Tag Archives: Chanel Cleeton

Reading Romance Month — Dual Timelines

28 Aug

We have come to the end of August and the official end of Read A Romance Month. Of course, you know the romance reading will continue no matter the date on the calendar. 😉 My last installment features novels with dual timelines or split-time, as it is often called. By virtue of the genre, authors explore history most often with a contrasting contemporary story. While not all are strictly romance novels — history and mystery are standard — but hope and, of course, love play big roles. You will find at least one happily-ever-after in all of the books. I found all of these stories intriguing and unique. I hope one of them will pique your interest.

The Dress Shop on King Street by Ashley Clark

Harper Dupree has pinned all her hopes on a future in fashion design. But when it comes crashing down around her, she returns home to Fairhope, Alabama, and to Millie, the woman who first taught her how to sew. As Harper rethinks her own future, long-hidden secrets about Millie’s past are brought to light.

In 1946, Millie Middleton — the daughter of an Italian man and a Black woman —  boarded a train and left Charleston to keep half of her heritage hidden. She carried with her two heirloom buttons and the dream of owning a dress store. She never expected to meet a charming train jumper who changed her life forever . . . and led her yet again to a heartbreaking choice about which heritage would define her future.

Now, together, Harper and Millie return to Charleston to find the man who may hold the answers they seek . . . and a chance at the dress shop they’ve both dreamed of. But it’s not until all appears lost that they see the unexpected ways to mend what frayed between the seams.

Hidden Among The Stars by Melanie Dobson

The year is 1938, and as Hitler’s troops sweep into Vienna, Austrian Max Dornbach promises to help his Jewish friends hide their most valuable possessions from the Nazis, smuggling them to his family’s summer estate near the picturesque village of Hallstatt. He enlists the help of Annika Knopf, his childhood friend and the caretaker’s daughter, who is eager to help the man she’s loved her entire life. But when Max also brings Luzia Weiss, a young Jewish woman, to hide at the castle, it complicates Annika’s feelings and puts their entire plan—even their very lives—in jeopardy. Especially when the Nazis come to scour the estate and find both Luzia and the treasure gone.

Eighty years later, Callie Randall is mostly content with her quiet life, running a bookstore with her sister and reaching out into the world through her blog. Then she finds a cryptic list in an old edition of Bambi that connects her to Annika’s story . . . and maybe to the long-buried story of a dear friend. As she digs into the past, Callie must risk venturing outside the safe world she’s built for a chance at answers, adventure, and maybe even new love.

Hope Between The Pages by Pepper Basham

Uncover the Story Behind a One-Hundred-Year-Old Love Letter

Clara Blackwell helps her mother manage a struggling one-hundred-year old family bookshop in Asheville, North Carolina, but the discovery of a forgotten letter opens a mystery of a long-lost romance and undiscovered inheritance which could save its future. Forced to step outside of her predictable world, Clara embarks on an adventure with only the name Oliver as a hint of the man’s identity in her great-great-grandmother’s letter. From the nearby grand estate of the Vanderbilts, to a hamlet in Derbyshire, England, Clara seeks to uncover truth about family and love that may lead to her own unexpected romance.

The Lady in Residence by Allison Pittman

Young widow Hedda Krause checks into the Menger Hotel in 1915 with a trunk full of dresses, a case full of jewels, and enough cash to pay for a two-month stay, which she hopes will be long enough to meet, charm, and attach herself to a new, rich husband. Her plans are derailed when a ghostly apparition lures her into a long, dark hallway, and Hedda returns to her room to find her precious jewelry has been stolen. She falls immediately under a cloud of suspicion with her haunting tale, but true ghost enthusiasts bring her expensive pieces of jewelry in an attempt to lure the ghost to appear again.

In 2017, Dini Blackstone is a fifth-generation magician, who performs at private parties, but she also gives ghost walk tours, narrating the more tragic historical events of San Antonio with familial affection. Above all, her favorite is the tale of Hedda Krause who, in Dini’s estimation, succeeded in perpetrating the world’s longest con, dying old and wealthy from her ghost story. But then Dini meets Quinn Carmichael, great-great-grandson of the detective who originally investigated Hedda’s case, who’s come to the Alamo City with a box full of clues that might lead to Hedda’s exoneration. Can Dini see another side of the story that is worthy of God’s grace?

The London House by Katherine Reay

Uncovering a dark family secret sends one woman through the history of Britain’s World War II spy network and glamorous 1930s Paris to save her family’s reputation.

Caroline Payne thinks it’s just another day of work until she receives a call from Mat Hammond, an old college friend and historian. But pleasantries are cut short. Mat has uncovered a scandalous secret kept buried for decades: In World War II, Caroline’s British great-aunt betrayed family and country to marry her German lover.

Determined to find answers and save her family’s reputation, Caroline flies to her family’s ancestral home in London. She and Mat discover diaries and letters that reveal her grandmother and great-aunt were known as the “Waite sisters.” Popular and witty, they came of age during the interwar years, a time of peace and luxury filled with dances, jazz clubs, and romance. The buoyant tone of the correspondence soon yields to sadder revelations as the sisters grow apart, and one leaves home for the glittering fashion scene of Paris, despite rumblings of a coming world war.

Each letter brings more questions. Was Caroline’s great-aunt actually a traitor and Nazi collaborator, or is there a more complex truth buried in the past? Together, Caroline and Mat uncover stories of spies and secrets, love and heartbreak, and the events of one fateful evening in 1941 that changed everything.

In this rich historical novel from award-winning author Katherine Reay, a young woman is tasked with writing the next chapter of her family’s story. But Caroline must choose whether to embrace a love of her own and proceed with caution if her family’s decades-old wounds are to heal without tearing them even further apart.

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity—and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution…

Havana, 1958. The daughter of a sugar baron, nineteen-year-old Elisa Perez is part of Cuba’s high society, where she is largely sheltered from the country’s growing political unrest—until she embarks on a clandestine affair with a passionate revolutionary…

Miami, 2017. Freelance writer Marisol Ferrera grew up hearing romantic stories of Cuba from her late grandmother Elisa, who was forced to flee with her family during the revolution. Elisa’s last wish was for Marisol to scatter her ashes in the country of her birth. 

Arriving in Havana, Marisol comes face-to-face with the contrast of Cuba’s tropical, timeless beauty and its perilous political climate. When more family history comes to light and Marisol finds herself attracted to a man with secrets of his own, she’ll need the lessons of her grandmother’s past to help her understand the true meaning of courage.

Surviving Savannah by Patti Callahan

It was called “The Titanic of the South.” The luxury steamship sank in 1838 with Savannah’s elite on board; through time, their fates were forgotten–until the wreck was found, and now their story is finally being told in this breathtaking novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Becoming Mrs. Lewis.

When Savannah history professor Everly Winthrop is asked to guest-curate a new museum collection focusing on artifacts recovered from the steamship Pulaski, she’s shocked. The ship sank after a boiler explosion in 1838, and the wreckage was just discovered, 180 years later. Everly can’t resist the opportunity to try to solve some of the mysteries and myths surrounding the devastating night of its sinking.

Everly’s research leads her to the astounding history of a family of eleven who boarded the Pulaski together, and the extraordinary stories of two women from this family: a known survivor, Augusta Longstreet, and her niece, Lilly Forsyth, who was never found, along with her child. These aristocratic women were part of Savannah’s society, but when the ship exploded, each was faced with difficult and heartbreaking decisions. This is a moving and powerful exploration of what women will do to endure in the face of tragedy, the role fate plays, and the myriad ways we survive the surviving.

The Vanishing at Castle Moreau by Jaime Jo Wright

A haunting legend. An ominous curse. A search for a secret buried deep within the castle walls.In 1870, orphaned Daisy François takes a position as housemaid at a Wisconsin castle to escape the horrors of her past life. There she finds a reclusive and eccentric Gothic authoress who hides tales more harrowing than the ones in her novels. As women disappear from the area and the eerie circumstances seem to parallel a local legend, Daisy is thrust into a web that could ultimately steal her sanity, if not her life.

In the present day, Cleo Clemmons is hired by the grandson of an American aristocratic family to help his grandmother face her hoarding in the dilapidated Castle Moreau. But when Cleo uncovers more than just the woman’s stash of collectibles, a century-old mystery and the dust of the old castle’s curse threaten to rise again . . . this time to leave no one alive to tell the sordid tale.

Award-winning author Jaime Jo Wright seamlessly weaves a dual-time tale of two women who must do all they can to seek the light amid the darkness shrouding Castle Moreau.

When The Day Comes and In This Moment by Gabrielle Meyer

Libby has been given a powerful gift: to live one life in 1774 Colonial Williamsburg and the other in 1914 Gilded Age New York City. When she falls asleep in one life, she wakes up in the other. While she’s the same person at her core in both times, she’s leading two vastly different lives.In Colonial Williamsburg, Libby is a public printer for the House of Burgesses and the Royal Governor, trying to provide for her family and support the Patriot cause. The man she loves, Henry Montgomery, has his own secrets. As the revolution draws near, both their lives–and any hope of love–are put in jeopardy.

Libby’s life in 1914 New York is filled with wealth, drawing room conversations, and bachelors. But the only work she cares about–women’s suffrage–is discouraged, and her mother is intent on marrying her off to an English marquess. The growing talk of war in Europe only complicates matters.

But Libby knows she’s not destined to live two lives forever. On her twenty-first birthday, she must choose one path and forfeit the other–but how can she choose when she has so much to lose in each life?

Maggie inherited a gift from her time-crossing parents that allows her to live three separate lives in 1861, 1941, and 2001. Each night, she goes to sleep in one time period and wakes up in another. Until she turns twenty-one, when she will have to forfeit two of those lives–and everyone she knows in them–forever. 

In 1861, Maggie is the daughter of a senator at the outbreak of the Civil War, navigating a capital full of Southern spies and wounded soldiers. In 1941, she is a navy nurse, grappling with her knowledge of the future when she joins a hospital ship going to Pearl Harbor. And in 2001, she’s a brilliant young medical student, fulfilling her dream of becoming a surgeon.

While Maggie has sworn off romance until she makes her final choice, an intriguing man tugs at her heart in each era, only complicating the impossible decision she must make, which looms ever closer. With so much on the line, how can Maggie choose just one life to keep and the rest to lose?

Top 10 Tuesday — Summer Vibes

6 Jun

Happy Tuesday! This week bloggers are sharing book covers with summer vibes. My list comes from books that just say summer to me — beaches, water views, porch swings.

What says summer to you?

For more summer cover love, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Covers with Summer Vibes

Bookshop by The Sea by Denise Hunter

Falling for Grace by Janet W. Ferguson

Haven Point by Virginia Hume

The Key to Everything by Valerie Fraser Luesse

The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton

A Novel Proposal by Denise Hunter

A Stranger’s Game by Colleen Coble

The Summer House by Lauren K. Denton

Windswept Way by Irene Hannon

Top 10 Tuesday — Things That Get In The Way Of Reading

16 May

This week’s TTT topic is an easy one. EVERYTHING gets in the way of reading. There, done. 😉 Seriously, if you have a reading addiction habit problem passion then you know what I’m talking about. Chores, errands, cooking, cleaning, driving, sleeping, exercising — all are the everyday things that keep me from reading. I refuse to include social obligations and family events, because that would be wrong of me. 😉

So what do I do when I can’t physically hold a book to read? I listen to audiobooks. Because TTT is basically an excuse to talk about books, I’ve listed the last 5 audi0books I have enjoyed while trying to get a little more reading time in.

For more blogger’s non-reading woes, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Last 5 Audiobooks I Have Listened To

The Chase by Lisa Harris

Heirlooms by Sandra Byrd

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

Turn to Me by Becky Wade

Veiled in Smoke by Jocelyn Green

Top 10 Tuesday — Audiobook Narrators

25 Apr

Happy Tuesday! Today TTT is talking favorite audiobook narrators. To be honest, I really only notice the narrators of the books I listen to when they are bad. LOL! I know that pacing is important and accents can make or break a good listen, but I guess if I find myself deep in the story and not paying attention to the narrator, then they are doing a good job. So today I am going to list the last 10 audiobooks I listened to that I loved — those will be my favorite narrators 😉 .

For more from discriminating audiobook listeners, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Favorite Audiobook Narrators

Breach of Honor, written by Janice Cantore, narrated by Melie Williams

Crossfire, written by Lynette Eason, narrated by Sara Sheckells

Every Word Unsaid, written by Kimberly Duffy, narrated by Pilar Witherspoon and Sneha Mathan

Healing Skye, written by Janet W. Ferguson, narrated by Connie Shabshab

Heirlooms, written by Sandra Byrd, narrated by Melie Williams

The Kitchen Front, written by Jennifer Ryan, narrated by Jasmine Blackborow

Next Year in Havana, written by Chanel Cleeton, narrated by Kyla Garcia and Frankie Maria Corzo

The Souls of Lost Lake, written by Jaime Jo Wright, narrated by Kathryn Markey

Turn to Me, written by Becky Wade, narrated by Barbara McCulloh

When We Were Young And Brave, written by Hazel Gaynor, narrated by Rosie Jones and Imogen Church

Audiobook Mini-Review — Next Year in Havana

24 Apr

Next Year in Havana was the first book Chanel Cleeton authored. I picked it up from Audible because I really liked The Last Train to Key West, and I was eager for another book in the same vein. This novel introduces the Perez family (various members of the family are characters in other of Cleeton’s books), specifically Elisa, a privileged young woman caught up in the Cuban Revolution of 1958. The dual timeline novel also features Elisa’s granddaughter Marisol, who is tasked with returning to Cuba after Fidel Castro’s death and surreptitiously spreading her grandmother’s ashes. Cleeton does an excellent job of bringing Cuba past and present to life. She presents various sides of the revolution, sympathetic to those who fled into exile and those who chose to stay. The communist regime is not viewed favorably — all the injustices are exposed. While the politics of the times are the backdrop, the human element is what kept me turning the pages. There is love, loss, and a hope for a future. I liked both time periods equally, causing me to keep listening to find out what was going to happen to each of the main characters. There are some twists that I found very satisfying. Please note that this a general market offering — there are some adult situations. Specific to the audiobook: two narrators lend their voices allowing for Alissa and Marisol to shine through.

Bottom line, I liked this book and would not hesitate to pick up another by Cleeton.

Recommended.

Audience: adults.

(I purchased the audiobook through Audible. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity—and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution…

Havana, 1958. The daughter of a sugar baron, nineteen-year-old Elisa Perez is part of Cuba’s high society, where she is largely sheltered from the country’s growing political unrest—until she embarks on a clandestine affair with a passionate revolutionary…

Miami, 2017. Freelance writer Marisol Ferrera grew up hearing romantic stories of Cuba from her late grandmother Elisa, who was forced to flee with her family during the revolution. Elisa’s last wish was for Marisol to scatter her ashes in the country of her birth. 

Arriving in Havana, Marisol comes face-to-face with the contrast of Cuba’s tropical, timeless beauty and its perilous political climate. When more family history comes to light and Marisol finds herself attracted to a man with secrets of his own, she’ll need the lessons of her grandmother’s past to help her understand the true meaning of courage.

Chanel Cleeton is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick Next Year in Havana, When We Left Cuba, The Last Train to Key West, and The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba. Originally from Florida, Chanel grew up on stories of her family’s exodus from Cuba following the events of the Cuban Revolution. Her passion for politics and history continued during her years spent studying in England where she earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Richmond, The American International University in London and a master’s degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics & Political Science. Chanel also received her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Learn more about her on her website at http://www.chanelcleeton.com.

Top 10 Tuesday — 2023 Spring TBR

14 Mar

Happy Tuesday! Spring has definitely arrived in central Georgia. All the pollen! I am not sure how there can be so much! LOL! But the blooming trees and shrubs, the green grass, and the warmer temps are surely welcome. Today I am sharing my Spring TBR. It’s a rather short list since I am trying to read on a whim. But I have my eye on a few to add to the list later. This list is a mix of book club, review, and just because books. I hope you can find one to add to your TBR.

For more bloggers’ Spring TBR lists, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top 2023 Spring TBR

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

Finding Me by Kathryn Cushman

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

A Novel Proposal by Denise Hunter

The Sound of Light by Sarah Sundin

The Vanishing at Castle Moreau by Jaime Jo Wright

The Weight of Air by Kimberly Duffy

Top 10 Tuesday — Train Vibes

6 Sep

I am going way off script today in anticipation of my trip to the UK next week. We were supposed to have a planes, trains, and automobiles adventure, but learned that there will be an industrial action the days we were to get on board for two destinations. In the US that would be called a strike! At least they were polite about it and we were given a bit of a heads up. 😉 So it was to the car rental sites we went. We looked for a silver lining to having to drive on the wrong side of the road and navigate the roundabouts (on the wrong side), and found a few. Some train scenes from novels came to mind. You know the ones where orphans were transported across the country without their parent’s permission, the harrowing natural disasters, accidents, bombs, murders, and, of course, serial killers. Maybe planes and automobiles will be enough. 😉 Check out my list of novels with all the train vibes.

For those bloggers who kept to the script, visit That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Novels with Train Vibes

Collison of Lies by Tom Threadgill

The Girl from The Train by Irene Joubert

The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus by Jaime Jo Wright

Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton

Murder on The Orient Express by Agatha Christie

The Mystery of The Blue Train by Agatha Christie

Night Fall by Nancy Mehl

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

With You Always by Jody Hedlund

Audiobook Mini-Review: The Last Train to Key West

20 Jul

My lunchtime book club discussed The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton this month. We really enjoyed it. It has a lot to recommend it — 3 strong female voices, a tropical location, rich historical detail, and the tension of a monstrous hurricane bearing down on all. The three main characters — Helen, Mirta, and Elizabeth — were products of their time and culture. Each is facing decisions regarding their marital relationships and seek resolutions very different from each other. We liked all the women, but Elizabeth especially grew on us. Not a sympathetic character at first, she probably was our favorite. As for the men, they ranged from a despicable abuser, to a dashing devil, a loyal companion, and a true hero. It was no question that John won the best male character category. 😉 The autonomy of women is a strong theme, with each female character navigating her own situation with determination and conviction. There were a number of twists and turns we did not see coming, and that just added to the suspense of the oncoming hurricane. We knew what history told us, but not if or how the fictional characters would survive. This is a general market novel, but very clean with bedroom scenes taking place behind closed doors. There is some domestic abuse that may be troubling to some readers. Specific to the audiobook — 3 narrators are used to bring the women’s stories to life. I loved each voice. This is the perfect book/audiobook to pack in the pool bag.

Recommended.

Audience: adults.

(I borrowed the audiobook from my local library through Libby. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

In 1935 three women are forever changed when one of the most powerful hurricanes in history barrels toward the Florida Keys.
 
For the tourists traveling on Henry Flagler’s legendary Overseas Railroad, Labor Day weekend is an opportunity to forget the economic depression gripping the nation. But one person’s paradise can be another’s prison, and Key West-native Helen Berner yearns to escape. 
 
After the Cuban Revolution of 1933 leaves Mirta Perez’s family in a precarious position, she agrees to an arranged marriage with a notorious American. Following her wedding in HavanaMirta arrives in the Keys on her honeymoon. While she can’t deny the growing attraction to her new husband, his illicit business interests may threaten not only her relationship, but her life. 
 
Elizabeth Preston’s trip to Key West is a chance to save her once-wealthy family from their troubles after the Wall Street crash. Her quest takes her to the camps occupied by veterans of the Great War and pairs her with an unlikely ally on a treacherous hunt of his own.
 
Over the course of the holiday weekend, the women’s paths cross unexpectedly, and the danger swirling around them is matched only by the terrifying force of the deadly storm threatening the Keys.

Chanel Cleeton is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick Next Year in Havana, When We Left Cuba, The Last Train to Key West, and The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba. Originally from Florida, Chanel grew up on stories of her family’s exodus from Cuba following the events of the Cuban Revolution. Her passion for politics and history continued during her years spent studying in England where she earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Richmond, The American International University in London and a master’s degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics & Political Science. Chanel also received her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. 

Learn more about her on her website at http://www.chanelcleeton.com.

Top 10 Tuesday — Summer TBR

28 Jun

Happy Tuesday everyone! I am actually not planning my reading this Summer. Oh yes, I will be reading — a lot — but I am letting my Summer TBR be spontaneous. That’s certainly a new one for me. 😉 Today’s list will be short — only those scheduled for review or book club. Have any reading recommendations? Bring them on!

For more Summer Reading Lists, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Summer 2022 TBR

Critical Alliance by Elizabeth Goddard

The Deadly Shallows by Dani Pettrey

Healing Skye by Janet W. Ferguson

The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton

And one of these. Which would you choose?

Bookshop by The Sea by Denise Hunter

The One You’re With by Lauren K. Denton

Shaped by The Waves — Christina Suzann Nelson