ššHappy Independent Bookstore Day! Did you visit any indie bookstores today or this week? If so, did you buy any new books & which ones? My day & weekend started with an iced coffee, a fruit & yogurt bowl, & finishing up āA Wedding on Sunshine Cornerā (3/29/22), the 2nd book in the series by Phoebe Mills.
āļøThe first book in this series is āThe House on Sunshine Cornerā (8/21), which I read, enjoyed, & posted about sometime last year. This second book in the Sunshine Corner Series is a delightful small-town romance between a daycare teacher & single dad who must overcome their differences to help plan the ultimate wedding.
šTheyāve driven each other crazy for years, but were they fighting each otherāor the chemistry between them?
šAs the youngest in her loving, overprotective family, Savannah Lowe has always gone w/ the flow instead of going out on a limbā¦until now. Her new job running a preschool requires her to be all in. If only the father of one of her students wasnāt her brotherās incredibly infuriating, impossibly attractive best friend. Savannah has no clue what she ever did to make him dislike her, & now theyāre stuck spending even more time together planning her brotherās wedding.
šSingle father Noah Adams has his hands full between his job as a paramedic & caring for his young daughter. The last thing he needs is a complication like Savannah in his lifeāa girl he remembers being constantly pampered by her family. But the more he gets to know her, the more he sees how kind & compassionate she really is. Now their long-ignored, off-the-charts chemistry has them on a collision courseā¦with each other.
šš¼āāļøāThe Wedding on Sunshine Cornerā is an uplifting, engaging, charming & sexy small-town, contemporary romance novel & being a small-town gal myself, these are the type of books that are perfect for relaxing on the weekend, poolside or while listening to waves off of Lake Erie. Look for the next book in the series winter ā23.
ā”ļøClick the highlighted book titles above to add them to your Goodreads lists. Visit my Instagram to see my post about this book & give it some āLIKEā love while youāre there. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, readers!ā„ļø
āļøAbout the Author: Phoebe Mills lives near the Great Lakes & loves her family, coffee, & binge watching in that order. During the day she wrangles kids & by night she dreams up strong women, dreamy men, & ways to wreak havoc on their livesābefore giving them a happy ending, of course! Itās a tough job but thereās nothing else sheād rather do.
š°Today is Good Friday & Passover begins, itās my husbandās birthday, our kids have a 3-day wkend & Sunday is Easterš! Busy busy! And since I love paying it forward w/ books, since Iām blessed w/ many, Iām hosting my third giveaway of the week on Instagram.
šFrom NYT bestselling author Lucy Foley comes the new locked room mystery, āThe Paris Apartmentā, set in a Paris apt bldg in which every resident has something to hideā¦
šJess needs a fresh start. Sheās broke & alone, & sheās just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didnāt sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash w/ him for a bit, but he didnāt say no, & surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up ā to find a very nice apt, could Ben really have afforded this? ā heās not there.
šThe longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brotherās situation, & the more questions she has. Benās neighbors are an eclectic bunch, & not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but itās starting to look like itās Benās future thatās in question.
šThe socialiteāThe nice guyāThe alcoholicāThe girl on the vergeāThe conciergeā¦Everyoneās a neighbor. Everyoneās a suspect, & everyone knows something theyāre not tellingā¦š¤
šI chose āThe Paris Apartmentā as a BOTM a couple mos back, then I received a gift copy from @williammorrowbooks (Thank you, WM!). Iām going to be reading The Paris Apartment soon, & Iād love to send 1 winner a hardback copy of that book along with a paperback of āThe Hunting Party.
šTo enter, youāll have to go over to Instagram, so click HERE for a shortcut. Here are the basics of the giveaway: Be following me (donāt unfollow afterā¦Iāll know); LIKE the Instagram post; Tag some book friends (2 per com, up to 10x); Bonus entries when SHARED in Instagram stories & tag me! Thereās 1 winner, itās US residents only, runs 4/15-4/19/22, & isnāt affiliated w/ anyone.
You can read more about āThe Paris Apartmentā & add it to your Goodreads lists by clicking HERE. (& while youāre there, add me as a Goodreads friend as well, if weāre not already.šš)
You can use BookstoreLink to search for Lucy Foleyās books, as well as any others, at your local or online independent bookstores. (Letās support them first before going to the mega-monopolizer that is Amazon.)
šLucy Foley is the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The Hunting Party & The Guest List, with two & a half million copies sold worldwide. Lucyās thrillers have also hit the New York Times & the Irish Times bestseller lists, been shortlisted for the Crime & Thriller Book of the Year Award at the British Book Awards, selected as one of The Times & Sunday Times Crime Books of the Year, & The Guest List was a Reeseās Book Club choice. Lucyās novels have been translated into multiple languages & her journalism has appeared in publications such as Sunday Times Style, Grazia, ES Magazine, Vogue US, Elle, Tatler, Marie Claire & more. Visit her at www.facebook.com/LucyFoleyAuthor & on Instagram (@lucyfoleyauthor)
šµāš«Insomnia may keep some folks awake at night, but what better way to pass the time than by reading todayās featured new release!
Happy Pub Day to Sarah Pinborough & her latest release, āInsomniaā, a twisty, imaginative, brilliantly addictive, thriller that will keep you up all nightāin a good wayāflying through the pages of this gripping, suspenseful new release.
“If you loved Behind Her Eyes, prepare to be totally and utterly blown away by Insomnia. Sarah Pinborough is a twisted genius.” ā Lisa Jewell
IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT, MADNESS LIES . . .
Emma canāt sleep.
CHECK THE WINDOWS.
Itās been like this since her big 4-0 started getting closer.
LOCK THE DOORS.
Her mother stopped sleeping just before her own fortieth birthday. She went mad and did the unthinkable because of it.
LOOK IN ON THE CHILDREN.
Is that whatās happening to Emma?
WHY CANāT SHE SLEEP?
Readers either loved it or they didnāt, but when it came to Pinboroughās debut thriller, āBehind Her Eyesā, released in 2017, I LOVED it! I gasped outloud when I read those final few pages, then went back & reread them again. It totally blew me away! The premise was fresh, very unique, & so many levels of crazy, I thought about it long after I read it.
The Netflix adaptation was pretty good as well, but not as fab as the book IMHO. I feel like if you hadnāt read the book previously, before watching the limited series, youād be a little confused (my husband totally was when he watched it with me, but I clued him in on the basics, but had to hold back on giving away that cray-cray ending!).
They did leave a few things out & changed a couple scenes here & there. āBehind Her Eyesā is definitely a book I recommend often to thriller readers who havenāt read a bajillion of them & can guess every outcome by the end of the first chapter like I often can these days. (But I couldnāt back then, so this book rocked my world! š¤Æššš»)
As you can see from my Instagram photo at the top of this post, I have all of Sarah Pinboroughās adult novels & ā13 Minutesā, which is one of her young adult novels. I think āBehind Her Eyesā is still my favorite thriller by the New York Times Bestselling author, but Iād say āInsomniaā is definitely the new contender for 2nd favorite.
šIn this twisty, mind-bending thriller, Emma Averell worries that her crippling insomnia is a sign that sheās slowly going insaneālike the mother sheās worked so hard to leave in her past.
Emma Averell loves her lifeāher high-powered legal career, her two beautiful children, and her wonderful stay-at-home husbandābut it wasnāt always so perfect. When she was just five years old, Emma and her older sister went into foster care because of a horrific incident with their mother. Her sister can remember a time when their mother was loving and ānormal,ā but Emma can only remember her as one thingāa monster. And that monster emerged right around their motherās fortieth birthday, the same age Emma is approaching now.
Emma desperately wants to keep her successful life separate from her past, so she has always hidden her childhood trauma. But then sheās unable to sleep, and now losing time during the day, also one of the first symptoms her mother showed. Is the madness in her blood, just as her mother predicted? Could she end up hurting her family in her foggy, frenetic state? Or is she truly beginning to lose her mind?
āInsomniaā & Sarah Pinboroughās other novels, are available now wherever books are sold.
You can add āInsomniaā to your Goodreads list by clicking HERE.
You can give my Instagram post about the book some LIKE love by clicking HERE. (PS: Be sure to check out THIS post while youāre there, to enter my latest GIVEAWAY for another fantastic new release.)
You can also use BookStoreLink to find āInsomniaā & any other book youāre in the mood for at a nearby or online independent bookstore.
Sarah Pinborough is a New York Times bestselling, Sunday Times Number one & Internationally bestselling author who is published in over 30 territories worldwide. Having published more than 25 novels across various genres, her books include Behind Her Eyes, now a smash hit Netflix limited series, Dead To Her, now in development with Amazon Studios, and 13 Minutes and The Death House in development with Compelling Pictures. Sarah lives in the historic town of Stony Stratford, the home of the Cock and Bull story, with her dog Ted. Her next latest novel, Insomnia, is out now.
*GIVEAWAY time! Do you have a tween-ager in the household, or maybe a niece, babysitter, or a friend with a daughter who enjoys reading? Then you’ll love today’s featured book & giveaway!
Last yr I did a promo for Cindy Callaghan’s novel, ‘Saltwater Secrets’, (*click HERE to see Instagram post) & loved it so much, I bought a copy for a friend’s daughter & she loved it! Being the super, sweet kid she is, she wanted to pass it on to another reader to enjoy as well. So today’s giveaway is for a copy of ‘Saltwater Secrets‘ & also 3 items featured in Callaghan’s 10/12 novella, ‘The Girl Who Ruined Christmas’: a pair of low-top Hello Kitty socks, a red Chuck Taylor shoe keychain, & a Harper Hollow Falls Christmas Countdown calendar that be reused again & again. All you have to do to make this an even MORE fantastic gift is get a copy of ‘The Girl Who Ruined Christmas‘ to add to the box. Thank you Cindy for my gift copy! (which I’m totally keeping!)
Now, let’s talk about Cindy Callaghan’s latest novella, released last month, ‘The Girl Who Ruined Christmas‘. It’s adorable, witty, warmhearted, & good ol’ festive fun! This should 100% be made into a Hallmark movie since it’s perfect for the whole family & could be watched while making sugar cookies like Mrs. Crispin, a character in the book. The book also has Stars Hollow from ‘Gilmore Girls’ vibes which makes it even more delightful & as cozy as hot cocoa!
Imagine youāre a tween visiting a small town that loves nothing more than its prize firāa perfect Christmas tree destined for the White House. Now picture yourself accidentally destroying that tree, making you public enemy number one. Lastly, imagine that to repay your debt, you have to remain in said town for the Christmas season. Thatās what happens to Brady Bancroft.
When Brady ruins Harper Hollow Fallās prize tree, sheās sentenced to stay in the holiday-festooned town for the month of December. At first, she couldnāt be more depressed about the whole situation; but during her month there, she is surprised to discover that thereās much more than pine needles to the little town holding her captive. In the end, Harper Hollow Falls reminds Brady of the true meaning of Christmasāand she, in turn, saves the town.
To help give one lucky follower get a boost on their holiday shopping, I’m giving away a copy of Cindy Callaghan’s novel, ‘Saltwater Secrets’ as well as 3 items featured in ‘The Girl Who Ruined Christmas’ (*see above for info). All you have to do to enter is go to my Instagram page (@mom_loves_reading) to enter. Click HERE to go there now.
Click HERE to visit Cindy Callaghan’s website & read more about her other amazing books.
Click any of the highlighted book titles above to add them to your Goodreads TBR lists.
Cindy Callaghan is the award-winning author of eleven middle-grade novels including JUST ADD MAGIC & JUST ADD MAGIC 2: POTION PROBLEMS, which were made into an Emmy-nominated Amazon Original series now in its fifth season & distributed world-wide via Nickelodeon. Sheās well-known for the best-selling Lost Inā¦ books: LOST IN LONDON, LOST IN PARIS, LOST IN ROME, LOST IN HOLLYWOOD, & LOST IN IRELAND. Her Agatha award-winning stand-alone SYDNEY MACKENZIE KNOCKS āEM DEAD sells out every year around Halloween. Her 2020 book SALTWATER SECRETS, which is nominated for an Agatha Award, won Delaware Press Association & National Federation of Press Womenās awards, & two International Book Awards, is set up by a major studio. Her newest book THE GIRL WHO RUINED CHRISTMAS, (October 2021), & the upcoming MY BIG HEART-SHAPED FAIL, (September 2022), are actively being shopped to producers, networks & streamers along with Cindyās robust portfolio of original features & series. A Jersey girl at heart, Cindy lives in Delaware with her family and rescued-pets.
My Monday definitely started out as a ‘Manic Monday’, & I’m pretty impressed with myself for even having the minuscule amount of focus to complete a blog & Instagram post today since lately I don’t have them done ahead of time.
As many of you may know, I have autistic twin sons that are in their teens, but possess a lack of fear & knowledge of right from wrong that is mostly seen in toddlers. They are brilliant, to say the very least, but they also keep me on my toes (while they both walk on their toes, literally), & every once in awhile, one of my twins sneaks out of the house in the early morning hours when he wakes up before his brother or I do.
(My twin sons this past summer while taking books to a LFL!)
It is the most God-awful, gut-wrenching, sense of panic & frantic fear when the neighbor calls to let you know your son is just chilling in their family room at 5am while you were sleeping, pretty much cinching the cold hard fact that you will never sleep soundly again & your PTSD symptoms just went next level. That was a few years ago…then came this morning, when it happened again. Nearly 3 yrs of thinking maybe he’s done doing the sneaking out while I’m sleeping thing, & he did it again this morning. We’ve tried many different security measures to ensure his safety & stop him from sneaking out, but the kid is a freaking genius like his brother & for safety precautions it’s not like we can strap him in his bed or lock him in their room. And we don’t inject tagging chips into human beings (…yet…) because of privacy & all that ethical stuff, but I would 100% have it done to my twins because they will always live with us & it would be super beneficial to them, their safety, our security (& sanity!)… I would like to sleep before I’m dead.
In the meantime, like a computer, I pretty much just go into “sleep mode” not that elusive REM state sleep of a typical teenager that I long for, & will once again research until my fingers go numb ways to ensure my autistic children’s safety, not only when they are out in the world (supervised & accompanied by adults, of course), but also at home as they grow bigger & wiser, catching on easily to all other precautions that their parental units have made. Ok, let’s talk book stuff now, shall we?
I’d like to introduce you to Sissie Klein. Sissie Klein was a minor character in Kris Clink’s first novel, released earlier this year in April, ‘Goodbye, Lark Lovejoy‘. I thoroughly enjoyed that delightfully funny, heartwarming novel & was excited to get an advance copy of the 2nd book in The Enchanted Rock Series that releases next Tues, Nov. 9th. Thank you @getredprbooks & #sparkspress for my gift copy of ‘Sissie Klein is Completely Normal‘ by Kris Clink!
‘Sissie Klein is Completely Normal‘ can be read as a stand-alone novel, although I highly recommend reading ‘Goodbye, Lark Lovejoy’ as well, if not first. ‘Sissie Klein is Completely Normal’ is as captivating & relatable as it is heartfelt & poignant.
In Clink’s previous novel, “Sissy offered an opportunity to conduct a deep-dive character study, all while challenging readers to question their assumptions about the people they think they understand,” stated Kris Clink. “Sissie demonstrates how we can be the heroes in our own stories. When Sissie was young, she didn’t know what her power was. Now, it was her turn to claim it. In this book, you get to witness her evolution,” added the author.
About the novel, ‘Sissie Klein is Completely Normal‘: One mistake can steal your innocence. One promise can plague a friendship. One secret can tear apart a family.
Sissie Klein barely remembers the night that tore her from the carefree life she knew. Not long after the shocked teen is pushed into marriage, sheās rushed to the hospital where a catastrophic delivery seals her destiny.
Sissie is determined to give her daughter the opportunities she forfeited, but some fates canāt be avoided. Tragedy strikes, leaving behind a legacy of deceitāand an orphaned toddler.
Told with heartbreaking honesty and shrewd humor, Sissie Klein Is Completely Normal examines the ties that bind usāsome inherited, others chosenānone without their share of agonizing tangles.
Captivating, compulsively readable, & weaving together tenderness, humor, & heartbreak, ‘Sissie Klein is Completely Normal’, by Kris Clink, is on sale next Tuesday, Nov 9, 2021.
Click the highlightedtitles in this post to add Kris Clink’s books to your Goodreads lists. Click HERE to visit Kris Clink’s website http://www.krisclink.com. Click HERE to visit/follow Kris Clink on Instagram. Click HERE to visit/FOLLOW (please!) Mom_Loves_Reading on Instagram & while you’re there, LIKE & maybe SHARE the post about this book! Click HERE to pre-order ‘Sissie Klein…’ on Amazon. but… It’s be much nicer if you pre-order this book & any others from an indie bookstore near you! You can click HERE to use BookstoreLink.com to find it & others at an Independent Bookstore!
Kris Clink is the author of ‘Goodbye, Lark Lovejoy’ & ‘Sissie Klein is Completely Normal’. Her novels have received praise from Bustle, Midwest Book Review, Kirkus Reviews, San Francisco Book Review, Women.com, Lone Star Literary, Brit + Co, Travel & Leisure Magazine, & Entertainment Weekly, among others. Set in middle America, her novels are laced w/ love, heartbreak, & just enough snark to rock the boat as relatable characters confront transformative challenges.
Sheās a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association & The Authorās Guild. Before becoming a novelist, she oversaw business development in medical environments & managed an office of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Since then, her work has been published in Moms Donāt Have Time to Write on Medium, diyMFA, Authority Magazine, Thrive Global, Women Writers Womenās Books, & Accent West Magazine. She is the host of Kris Clinkās Writing Table, a podcast about books & writing where she interviews a variety of publishing professionals & authors including Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler), Zibby Owens, Camille PagĆ”n, & Laurie Frankel.
Calling Texas home for most of her life, Kris now lives in KS, where she & “Hubs” have filled their empty nest w/ two spoiled-rotten pups–a mini-doxie & a rescue who thinks he’s a mini-doxie. When not writing, Kris is playing pickleball w/ friends, riding her bike, counting cardinals in her backyard, reading in the hammock, or searching for an open karaoke mic & an understanding audience.
*Mom Loves Reading* 