This week’s TTT is too much of a reminder of my past failures. đ Bloggers were tasked to list past summer TBR picks that they DID NOT read. I chose to tweak or, really, avoid the topic altogether and went with the books my book club did read over the past 10 Julys — a good mix of genres. Have you read any of these? My book club would recommend them!
Today’s Top 10 Tuesday topic is favorite places to read. Since I will read anywhere, I thought it would be a fun twist to match books to the Dr. Seuss-style poem about reading (many thanks to Seuss’ Green Eggs And Ham for the poet’s inspiration). While I had to stretch some of the connections, I think you will forgive me as the books I am sharing are awesome!
I have been reviewing books, all the books, for over 10 years, so I would have had to go way back in the archives for this week’s Top 10 Tuesday challenge — Books I Loved, But Never Reviewed. So I decided to go off topic. Last week bloggers shared books with colors in the title. That was a lot of fun, so I thought about some spin offs. I have a lot of material for more off topic and freebie weeks. đ This week I am sharing books with flowers in the title — a bouquet of books. Hope you find one to love!
In the final days of Nazi Germany, the strength of one womanâs heart will determine the fate of a family.
Prussia, 1945
The fall of the Third Reich is imminent. As the merciless Red Army advances from the East, the German people of Prussia await the worst. Among them is twenty-year-old Gisela Cramer, an American living in Heiligenbeil with her cousin Ella and their ailing grandfather. When word arrives that the Russians will invade overnight, Ella urges Gisela to escape to Berlinâand take Ellaâs two small daughters with her.
The journey is miserable and relentless. But when Gisela hears the British accent of a phony SS officer, she poses as his wife to keep him safe among the indignant German refugees. In the blink of an eye, Mitch Edwards and Gisela are Herr and Frau Joseph Cramer.
Through their tragic and difficult journey, the fabricated couple strives to protect Ellaâs daughters, hoping against hope for a reunion. But even as Gisela and Mitch develop feelings beyond the makeâbelieve, the reality of war terrorizes their makeshift family.
The Dandelion Field by Kathryn Springer
This handsome firefighter makes a living coming to the rescue, but Gin doesnât need a man to fight her battles.
After Raineâs dad walked out, Ginevieve Lightly never lived in one place too long, a rambling lifestyle that defined her daughterâs youth. When their car dies in Banister Falls, Wisconsin, Gin promises Raine they can stay until she finishes her senior year of high school. Gin will do anything to make sure her daughter has a bright future . . . a future thatâs compromised when Raine reveals sheâs pregnant.
Dan Moretti has only ever called Banister Falls home. After losing his best friend in a tragic accident, Dan devoted himself to responding to fires, rescuing the helpless, and guiding Cody Bennett, his best friendâs son, through life. With Cody being the epitome of the good kid, it was an easy job. Until he says four little words: âThe baby is mine.â
Knowing gossip of Raineâs pregnancy will erupt sooner or later in the small town, Ginâs reflex is to grab the suitcase and escape to a new city, a new life. But with each passing day, Ginâs feet stay rooted in Banister Falls, and she falls a little more for this local firefighter who shows her not all men abandon women at the first sign of smoke.
As Gin and Dan do the best they can to guide the two teenagers through their early entry into adulthood, they discover together that romance can bloom in the rockiest of situations. And God can turn the pieces of a broken past into a beautiful new beginning.
Dogwood by Chris Fabry
n the small town of Dogwood, West Virginia, Karin has buried her shattered dreams by settling for a faithful husband whose emotional distance from her deep passions and conflicts leaves her isolated. Loaded with guilt, she tries to raise three small children and âdo lifeâ the best she can. Will returns to Dogwood intent on pursuing the only woman he has ever lovedâonly to find there is far more standing in his way than lost years in prison. The secrets of Will and Karinâs past begin to emerge through Danny Boyd, a young boy who wishes he hadnât survived the tragedy that knit those two together as well as tore them apart. The trigger that will lay their pain bare and force them to face it rather than flee is the unlikely figure of Ruthie Bowles, a withered, wiry old woman who leads Karin so deep into her anger against God that it forces unexpected consequences.
Larkspur Cove by Lisa Wingate
Adventure is the last thing on Andrea Hendersonâs mind when she moves to Moses Lake. After surviving the worst year of her life, sheâs struggling to build a new life for herself and her son as a social worker. Perhaps in doing a job that makes a difference, she can find some sense of purpose and solace in her shattered faith.
For new Moses Lake game warden Mart McClendon, finding a sense of purpose in life isnât an issue. He took the job to get out of southwest Texas and the constant reminders of a tragedy for which he canât forgive himself.
Lilies in The Moonlight by Allison Pittman
Heâd lost his zest for life. She was just lost. Will they find the healing and love they long for?Â
After a roaring night on the town, fun-loving flapper Lilly Margolis, dazed and disoriented, twists her ankle and falls into the backyard of a wealthy family where the effects of the Great Warâover for more than half a decadeâare still endured. Inside the walls of the Burnside mansion, Cullen Burnside, a disillusioned and disfigured veteran, and his widowed mother, Betty Ruth, who daily slips a little further into dementia, lead a lonely existence ⌠until Lilly. Whimsical, lighthearted, and beautiful, she rejuvenates their sad, disconnected lives and blossoms in the light of their attention.
But Lilly, like Cullen, is hiding from a painful past. And when Cullen insists on returning her to her faraway home, their budding attraction seems destined to die on the vine. The resulting road trip becomes a journey of self-discoveryâbut what will Cullen and Lilly find at journeyâs end?
Magnolia Storms by Janet Ferguson
Maggie Marovich couldnât save her father or her home from Hurricane Katrina, but sheâs dedicated her life to meteorology so she can warn others when the monster storms approach. Except . . . she works three hours inland and rarely risks returning to her childhood hometown of Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Both her single-parent sister and the ship pilot Maggie once loved refused to leave the Coast, despite Maggieâs requests. Now a hurricaneâs headed toward Mississippi, and Maggieâs sister is seriously injured, leaving Maggie little choice but to head south â into the storm.
The water and tides flow through Josh Bergeronâs veins, and he canât imagine giving up piloting â even for the love of his life, the infuriating Magnolia Marovich. He tried to move on without her, marrying and having a child. But after his wife abandons him and his little boy, his career choice is threatened by the weight of his parental responsibilities. Moving next door to Maggieâs sister and sharing their child care seems like the perfect set-up. Until Maggie blows back into town.
Being forced to lean on Josh for help washes up the wreckage in Maggieâs faith. Where was God during the destruction of Katrina? Why do some prayers seem to go unanswered? Between the hurricane looming in the Gulf and another gale raging in her heart, can Maggie overcome her past and find the trust to truly live?
A Memory of Violets by Hazel Gaynor
Step into the world of Victorian London, where the wealth and poverty exist side by side. This is the story of two long-lost sisters, whose lives take different paths, and the young woman who will be transformed by their experiences.
In 1912, twenty-year-old Tilly Harper leaves the peace and beauty of her native Lake District for London, to become assistant housemother at Mr. Shawâs Home for Watercress and Flower Girls. For years, the home has cared for Londonâs flower girlsâorphaned and crippled children living on the grimy streets and selling posies of violets and watercress to survive.
Soon after she arrives, Tilly discovers a diary written by an orphan named Florrieâa young Irish flower girl who died of a broken heart after she and her sister, Rosie, were separated. Moved by Florrieâs pain and all she endured in her brief life, Tilly sets out to discover what happened to Rosie. But the search will not be easy. Full of twists and surprises, it leads the caring and determined young woman into unexpected places, including the depths of her own heart.
Remember The Lilies by Liz Tolsma
How will two very different people find loveâand survive the impossible circumstances of war?
In 1941 Rand Sterling was a wealthy, womanizing club owner and an American of note among ex-pats and locals alike. Now two years later, Rand is just another civilian prisoner of warâone whose planned escape from the Santo Tomas Internment Camp could put him and others in grave danger.
Irene Reynolds grew up as a missionary kid in the Philippine jungle. Now she works for the paranoid Japanese authorities, delivering censored messages to the other American prisoners in Santo Tomas.
When Ireneâs negligence leads to Randâs failed escape attempt, Rand is sent to the torture chambers of Fort Santiagoâand Irene suffers under the weight of her guilt. Yet when she crosses paths with Rand again after his unexpected return to the camp, something more than mere survival draws the unlikely pair together.
As life in Manila becomes more and more desperate, and another threatening letter finds its way from Ireneâs hands to Randâs, the reluctant couple struggles to find a way to stay alive . . . and to keep their growing feelings for each other from compromising the safety of everyone around them.
The Rose of Winslow Street by Elizabeth Camden
In the small town of Colden, Massachusetts, Libby Sawyer leads a quiet, predictable life. Yet beneath the surface, she is haunted by a secret.
Newly arrived on American shores, Michael Dobrescu is far from predictable, and his arrival in Colden is anything but quiet. Michaelâs shocking claim to be the rightful owner of Libbyâs fatherâs house immediately alienates him from the appalled citizens of Colden.
Despite her own outrage, Libby is unwittingly fascinated by this enigmatic man who seems equally intrigued by her. As the courtâs decision about the house looms and the layers of mystery surrounding Michaelâs past are unveiled, Libbyâs loyalties are tested in ways she never imagined.
Snow in The Tulips by Liz Tolsma
A strangerâs life hangs in the balance. But to save him is to risk everything.
The war is drawing to a close, but the Nazis still occupy part of the Netherlands. After the losses sheâs endured, war widow Cornelia is only a shadow of the woman she once was. She fights now to protect her younger brother, Johan, who lives in hiding.
When Johan brings Gerrit Laninga, a wounded Dutch Resistance member, to Corneliaâs doorstep, their  lives are forever altered. Although scared of the consequences of harboring a wanted man, Corneliaâs faith wonât let her turn him out.
As she nurses Gerrit back to health, she is drawn to his fierce passion and ideals, and notices a shift within herself. Gerritâs intensity challenges her, making her want to live fully, despite the fear that constrains her. When the opportunity to join him in the Resistance presents itself, Cornelia must summon every ounce of courage imaginable.
She is as terrified of loving Gerrit as she is of losing him. But as the winter landscape thaws, so too does her heart. Will she get a second chance at true love? She fears their story will end before it even begins.
This week’s Top 10 Tuesday challenge is to list books with colors in their titles. There are a lot more than I expected! I limited my list to books I have read or that reside on my TBR shelf (Kindle or actual), but the list is still really long đ .
Today’s Reading Road Trip is taking us to North Carolina. One of the original 13 colonies, it was established as a royal colony in 1729. Its history mirrors the bright future, the dark past, the struggles, and the joys of the United States. From the coast to the mountains, the rural farms and the tech cities, North Carolina has a lot to offer.
I have included a variety of genres in the books set in North Carolina. Hope you enjoy the journey!
North Carolina Reading Road Trip
The King’s Mercy by Lori Benton
When captured rebel Scotsman Alex MacKinnon is granted the kingâs mercyâexile to the Colony of North Carolina â heâs indentured to Englishman Edmund Carey as a blacksmith. Against his will Alex is drawn into the struggles of Careyâs slavesâand those of his stepdaughter, Joanna Carey. A mistress with a servantâs heart, Joanna is expected to wed her fatherâs overseer, Phineas Reeves, but finds herself drawn instead to the new blacksmith. As their unlikely relationship deepens, successive tragedies strike the Careys. When blame falls unfairly upon Alex he flees to the distant mountains where he encounters Reverend Pauling, itinerate preacher and friend of the Careys, now a prisoner of the Cherokees. Haunted by his abandoning of Joanna, Alex tries to settle into life with the Cherokees, until circumstances thwart yet another attempt to forge his freedom and heâs faced with the choice thatâs long hounded him: continue down his rebellious path or embrace the faith of a man like Pauling, whose freedom in Christ no man can steal. But the price of such mercy is total surrender, and perhaps Alexâs very life.
Christy by Catherine Marshall
The train taking nineteen-year-old teacher Christy Huddleston from her home in Asheville, North Carolina, might as well be transporting her to another world. The Smoky Mountain community of Cutter Gap feels suspended in time, trapped by poverty, superstitions, and century-old traditions.
But as Christy struggles to find acceptance in her new home, some see her â and her one-room school â as a threat to their way of life. Her faith is challenged and her heart is torn between two strong men with conflicting views about how to care for the families of the Cove.
Yearning to make a difference, will Christyâs determination and devotion be enough?
The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate
When Iola Anne Poole, an old-timer on Hatteras Island, passes away in her bed at ninety-one, the struggling young mother in her rental cottage, Tandi Jo Reese, finds herself charged with the task of cleaning out Iolaâs rambling Victorian house.
Running from a messy, dangerous past, Tandi never expects to find more than a temporary hiding place within Iolaâs walls, but everything changes with the discovery of eighty-one carefully decorated prayer boxes, one for each year, spanning from Iolaâs youth to her last days. Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paperâthe hopes and wishes, fears and thoughts of an unassuming but complex woman passing through the seasons of an extraordinary, unsung life filled with journeys of faith, observations on love, and one final lesson that could change everything for Tandi.
The Pirate Queen by Patricia Hickman
The envy of all her friends, wife and mother Saphora Warren is the model of southern gentility and accomplishment. She lives in a beautiful Lake Norman home, and has raised three capable adult children. Her husband is a successful plastic surgeonâand a philanderer. It is for that reason that, after hosting a garden party for Southern Living magazine, Saphora packs her bags to escape the trappings of the picturesque-but-vacant life.
Saphoraâs departure is interrupted by her husband Benderâs early arrival home, and his words that change her life forever: Iâm dying.
Against her desires, Saphora agrees to take care of Bender as he fights his illness. They relocate, at his insistance, to their coastal home in Orientalâthe same house she had chosen for her private getaway. When her idyllic retreat is overrun by her grown children, grandchildren, townspeople, relatives, and a precocious neighbor child, Saphoraâs escape to paradise is anything but the life she had imagined. As she gropes for evidence of Godâs presence amid the turmoil, can she discover that the richest treasures come in surprising packages?
Beneath The Surface by Lynn Blackburn
After a harrowing experience with an obsessed patient, oncology nurse practitioner Leigh Weston needed a change. She thought sheâd left her troubles behind when she moved home to Carrington, North Carolina, and took a job in the emergency department of the local hospital. But when someone tampers with her brakes, she fears the past has chased her into the present. She reaches out to her high school friend turned homicide investigator, Ryan Parker, for help.
Ryan finds satisfaction in his career, but his favorite way to use his skills is as a volunteer underwater investigator with the Carrington County Sheriffâs Office dive team. When the body of a wealthy businessman is discovered in Lake Porter, the investigation uncovers a possible serial killer â one with a terrifying connection to Leigh Weston and deadly implications for them all.
The Killing Tide by Dani Pettrey
When one Coast Guard officer is found dead and another goes missing, Coast Guard Investigative Service special agent Finn Walker faces his most dangerous crime yet. His only clues are what little evidence remains aboard the dead officerâs boat, and the direction the clues point to will test Finn and the Guard to their limits.
When investigative reporter â and Finnâs bossâs sister â Gabby Rowley arrives, her unrelenting questions complicate an already volatile situation. Now that sheâs back, the tug on Finnâs heart is strong, but with the risks sheâs taking for her next big story, he fears she might not live through it.
Thrown together by the heinous crime, Finn and Gabby canât ignore the sparks or judgments flying between them. But will they be able to see past their preconceptions long enough to track down an elusive killer, or will they become his next mark?
A Vast And Gracious Tide by Lisa Carter
A wounded veteran and the police chiefâs daughter must work together to bring a killer to justice
Caden Wallis lost friends, his girlfriend, and even his leg to the ravages of war. He arrives on the Outer Banks broken and still reeling, struggling to make peace with his new life.
McKenna Dockery has been stuck in limbo since her fiancĂŠ died three years ago. Now, when the handsome yet heartbroken Caden arrives at her doorstep, she starts to wonder if there may be hope for her heart after all . . .
But no sooner do they meet than a man is found murdered on McKennaâs propertyâand Caden is the prime suspect. The two must learn to trust each other, or no one will be safe in the tangled web of conspiracy, greed, and deceit lurking in the tidal marshlands of the Outer Banks.
My book club really liked Rachel Hauck‘s latest release, The Memory House. I think it is my new favorite by her. Like any good book, it left us wanting more. So what do you read after finishing a really good book? Another really good book! Here are a few recommendations —
The Fine Art of Insincerity by Angela Hunt
Three Southern sisters with nine marriages between themâand more looming on the horizonâtravel to St. Simons Island to empty their late grandmotherâs house. Ginger, the eldest, wonders if sheâs the only one who hasnât inherited what their family calls âthe Grandma Geneââthe tendency to enjoy the casualness of courtship more than the intimacy of marriage. Could it be that her sisters are fated to serially marry, just like their seven-times wed grandmother, Lillian Irene Harper Winslow Goldstein Carey James Bobrinski Gordon George? It takes a âgirls onlyâ weekend, closing up Grandmaâs memory-filled beach cottage for the last time, for the sisters to unpack their family baggage, examine their relationship DNA, and discover the true legacy their much-marrying grandmother left behind.
The Memory of You by Catherine West
Thirteen years ago, Natalie lost a part of herself when her twin sister died. Will traveling back to the family winery finally put the memory to rest, or will it completely destroy her?
When Natalie Mitchell learns her beloved grandfather has had a heart attack, sheâs forced to return to their family-owned winery in Sonoma, something she never intended to do. Sheâs avoided her grandparentsâ sprawling home and all its memories since the summer her sister diedâthe awful summer Natalieâs nightmares began. But the winery is failing, and Natalieâs father wants her to shut it down. As the majority shareholder, she has the power to do so. And Natalie never says no to her father.
Tanner Collins, the vintner on Maoilios, is trying to salvage a bad season and put the Mitchell familyâs winery back in business. When Natalie Mitchell shows up, Tanner sees his future about to be crushed. Natalie intends to close the gates, unless he can convince her otherwise. But the Natalie he remembers from childhood is long gone, and heâs not so sure he likes the woman sheâs become. Still, the haunted look she wears hints at secrets he wants to unearth. He soon discovers that on the night her sister died, the real Natalie died too. And Tanner must do whatever it takes to resurrect her.
But finding freedom from the past means facing it.Â
The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate
When Iola Anne Poole, an old-timer on Hatteras Island, passes away in her bed at ninety-one, the struggling young mother in her rental cottage, Tandi Jo Reese, finds herself charged with the task of cleaning out Iolaâs rambling Victorian house.
Running from a messy, dangerous past, Tandi never expects to find more than a temporary hiding place within Iolaâs walls, but everything changes with the discovery of eighty-one carefully decorated prayer boxes, one for each year, spanning from Iolaâs youth to her last days. Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paper â the hopes and wishes, fears and thoughts of an unassuming but complex woman passing through the seasons of an extraordinary, unsung life filled with journeys of faith, observations on love, and one final lesson that could change everything for Tandi.
I grew up 40 minutes away from the white sand beaches of Florida. I spent a lot of hours playing in the surf, baking in the sun, enjoying the sounds of the waves and seabirds and the smell/taste of hot French fries from concession stands. Those days of driving the beaches and walking the dunes are gone (conservation, you know), but I will never forget the great memories of sunny, carefree days. This week I am featuring books set among some of the beach communities along the Atlantic seaboard. It certainly is not an exhaustive list, but it will get you started on a beach-y getaway. Some of the books on my list are set in real places, others are imagined, but representative of what you will find along the coast. I hope you will find one to love!
Cruising The Atlantic Beaches with A Good Book
Florida
The Discovery by Dan WalshGerard
Warner was not only a literary giant whose suspense novels sold in the millions, he was also a man devoted to his family, especially his wife of nearly 60 years. When he dies he leaves his Charleston estate to his grandson, Michael, an aspiring writer himself. Michael settles in to write his own first novel and discovers an unpublished manuscript his grandfather had written, something heâd kept hidden from everyone but clearly intended Michael to find. Michael begins to read an exciting tale about Nazi spies and sabotage, but something about this story is different from all of Gerard Warnerâs other books. Itâs actually a love story. As Michael delves deeper into the story he discovers something that has the power to change not only his future but his past as well.
Georgia
As The Tide Comes In by Cindy and Erin Woodsmall
When an unthinkable loss sends Tara Abbottâs life spiraling out of control, she journeys from North Carolina to Georgiaâs St. Simons Island. Although confused and scared, she hopes to find answers about her past â her life before the years of foster care and raising her two half-brothers as a young adult. Will she find steady ground on the island, surrounded by an eccentric-but-kindhearted group of older women called The Glynn Girls and a determined firefighter? Or will the truth splinter whatâs left of her identity into pieces?
Cape Refuge (book one of a series) by Terri Blackstock
When the kindest couple in Cape Refuge is found murdered at their church, their daughter will have to find the killer . . . before her own husband is convicted.
Wade and Thelma Owens run a halfway house on the small island of Cape Refuge that caters to wayward souls just out of prison. So when Wade and Thelma turn up brutally murdered, the town goes into shock, concerned that one of the Hanover House residents is a murderer who could strike again.
Shattered by her parentsâ deaths, Morgan Cleary struggles to keep Hanover House running while her husband, Jonathan, has been arrested for the murder.
As the killer runs free, a lethal race against time ensues, with far more than the halfway house at stake.
To Have And To Hold (book one of a series) by Judith Miller and Tracie Peterson
When Audrey Cunninghamâs father proposes that they move to Bridal Veil Island, where he grew up, she agrees, thinking this will help keep him sober and close to God. But they arrive to find wealthy investors buying up land to build a grand resort on the secluded islandâand they want the Cunninghamsâ acreage.
Contractor Marshall Graham canât imagine why the former drinking buddy of his deceased father would beckon him to Bridal Veil Island. And when Boyd Cunningham asks him to watch over Audrey, Marshall is even more confused. He has no desire to be saddled with caring for this fiery young woman who is openly hostile toward him. But when Audrey seems to be falling for another manâone who has two little girls Audrey adoresâMarshall realizes she holds more of his heart than he realized. Which man will Audrey choose? And can she hold on to her ancestral property in the face of overwhelming odds?
South Carolina
Still Waters by Lindsey Brackett
Cora Anne Halloway has a history degree and a plan: avoid her own past â despite being wait-listed for graduate school. Then her beloved grandmother requests â and her dispassionate mother insists â that she spend the summer at Still Waters, the family cottage on Edisto Beach, South Carolina.
Despite its picturesque setting, Still Waters haunts Cora Anne with loss. At Still Waters her grandfather died, her parentsâ marriage disintegrated, and as a child, she caused a tragic drowning. But lingering among the oak canopies and gentle tides, this place also tempts her with forgiveness â especially since Nan hired Tennessee Watson to oversee cottage repairs. A local contractor, but dedicated to the islandâs preservation from development, Tennessee offers her friendship and more, if she can move beyond her guilt.
When a family reunion reveals Nanâs failing health, Cora Anne discovers how far Tennessee will go to protect her â and Edisto â from more desolation. Will Cora Anne choose between a life driven by guilt, or one washed clean by the tides of grace?
The Wedding Machine by Beth Webb Hart
Welcome to Jasper, South Carolina. A place where Southern hospitality thrives. Where social occasions are done right. And where, for generations, the four most upstanding ladies of this community ensure that the daughters of Jasper are married in the proper manner.
Friends from school days, âthe galsâ have long pooled their silver, china, and know-how to pull off beautiful events. Theyâre a force of nature, a well-oiled machine. But the wedding machineâs gears start to stick during the summer their own daughters line up to tie the knot. In the lowcountry heat and humidity, tempers flare, old secrets leak out . . . and both love and gardenias bloom in unlikely places.
North Carolina
The Pirate Queen by Patricia Hickman
Treasure is found in the most unlikely places.
The envy of all her friends, wife and mother Saphora Warren is the model of southern gentility and accomplishment. She lives in a beautiful Lake Norman home, and has raised three capable adult children. Her husband is a successful plastic surgeonâand a philanderer. It is for that reason that, after hosting a garden party for Southern Living magazine, Saphora packs her bags to escape the trappings of the picturesque-but-vacant life.
Saphoraâs departure is interrupted by her husband Benderâs early arrival home, and his words that change her life forever: Iâm dying.
Against her desires, Saphora agrees to take care of Bender as he fights his illness. They relocate, at his insistance, to their coastal home in Orientalâthe same house she had chosen for her private getaway. When her idyllic retreat is overrun by her grown children, grandchildren, townspeople, relatives, and a precocious neighbor child, Saphoraâs escape to paradise is anything but the life she had imagined. As she gropes for evidence of Godâs presence amid the turmoil, can she discover that the richest treasures come in surprising packages?
The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate
When Iola Anne Poole, an old-timer on Hatteras Island, passes away in her bed at ninety-one, the struggling young mother in her rental cottage, Tandi Jo Reese, finds herself charged with the task of cleaning out Iolaâs rambling Victorian house.
Running from a messy, dangerous past, Tandi never expects to find more than a temporary hiding place within Iolaâs walls, but everything changes with the discovery of eighty-one carefully decorated prayer boxes, one for each year, spanning from Iolaâs youth to her last days. Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paperâthe hopes and wishes, fears and thoughts of an unassuming but complex woman passing through the seasons of an extraordinary, unsung life filled with journeys of faith, observations on love, and one final lesson that could change everything for Tandi.
Tidewater Inn by Colleen Coble
Welcome to Hope Beach. A place of intoxicating beauty . . . where trouble hits with the force of a hurricane.
Inheriting a beautiful old hotel on the Outer Banks could be a dream come true for Libby. The inn cries out for her restorerâs talent and love of history. Sheâs delighted to learn of the family she never knew she had. And the handsome Coast Guard lieutenant sheâs met there on the island could definitely be the man of her dreams.
But Libby soon realizes that the only way she can afford the upkeep on the inn is to sell it to developers who are stalking the island. The father who willed her the inn has died before she could meet him, and her newfound brother and sister are convinced sheâs there to steal their birthright. Worst of all, her best friend and business partner has been kidnapped before her eyes, and Libbyâs under suspicion for the crime.
Libbyâs dream come true is becoming a nightmare. Her only option is to find her friend and prove her innocence, or lose everything on the shores of Hope Island.
A Vast And Gracious Tide by Lisa Carter
A wounded veteran and the police chiefâs daughter must work together to bring a killer to justice
Caden Wallis lost friends, his girlfriend, and even his leg to the ravages of war. He arrives on the Outer Banks broken and still reeling, struggling to make peace with his new life.
McKenna Dockery has been stuck in limbo since her fiancĂŠ died three years ago. Now, when the handsome yet heartbroken Caden arrives at her doorstep, she starts to wonder if there may be hope for her heart after all . . .
But no sooner do they meet than a man is found murdered on McKennaâs propertyâand Caden is the prime suspect. The two must learn to trust each other, or no one will be safe in the tangled web of conspiracy, greed, and deceit lurking in the tidal marshlands of the Outer Banks.
Maryland
Deadly Isle by Dani Pettrey
Tennyson Kent is trapped on the isolated island of her childhood by a storm surge, and she is shocked when the typically idyllic community turns into the hunting grounds of a murderer. Cut off from any help from the mainland, will she and first love Callen Frost be able to identify and stop a killer bent on revenge before they become the next victims?
Massachusetts
Phoebe’s Light (book one of a series) by Suzanne Woods Fisher
Phoebe Starbuck has always adjusted her sails and rudder to the whims of her father. Now, for the first time, sheâs doing what she wants to do: marrying Captain Phineas Foulger and sailing far away from Nantucket. As she leaves on her grand adventure, her father gives her two gifts, both of which Phoebe sees little need for. The first is an old sheepskin journal from Great Mary, her highly revered great-grandmother. The other is a âminderâ on the whaling ship in the form of cooper Matthew Mitchell, a man whom she loathes.
Soon Phoebe discovers that life at sea is no easier than life on land. Lonely, seasick, and disillusioned, she turns the pages of Great Maryâs journal and finds herself drawn into the life of this noble woman. To Phoebeâs shock, her great-grandmother has left a secret behind that carries repercussions for everyone aboard the ship, especially her husband the captain and her shadow the cooper. This story within a story catapults Phoebe into seeing her life in an entirely new wayâjust in time.
Maine
A Christmas by The Sea by Melody Carlson
When Wendy Harper inherits her familyâs beachside cottage in Seaside, Maine, she sees it as a way to finally pay off the debts that have mounted since her husband died. But before it can be sold, the neglected property must be renovated. She and her 12-year-old son Jackson move in â temporarily, she reminds himâin order to do the work themselves, even though Christmas is coming. The charming town, along with local craftsman Caleb Colton, pulls on both Wendy and Jackson, who even registers himself for school in a bid to get his mom to move them there permanently. Wendy knows that the most responsible thing to do is to sell the cottage and return to Ohio, but the lure of the sea is hard to resist.
On A Summer Tide by Suzanne Woods Fisher
Sometimes love hurts â and sometimes it can heal in the most unexpected way.
Camden Grayson loves her challenging career, but the rest of her life could use some improvement. âMoving onâ is Camâs mantra. But thereâs a difference, her two sisters insist, between one who moves on . . . and one who keeps moving.
Camâs full-throttle life skids to a stop when her father buys a remote island off the coast of Maine. Paul Grayson has a dream to breathe new life into the island â a dream that includes reuniting his estranged daughters. Certain Dad has lost his mind, the three sisters rush to the island. To Camâs surprise, the slow pace of island life appeals to her, along with the locals â and one in particular. Seth Walker, the scruffy island schoolteacher harbors more than a few surprises.
With On a Summer Tide, bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher begins a brand-new contemporary romance series that is sure to delight her fans and draw new ones.
By The Book was unanimous in our approval of The Hideaway by Lauren K. Denton. This well-written novel focused on relationships that shape our lives. If you liked it too, here are a few suggestions for more great reading.
Betsy and Ty Franklin, owners of Franklin Dairy Farm in southern Alabama, have long since buried their desire for children of their own. While Ty manages their herd of dairy cows, Betsy busies herself with the farmâs day-to-day operations and tries to forget her dream of motherhood. But when her free-spirited sister, Jenna, drops off her two young daughters for âjust two weeks,â Betsyâs carefully constructed wall of self-protection begins to crumble.
As the two weeks stretch deeper into the Alabama summer, Betsy and Ty learn to navigate the new additions in their worldâand revel in the laughter that now fills their home. Meanwhile, record temperatures promise to usher in the most active hurricane season in decades.
Attending an art retreat four hundred miles away, Jenna is fighting her own battles. She finally has time and energy to focus on her photography, a lifelong ambition. But she wonders how her rediscovered passion can fit in with the life sheâs made back home as a single mom.
When Hurricane Ingrid aims a steady eye at the Alabama coast, Jenna must make a decision that will change her familyâs future, even as Betsy and Ty try to protect their beloved farm and their hearts. Hurricane Season is the story of one familyâs unconventional journey to healing â and the relationships that must be mended along the way.
When Iola Anne Poole, an old-timer on Hatteras Island, passes away in her bed at ninety-one, the struggling young mother in her rental cottage, Tandi Jo Reese, finds herself charged with the task of cleaning out Iolaâs rambling Victorian house.
Running from a messy, dangerous past, Tandi never expects to find more than a temporary hiding place within Iolaâs walls, but everything changes with the discovery of eighty-one carefully decorated prayer boxes, one for each year, spanning from Iolaâs youth to her last days. Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paper â the hopes and wishes, fears and thoughts of an unassuming but complex woman passing through the seasons of an extraordinary, unsung life filled with journeys of faith, observations on love, and one final lesson that could change everything for Tandi.
In the South you always say âyes, maâamâ and âno, maâam.â You know everybodyâs business. Football is a lifestyle not a pastime. Food â especially dessert â is almost a religious experience. And you protect your friends as fiercely as you protect your family â Â even if the threat is something you cannot see.
In this spot-on Southern novel brimming with wit and authenticity, youâll laugh alongside lifelong friends, navigate the sometimes rocky path of marriage, and roll through the outrageous curveballs that life sometimes throws . . . from devastating pain to absolute joy. And if youâre lucky, you just may discover the secret to hummingbird cake along the way.
Elle Butler has managed to hold on to her politically-driven husband and her secrets until the unexpected happens. When one phone call rips her world apart, Elle will have to decide if the truth is worth the consequences. Especially when it threatens to destroy the world sheâs so carefully built around her life and her marriage.
This week’s Top 10 Tuesday is all about sensory reads — the books that engage the senses as you read. Since it is mid-July, I decided to feature books that made me taste the salt in the air, hear the waves crashing, feel the sand between my toes — beachy beach reads! My choices span genres — mystery/suspense, romance, historical — but have the beach (or coastal areas) in common. Hope you enjoy a trip to the beach from your chair!
From modern-day Roanoke Island to the sweeping backdrop of North Carolinaâs Blue Ridge Mountains and Rooseveltâs WPA folklore writers, past and present intertwine to create an unexpected destiny.
Restaurant owner Whitney Monroe is desperate to save her business from a hostile takeover. The inheritance of a decaying Gilded Age hotel on North Carolinaâs Outer Banks may provide just the ray of hope she needs. But things at the Excelsior are more complicated than they seem. Whitneyâs estranged stepfather is entrenched on the third floor, and the downstairs tenants are determined to save the historic building. Searching through years of stored family heirlooms may be Whitneyâs only hope of quick cash, but will the discovery of an old necklace and a Depression-era love story change everything?
Selected among Booklistâs Top 10 for two consecutive years, Lisa Wingate skillfully weaves lyrical writing and unforgettable settings with elements of traditional Southern storytelling, history, and mystery to create novels that Publisher’s Weekly calls “Masterful” and Library Journal refers to as “A good option for fans of Nicholas Sparks and Mary Alice Monroe.” Lisa is a journalist, an inspirational speaker, and the author of twenty-five novels. She is a seven-time ACFW Carol Award nominee, a multiple Christy Award nominee, a two- time Carol Award winner, and a 2015 RT Booklovers Magazine Reviewerâs Choice Award Winner for mystery/suspense. Recently, the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa along with Bill Ford, Camille Cosby, and six others as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life. Booklist summed up her work by saying, âLisa Wingate is, quite simply, a master storyteller.â More information about her novels can be found at http://www.lisawingate.com.
My Impressions:
When choosing a book for my book clubs, I look for a strong story line that encourages discussion, well-developed and complex characters that are easy to relate to, and a writing style that enhances the reading experience. Lisa Wingate has long been a favorite of By The Book, so it wasn’t a tough decision to pick her latest novel, The Sea Keeper’s Daughters. When we got the chance to host a visit with Lisa, that sealed the deal! Both of my book clubs are discussing it this month. Have you had a chance to read it yet? Let us know your thoughts.
Restaurant owner Whitney Benoit is in the struggle of her career trying to hold on to her dreams and provide for her partner and employees. The last thing she needs is to travel to the Outer Banks to check on her estranged step-father Clyde. But the chance of finally settling family concerns and shoring up her finances prompts the trip. What she finds is a personal history shrouded in legends and secrets, and a chance to stop running away and face her challenges.
The Sea Keeper’s Daughters is a complex novel with two story lines — one set in the Appalachian mountains during the Depression and the other set on modern day Roanoke Island in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Both settings come to life through Lisa’s vivid descriptions. A dedication to thorough research is also evident as she explores the work of the Federal Writer’s Program, the culture of the mountains during the 1930s and the truth and legends surrounding the Melungeon people group. I found all the characters interesting, but Whitney is by far my favorite. Lisa takes her through emotional highs and lows and brings her out stronger emotionally and spiritually. Most of the story is told through Whitney’s first person perspective, however, the historical aspects are recounted through newly discovered letters from Alice, a great-aunt Whitney knew nothing about. The use of this device allowed the characters and the readers to place themselves into Alice’s story — I loved that! The twists and turns of Alice and Whitney’s lives, and the intersection of both stories kept me turning the pages. There is much to discuss in The Sea Keeper’s Daughters — relationships, security-issues, God’s plans versus ours — and I anticipate some great conversations with both my book clubs.
The Sea Keeper’s Daughters is part of Lisa’s Carolina Heirlooms series, but can be read as a standalone novel. However, I found the characters and story lines from the previous books that are subtly woven throughout added greatly to my reading experience. Just go ahead and get the other books. You know want to!
Many of the books I review are provided to me free of charge from publishers, authors, or other groups in return for a review. The opinions expressed in the reviews are mine and mine alone. No monetary consideration is given. This disclaimer is in accordance with FTC rules.
I am an Amazon.com affiliate, which means that I earn a small percentage of the sales from products purchased through links on my site. I NEVER recommend a book in order to receive a profit. Proceeds from affiliate sales help to defray operating costs of the blog.
Giveaways are open to persons 18 years or older. All winners are picked randomly. No purchases are necessary to enter a giveaway. All giveaways are for US entries only and are void where prohibited.
GDPR compliance -- the email address you leave when you subscribe to the blog or leave a comment, is used only to notify winners of giveaways or to send an email whenever a post goes live. That's it.
For a more detailed privacy policy for Wordpress sites, go to https://wordpress.org/about/privacy/.
Hurricane Season
The Prayer Box 
The Secret to Hummingbird Cake 
Test of Faith
Recent Comments