Books Reviewed by T @ Traveling With T

#FuturisticFriday Review: Wedding Cake Crumble by Jenn McKinlay

Photo Credit: Berkley Mystery

Traveling With T purchased this book for her own reading enjoyment.

Wedding Cake Crumble

Summary: Wedding bells and death knells are ringing for the Fairy Tale Cupcake crew in this latest mystery in the New York Times bestselling series

With Angie and Tate’s wedding just around the corner, it’s a happy–but very busy–time for Mel. Not only is she doing double duty as both the maid of honor and best man, but her bakery, Fairy Tale Cupcakes, has just been hired to provide cupcakes for a famous author’s book signing. But when the author turns up dead, it’s just the start of a murder mystery that Mel must solve. Continue reading →

#FuturisticFriday Review: Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

Photo credit: Atria Books

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

Then She Was Gone

Summary: Ten years after her teenage daughter disappears, a woman crosses paths with a charming single father whose young child feels eerily familiar, in this evocative, suspenseful drama from New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell—perfect for fans of Paula Hawkins and Liane Moriarty.

Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. She was fifteen, the youngest of three. She was beloved by her parents, friends, and teachers. She and her boyfriend made a teenaged golden couple. She was days away from an idyllic post-exams summer vacation, with her whole life ahead of her.

And then she was gone.

Now, her mother Laurel Mack is trying to put her life back together. It’s been ten years since her daughter disappeared, seven years since her marriage ended, and only months since the last clue in Ellie’s case was unearthed. So when she meets an unexpectedly charming man in a café, no one is more surprised than Laurel at how quickly their flirtation develops into something deeper. Before she knows it, she’s meeting Floyd’s daughters—and his youngest, Poppy, takes Laurel’s breath away.

Because looking at Poppy is like looking at Ellie. And now, the unanswered questions she’s tried so hard to put to rest begin to haunt Laurel anew. Where did Ellie go? Did she really run away from home, as the police have long suspected, or was there a more sinister reason for her disappearance? Who is Floyd, really? And why does his daughter remind Laurel so viscerally of her own missing girl? Continue reading →

#FuturisticFriday Review: The High Tide Club by Mary Kay Andrews

Photo Credit: St Martin’s Press

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

The High Tide Club

Summary: From the New York Times bestselling author of The Weekenders comes a delightful new novel about new love, old secrets, and the kind of friendship that transcends generations.

When ninety-nine-year-old heiress Josephine Bettendorf Warrick summons Brooke Trappnell to Talisa Island, her 20,000 acre remote barrier island home, Brooke is puzzled. Everybody in the South has heard about the eccentric millionaire mistress of Talisa, but Brooke has never met her. Josephine’s cryptic note says she wants to discuss an important legal matter with Brooke, who is an attorney, but Brooke knows that Mrs. Warrick has long been a client of a prestigious Atlanta law firm.

Over a few meetings, the ailing Josephine spins a tale of old friendships, secrets, betrayal and a long-unsolved murder. She tells Brooke she is hiring her for two reasons: to protect her island and legacy from those who would despoil her land, and secondly, to help her make amends with the heirs of the long dead women who were her closest friends, the girls of The High Tide Club—so named because of their youthful skinny dipping escapades—Millie, Ruth and Varina. When Josephine dies with her secrets intact, Brooke is charged with contacting Josephine’s friends’ descendants and bringing them together on Talisa for a reunion of women who’ve actually never met.

The High Tide Club is Mary Kay Andrews at her Queen of the Beach Reads best, a compelling and witty tale of romance thwarted, friendships renewed, justice delivered, and true love found. Continue reading →

#FuturisticFriday Review: After Anna by Lisa Scottoline

Photo Credit: St.Martin’s Press

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

After Anna

Summary: Nobody cuts deeper than family…

Noah Alderman, a doctor and a widower, has remarried a wonderful woman, Maggie, and for the first time in a long time he and his son are happy. But their lives are turned upside down when Maggie’s daughter Anna moves in with them. Anna is a gorgeous seventeen-year-old who balks at living under their rules though Maggie, ecstatic to have her daughter back, ignores the red flags that hint at the trouble that is brewing. Events take a deadly turn when Anna is murdered and Noah is accused of the crime. Maggie must face not only the devastation of losing her only daughter, but the realization that her daughter’s murder was at the hands of a husband she loves. New information sends Maggie searching for the truth, leading her to discover something darker than she could have ever imagined. Continue reading →

#FuturisticFriday Review: All The Beautiful Lies by Peter Swanson

Photo Credit: William Morrow

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

All The Beautiful Lies

Summary: Harry Ackerson has always considered his step-mother Alice to be sexy and beautiful, in an “other worldly” way. She has always been kind and attentive, if a little aloof in the last few years.

Days before his college graduation, Alice calls with shocking news. His father is dead and the police think it’s suicide. Devastated, he returns to his father’s home in Maine. There, he and Alice will help one another pick up of the pieces of their lives and uncover what happened to his father.

Shortly after he arrives, Harry meets a mysterious young woman named Grace McGowan. Though she claims to be new to the area, Harry begins to suspect that Grace may not be a complete stranger to his family. But she isn’t the only attractive woman taking an interest in Harry. The sensual Alice is also growing closer, coming on to him in an enticing, clearly sexual way.

Mesmerized by these two women, Harry finds himself falling deeper under their spell. Yet the closer he gets to them, the more isolated he feels, disoriented by a growing fear that both women are hiding dangerous—even deadly—secrets . . . and that neither one is telling the truth. Continue reading →

#FuturisticFriday Review: The Secret To Southern Charm by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Photo Credit: Gallery

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

The Secret To Southern Charm

Summary: Leaving fans “practically [begging] for a sequel” (Bookpage), critically acclaimed author Kristy Woodson Harvey returns with the second novel in her beloved Peachtree Bluff series, featuring a trio of sisters and their mother who discover a truth that will change not only the way they see themselves, but also how they fit together as a family.

After finding out her military husband is missing in action, middle sister Sloane’s world crumbles as her worst nightmare comes true. She can barely climb out of bed, much less summon the strength to be the parent her children deserve.

Her mother, Ansley, provides a much-needed respite as she puts her personal life on hold to help Sloane and her grandchildren wade through their new grief-stricken lives. But between caring for her own aging mother, her daughters, and her grandchildren, Ansley’s private worry is that secrets from her past will come to light.

But when Sloane’s sisters, Caroline and Emerson, remind Sloane that no matter what, she promised her husband she would carry on for their young sons, Sloane finds the support and courage she needs to chase her biggest dreams—and face her deepest fears. Taking a cue from her middle daughter, Ansley takes her own leap of faith and realizes that, after all this time, she might finally be able to have it all.

Harvey’s signature warmth and wit make this a charming and poignant story of first loves, missed opportunities, and second chances and proves that she is “the next major voice in Southern fiction” (Elin Hilderbrand, New York Times bestselling author). Continue reading →

#FuturisticFriday Review: Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser

Photo Credit: St. Martin’s Press

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

Not That I Could Tell

Summary: When a group of neighborhood women gathers, wine in hand, around a fire pit where their backyards meet one Saturday night, most of them are just ecstatic to have discovered that their baby monitors reach that far. It’s a rare kid-free night, and they’re giddy with it. They drink too much, and the conversation turns personal.

By Monday morning, one of them is gone.

Everyone knows something about everyone else in the quirky small Ohio town of Yellow Springs, but no one can make sense of the disappearance. Kristin was a sociable twin mom, college administrator, and doctor’s wife who didn’t seem all that bothered by her impending divorce—and the investigation turns up more questions than answers, with her husband, Paul, at the center. For her closest neighbor, Clara, the incident triggers memories she thought she’d put behind her—and when she’s unable to extract herself from the widening circle of scrutiny, her own suspicions quickly grow. But the neighborhood’s newest addition, Izzy, is determined not to jump to any conclusions—especially since she’s dealing with a crisis of her own.

As the police investigation goes from a media circus to a cold case, the neighbors are forced to reexamine what’s going on behind their own closed doors—and to ask how well anyone really knows anyone else. Continue reading →

The Strangers on Montagu Street by Karen White

Photo Credit: NAL

Traveling With T purchased this book for her own reading pleasure.

The Strangers on Montagu Street

Summary: Psychic realtor Melanie Middleton returns-only to be greeted by a house full of lost souls.

Psychic realtor Melanie Middleton is still restoring her Charleston house and doesn’t expect to have a new houseguest, a teen girl named Nola. But the girl didn’t come alone, and the spirits that accompanied Nola don’t seem willing to leave…

 

 

Continue reading →

#FuturisticFriday Review: The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel

Photo Credit: Crown Publishing

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

The Roanoke Girls

Summary: A gripping, provocative thriller about the twisted secrets families keep, perfect for fans of The Girls.

Beautiful.
Rich.
Mysterious.
Everyone wants to be a Roanoke girl.

But you won’t when you know the truth.

Lane Roanoke is fifteen when she comes to live with her grandparents and fireball cousin at the Roanoke family’s rural estate following the suicide of her mother. Over one long, hot summer, Lane experiences the benefits of being one of the rich and beautiful Roanoke girls.

But what she doesn’t know is being a Roanoke girl carries a terrible legacy: either the girls run, or they die. For there is darkness at the heart of Roanoke, and when Lane discovers its insidious pull, she must make her choice… Continue reading →

Double Dog Dare by Gretchen Archer

Photo Credit: Henery Press

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

Double Dog Dare

Summary: Hot diggety dog, the fur is flying in USA TODAY bestselling author Gretchen Archer’s latest. It’s not just good, it’s “Best in Show!” – Janet Evanovich

Problem #1: Bootsy Howard

Davis Way Cole lives a (relatively) quiet, (somewhat) simple, and (completely) witch-free life with her husband and twin daughters on the 29th floor of the Bellissimo Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Until Bootsy Howard shows up demanding a million dollars.

Problem #2: Princess Smucker

What was marketing thinking when they booked the Southern Canine Association’s annual dog show at the Bellissimo? And what was Davis thinking when she agreed to let a dog stay with her? For a week? In her home? The home where she lives a (fairly) quiet, (reasonably) simple, and (totally) manicotti-free life?

Problem #3: Leverette Urleen, MD

The last thing Davis needs is an unsolicited house call from Pine Apple, Alabama’s latest excuse for a doctor. But since he’s there, considering she has a dead body on ice, she might as well have him determine the cause of death. Which he doesn’t. Nor is he any help finding the body when Davis loses it.

On top of all that, he won’t leave, further disrupting Davis’s (more or less) quiet, (to a certain degree) simple, and (utterly) seersucker-free life. A life that’s about to go to the dogs. Unless Davis can learn a few new tricks. Fast.

Guaranteed woofs, the best thing since the bone, take Double Dog Dare for a walk and you’re sure to unleash a treat.
Continue reading →