​Give a listen to the latest Shelf Addiction author feature! On today's podcast episode I'm interviewing author Deanna Cabinian.  Deanna and I discuss how music and books make an amazing pairing for both the listener and the writer and Deanna shares her series, Thompson Lake.

Connect with Deanna Cabinian
​Website |Twitter

Publisher: She Writes Press
Release Date: May 2, 2017
Format: Paperback
Pages: 336
Source: Publicist/Publisher
Genre: Historical Fiction
​Rating: 3 bookmarks

​Synopsis: Becca Meister Fitzpatrick--wife, mother, grandmother, and pillar of the community--is the dutiful steward of her family's iconic summer tradition . . . until she discovers her recently deceased husband squandered their nest egg. As she struggles to accept that this is likely her last season in Long Harbor, Becca is inspired by her granddaughter's boldness in the face of impending single-motherhood, and summons the courage to reveal a secret she was forced to bury long ago: the existence of a daughter she gave up fifty years ago. The question now is how her other daughter, Rachel--with whom Becca has always had a strained relationship--will react. 
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Eden is the account of the days leading up to the Fourth of July weekend, as Becca prepares to disclose her secret and her son and brothers conspire to put the estate on the market, interwoven with the century-old history of Becca's family--her parents' beginnings and ascent into affluence, and her mother's own secret struggles in the grand home her father named "Eden."

*This book was provided by the publicist/publisher in exchange for a honest review.

Eden is a house that is built on Long Harbor, and Becca is the current caretaker of the property. The home has been passed down through her family for generations after her up and coming grandfather built it for his family. The story revolves around not just Becca, but all of Eden’s inhabitants. Chapters are told in alternating time periods; 1940’s when Bunny and Sadie owned the house, and the year 2000, when the house is owned by the family as a whole (but Becca lives there). The dual timeline provides an interesting look at the workings of this family as it grows, ages, and changes.
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I will say that there are a LOT of characters in this book. A LOT. I was struggling trying to remember who was who, and how they were related to one another throughout the entirety of the book. The dynamics of the family also naturally changed between the alternating timelines which didn’t help me with trying to remember just how everybody added up in the familial equation.

​Give a listen to the latest Shelf Addiction author feature! On today's podcast episode Beaird Glover and I will be discussing his research of Marie Laveau and voodoo.  He'll introduce us to his novel, Blue Bottle Tree.

Connect with Beaird Glover
​Twitter

Publisher: Ballantine Books/Random House Audio
Release Date: February 6, 2018
Format: MP3 Download
Pages: Hardcover: 400 | Audio Length: 12 hours 57 mins
Narrator:​ Jon Lindstrom
Source: Audiobook Publisher
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Rating: 2 bookmarks

Synopsis: Nate McHale has assembled the kind of life most people would envy. After a tumultuous youth marked by his inexplicable survival of a devastating tragedy, Nate left his Adirondack hometown of Greystone Lake and never looked back. Fourteen years later, he's become a respected New York City surgeon, devoted husband, and loving father.

Then a body is discovered deep in the forests that surround Greystone Lake.

This disturbing news finally draws Nate home. While navigating a tense landscape of secrets and suspicion, resentments and guilt, Nate reconnects with estranged friends and old enemies, and encounters strangers who seem to know impossible things about him. Haunting every moment is the Lake's sinister history and the memory of wild, beautiful Lucy Bennett, with whom Nate is forever linked by shattering loss and youthful passion.

As a massive hurricane bears down on the Northeast, the air becomes electric, the clouds grow dark, and escalating acts of violence echo events from Nate's own past. Without a doubt, a reckoning is coming--one that will lay bare the lies that lifelong friends have told themselves and unleash a vengeance that may consume them all.

*This audiobook was provided by  the publisher in exchange for a honest review..

​The story begins with Nate McHale, aka “The Storm King”, taking the bus back home to Greystone Lake after being away for fourteen years. He is taking the bus because hurricane Medea is making her way toward his boyhood home and riding the bus is safer than flying. We learn that during his absence he has become an oncologist, a husband and father. He is weary about returning, but there are some questions he needs answered. The town and the lake hold terrible memories from his youth and Nate is unsure about what will be revealed during this reunion. Nate’s parents and baby brother drowned in the lake when their car was hit by another driver and Nate was the sole survivor.  The lake is also the keeper of fond memories, secrets and tragedy that he once shared with his high school buddies and his first love, Lucy Bennett.

It's that time!!! Happy Valentine's Day. Tonight my husband are chilling at home. Nothing big. We will exchange something little, I'll cook one of his favorite meals and we'll watch more of The Blacklist on Netflix! #NetflixandChill basically. What are you doing tonight?  If you're not doing anything date-wise, may I recommend some time for reading! Take some time for self care, take a long bath, drink some wine, and crack open a romance and treat yourself on this day (or any day really). These book recommendations are for more than just a romantic holiday. Whenever you want a bit of romance, check out these suggestions from this special two part podcast!

In honor of romances for every reader, Sue Brown-Moore and I teamed up to do a two part podcast! Listen to the Shelf Addiction Podcast and the Grave Tells Romance Podcast to hear each half! Total we have 20+ romance book recommendations. From traditional romance, to paranormal romance, to gay romance, and more. Including both light on the heat to VERY spicy...we have something for everyone!  If you'd like to jump on over to Sue's post, you can find that here.

Do you have a favorite romance that you like to recommend? If so, please comment below and let me know what it is and why you love it.  

Publisher: Berkley Publishing
Release Date: February 13, 2018
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 352
Source: Publicist/Publisher
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
​Rating: 4 bookmarks

​Synopsis:  Zadie Anson and Emma Colley have been best friends since their early twenties, when they first began navigating serious romantic relationships amid the intensity of medical school. Now they're happily married wives and mothers with successful careers--Zadie as a pediatric cardiologist and Emma as a trauma surgeon. Their lives in Charlotte, North Carolina are chaotic but fulfilling, until the return of a former colleague unearths a secret one of them has been harboring for years. 

As chief resident, Nick Xenokostas was the center of Zadie's life--both professionally and personally--throughout a tragic chain of events in her third year of medical school that she has long since put behind her. Nick's unexpected reappearance during a time of new professional crisis shocks both women into a deeper look at the difficult choices they made at the beginning of their careers. As it becomes evident that Emma must have known more than she revealed about circumstances that nearly derailed both their lives, Zadie starts to question everything she thought she knew about her closest friend.

I love Grey’s Anatomy and I adore Big Little Lies, I enjoyed them both immensely. When I heard that this book has the vibe of both of those put together, I was all about it!  Pair that with the stunning cover (I’m a sucker for pretty cover art) and I was super excited to read The Queen of Hearts.
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Kimmery Martin delivers a beautifully written book about friendship, motherhood, secrets, and medicine.  I found this book hard to put down.  Her writing style is concise, yet it’s easy to read and had a warmth to it.  At first I was concerned that things could get too technical with all the medicine because Martin is a doctor, but I had nothing to worry about. The parts that described medical procedures and surgiers were well done and digestible.