ms. Morton definitely makes you “work” for the clues. Her writing is beautiful as always, but the story line was difficult to follow.

Each chapter began without the identification of the person talking so the reader has to figure out who has appeared on the scene now.

I always enjoy Ms. Morton's books because of the gothic atmosphere and marvelous connection between the characters and the story line, but THE CLOCKMAKER'S DAUGHTER had me confused most of the time. Finding the connections was similar to solving a difficult math problem.

Once the chapter got started and you became interested in the story line, it was over and another thought and character appeared.

I can't say I didn't like the book. THE CLOCKMAKER’S DAUGHTER had a skillfully constructed story line, but it wasn't an easy read.

Once you were connected, though, it all started to come together in her marvelous Kate Morton style with a brilliant ending.

I LOVE her books, her beautiful writing, and her involved story lines so I kept reading because I wanted to find out how it all fit together and what the ending would reveal. The revelations were marvelous as always.

Anyone who loves Kate Morton, who likes to unravel a book's story line, and who can wait until it all comes together will not want to miss reading THE CLOCKMAKER'S DAUGHTER. 4/5

This book was given to me as an ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.