Be The Girl by K.A. Tucker – Cover Reveal

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As a huge fan of K.A. Tucker’s work, I’m so excited to be helping reveal the cover of her upcoming release BE THE GIRL.  If you aren’t familiar with her work, she writes a wide range of genres; from romance to fantasy to mystery, young adult to adult, Tucker is a versatile and talented writer.

Below is a synopsis, along with the beautiful cover!

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Be The Girl by K.A. Tucker
Independent release / January 21, 2019
Fiction, Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Add on Goodreads
Preorder: Amazon – iBooks – Kobo – Barnes & Noble
*Special preorder price of only $2.99 for the ebook.
The price will increase shortly after release.*

SYNOPSIS:

From the national bestselling author of the Ten Tiny Breaths series and The Simple Wild comes a poignant story about a girl trying to change her future while evading her past.

Almost-sixteen-year-old Aria Jones is starting over. New postal code, new last name, new rules. But she doesn’t mind, because it means she can leave her painful regrets behind. In the bustling town of Eastmonte, she can become someone else. Someone better.

With the Hartford family living next door, it seems she will succeed. Sure, Cassie Hartford may be the epitome of social awkwardness thanks to her autism, but she also offers an innocent and sincere friendship that Aria learns to appreciate. And Cassie’s older brother, Emmett—a popular Junior A hockey player with a bright future—well … Aria wishes that friendship could lead to something more. If he didn’t already have a girlfriend, maybe it would.

But Aria soon finds herself in a dicey moral predicament that could derail her attempt at a fresh start. It is her loyalty to Cassie and her growing crush on Emmett that leads her to make a risky move, one that earns her a vindictive enemy who is determined to splinter her happy new world.

Read my review of K.A. Tucker’s other books: Until It Fades, Keep Her Safe, The Simple Wild

Be The Girl cover design by Hang Le

MEET THE AUTHOR: K.A. TUCKER

K.A. Tucker writes captivating stories with an edge.

She is the USA Today bestselling author of 17 books, including the Ten Tiny Breaths and Burying Water series, He Will Be My Ruin, Until It Fades, Keep Her Safe, and The Simple Wild. Her books have been featured in national publications including USA Today, Globe & Mail, Suspense Magazine, and Publisher’s Weekly. Ten Tiny Breaths was a finalist in the 2013 Goodreads Choice Awards.

K.A. Tucker currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto with her family.

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram

 

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens – Review

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Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
G.P. Putnam’s Sons / August 14, 2018
Fiction, Mystery, Coming of Age
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Buy it: The Ripped Bodice

Synopsis:

For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life–until the unthinkable happens.

Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Karen Russell, Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

MY REVIEW

5 Stars

Sometimes when I see a book is getting a lot of hype, it makes me nervous to read it. Will it live up to my expectations? Will I be disappointed it’s not better than I thought it’d be? Sometimes this keeps me from reading a book altogether, or I wait until the hype has died down and people have moved onto a new book.

I had won a copy of Where the Crawdads Sing and other than everyone thinking it was the best thing ever, I didn’t know much about it. I decided to give it a try and read along at the same time as Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club. Put simply, this book is wonderful. It’s a coming of age story at its heart with a love story and murder investigation mixed in. I found it to be utterly unique and wholly immersive. It is clear that Owens has spent a great deal of time researching the area in which the book takes place and her background as a nature writer really came through in her description of the marsh. The writing was effortless and completely captivating.

If you’ve been following me for a while, then you’ll know I’m a crier. I had asked in a poll on my Instagram stories if this book would make me cry. The majority of y’all said no. Well, 30 pages in and there I am reading with tears streaming down my face. But honestly, that shouldn’t surprise anyone. Even if you aren’t easily moved to tears, this novel is sure to pull at your heartstrings.

You’re immediately drawn into Kya’s story and her life in the marsh. I’m still amazed thinking about how Kya was able to survive how she did. She is basically left to raise herself from the age of six, her father leaving for days at a time and often returning drunk. Eventually, she is abandoned altogether, and is forced to learn how to care for herself completely. Her father was supplying her with a modicum of money in order to purchase the bare minimum of food, so when he leaves for good, she teaches herself how to catch wildlife in the marsh that she then sell for money that she uses to buy grits. Somehow, at such a young age, she learns to feed and care for herself and survives. It breaks my heart just thinking about it, especially because there’s no doubt stuff like this happens in the real world.

I loved seeing Kya grow and learn and mature. Even though she’s been left by everyone she thought cared for her, she was still able to eventually open herself up to a select few. Which brings me to the supporting characters. They were just as fleshed out and developed as Kya was. Jumpin’, Mable, and Tate all cared for this girl in such an unselfish way and it was incredible to see the impact they had on her.

But Kya’s main teacher in all this, is the marsh. The wildlife are her friends and companions. She takes everything she learns from the animals and life around her into herself and it shapes her into the woman she becomes.

A truly unputdownable and unforgettable read.

Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. This commission helps to maintain this blog.

MEET THE AUTHOR: Delia Owens

Delia Owens is the co-author of three internationally bestselling nonfiction books about her life as a wildlife scientist in Africa—Cry of the Kalahari, The Eye of the Elephant, and Secrets of the Savanna. She has won the John Burroughs Award for Nature Writing and has been published in Nature, The African Journal of Ecology, and International Wildlife, among many others. She currently lives in Idaho, where she continues her support for the people and wildlife of Zambia. Where the Crawdads Sing is her first novel.

How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry – Review

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How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry
Penguin Books / July 10, 2018 (Paperback)
Fiction
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Buy it: The Ripped Bodice

Synopsis:

The enchanting story of a bookshop, its grieving owner, a supportive literary community, and the extraordinary power of books to heal the heart

Nightingale Books, nestled on the main street in an idyllic little village, is a dream come true for book lovers–a cozy haven and welcoming getaway for the literary-minded locals. But owner Emilia Nightingale is struggling to keep the shop open after her beloved father’s death, and the temptation to sell is getting stronger. The property developers are circling, yet Emilia’s loyal customers have become like family, and she can’t imagine breaking the promise she made to her father to keep the store alive.

There’s Sarah, owner of the stately Peasebrook Manor, who has used the bookshop as an escape in the past few years, but it now seems there’s a very specific reason for all those frequent visits. Next is roguish Jackson, who, after making a complete mess of his marriage, now looks to Emilia for advice on books for the son he misses so much. And the forever shy Thomasina, who runs a pop-up restaurant for two in her tiny cottage–she has a crush on a man she met in the cookbook section, but can hardly dream of working up the courage to admit her true feelings.

Enter the world of Nightingale Books for a serving of romance, long-held secrets, and unexpected hopes for the future–and not just within the pages on the shelves. How to Find Love in a Bookshop is the delightful story of Emilia, the unforgettable cast of customers whose lives she has touched, and the books they all cherish.

MY REVIEW

4 Stars

What a delightful read! How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry was quite different than what I was expecting going in, but regardless of that I really enjoyed it.

If you don’t know much about the book, it’s about a woman who goes back home to her small town to run her father’s bookshop after he passes away. It focuses not only on her story but several of the townspeople as well.

I loved all the ways the characters connected to each other and how the bookshop brought them together. The stories were almost like little vignettes into each characters’ lives. There were several storylines I could have read an entire book about. I loved how Henry got me so attached to these people in such a short amount of time. There were a few stories I wish we had a little more firm closure on, but I’m pretty happy with how everyone ended up.

I listened to a lot of the book on audio but did read some chapters in the physical book too. I tend not to listen to audiobooks because I either find them difficult to follow (my mind wanders or I get distracted) or I don’t like the narrator. I only had to rewind a few times while listening because the book was so captivating. I also really enjoyed the narrator. I’ve already looked up other books she’s done and am looking forward to hopefully listening to another one (which also happens to be on my TBR!) this year.

This story shows the impact a book, a local bookshop, and a bookseller can not only have on an individual person, but on a whole town. This is truly a book for book lovers ♥️

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. This commission helps to maintain this blog.

MEET THE AUTHOR: Veronica Henry

Veronica Henry was a television script writer before turning her hand to fiction. She has published sixteen novels which she describes as realistic escapism – her setting are gorgeous, but her characters have problems and dilemmas everyone can identify with.

Keep Her Safe by K.A. Tucker – Review

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Keep Her Safe by K.A. Tucker
Atria Books / January 23, 2018
Mystery, Suspense, Romance
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Buy it: The Ripped Bodice

Synopsis: 

Noah Marshall has known a privileged and comfortable life thanks to his mother, the highly decorated chief of the Austin Police Department. But all that changes the night she reveals a skeleton that’s been rattling in her closet for years, and succumbs to the guilt of destroying an innocent family’s life. Reeling with grief, Noah is forced to carry the burden of this shocking secret.

Gracie Richards wasn’t born in a trailer park, but after fourteen years of learning how to survive in The Hollow, it’s all she knows anymore. At least here people don’t care that her dad was a corrupt Austin cop, murdered in a drug deal gone wrong. Here, she and her mother are just another family struggling to survive…until a man who clearly doesn’t belong shows up on her doorstep.

Despite their differences, Noah and Gracie are searching for answers to the same questions, and together, they set out to uncover the truth about the Austin Police Department’s dark and messy past. But the scandal that emerges is bigger than they bargained for, and goes far higher up than they ever imagined.

Complex, gritty, sexy, and thrilling, Keep Her Safe solidifies K.A. Tucker’s reputation as one of today’s most talented new voices in romantic suspense.

MY REVIEW

4 Stars

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book. I had read two of Tucker’s contemporary romance books, but none of her mystery/suspense novels. This is not a typical read for me mostly because I’m easily scared. Anything that could remotely be anxiety or fear inducing, I don’t go near it. This wasn’t too terrible on the fear-inducing side, and I’m really glad I read it.

It was definitely a book that I had difficulty putting down. I had to know what happened next. It is told in multiple POVs: two in the past and two in the present. Because of this, the reader learns a few things before the characters do. However, this didn’t hinder the reading experience in any way. I like how Tucker spaced these flashbacks out because I was still asking all the same questions the characters were, right along with them.

For me, this was much more of a suspenseful story than a mystery. It is made fairly clear early on who the culprit is. It’s more about will Noah and Gracie be able to prove it with unwavering evidence? There was also a kind of subplot that snuck up on me. I’ll give a little confession here: I think I’m better at finding out the whodunit than I actually am. 99% of the time I’m wrong, but I still believe I know what’s going to happen…? I know, I’m crazy. Or delusional. In this case, I used up my 1% of being correct about midway through the story. I had guesses on a few things but the story honestly kept me second-guessing who I thought did what.

I’m a sucker for a good love story and I really enjoyed the one in this book. Yes, it moved quickly, but I think the situation and who they were, made it a bit more believable. Gracie and Noah have a deep rooted connection which only grew as they worked toward their one common goal of getting justice for Gracie’s father. While this book was very much a suspenseful story, the interspersing of Gracie and Noah’s romance helped to lighten it a bit and broke up the heaviness of it all. Noah and Gracie are each what you want in your hero and heroine. Noah is a genuinely good guy. He’s able to put aside his own feelings and wants to do what is best for those he cares about. Yes, it may take him a bit of time, but no one is perfect. We should all be so lucky to have someone like him in our lives. Gracie is both headstrong and caring. For someone whose childhood and adolescence ended up being the opposite of great, she is remarkably stable. She doesn’t take crap from anyone, shows confidence even when she may not feel it, and knows what she deserves. She’s someone you have no trouble rooting for and standing by.

Highly recommend picking this one up.

Read my review of K.A. Tucker’s The Simple Wild and Until it Fades

Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. This commission helps to maintain this blog.

MEET THE AUTHOR: K.A. Tucker

K.A. Tucker writes captivating stories with an edge.

She is the USA Today bestselling author of 17 books, including the Casual Enchantment, Ten Tiny Breaths, and Burying Water series, He Will Be My Ruin, Until It Fades, Keep Her Safe, and her latest contemporary fiction, The Simple Wild. Her books have been featured in national publications including USA Today, Globe & Mail, Suspense Magazine, and Publisher’s Weekly.

K.A. Tucker currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto with her family.

Labor Day Weekend Reads

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Who doesn’t love a three-day weekend? It’s the perfect time to relax and take a break from those pesky adult responsibilities. Take advantage of that extra day off from work and get some reading in. Today, I’m sharing books that are all under 350 pages, that you can read over this long weekend. While I don’t have written reviews for all of these, I have read them all and highly recommend them!

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