Shelley's Book Nook

☆☆☆☆ Kindle Edition, 304 pages Expected publication: January 8th 2019 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt About the Book: Meet Doris, a 96-year-old woman living alone in her Stockholm apartment. She has few visitors, but her weekly Skype calls with Jenny—her American grandniece, and her only relative—give her great joy and remind her of her own youth. When Doris was a girl, she was given an address book by her father, and ever since she has carefully documented everyone she met and loved throughout the years. Looking through the little book now, Doris sees the many crossed-out names of people long gone and is struck by the urge to put pen to paper. In writing down the stories of her colorful past—working as a maid in Sweden, modelling in Paris during the 30s, fleeing to Manhattan at the dawn of the Second World War—can she help Jenny, haunted by a difficult childhood, unlock the secrets of their family and finally look to the future? And whatever became of Allan, the love of Doris’s life...

☆☆☆☆ Kindle Edition, 343 pages Expected publication: February 12th 2019 by Bookouture About the Book: 1) Exercise more 2) Eat healthily 3) Learn how to live again Forty-year-old Alison Lund has always carefully planned everything in her well-ordered life, from colour co-ordinating her beautiful house to persuading her excitable son Alexander that sticker charts are more fun than misbehaving. But Alison’s perfect world has just fallen apart. Her head is left spinning when her beloved larger than life mother-in-law, Maggie, passes away and Alison is left heartbroken. Every afternoon they’d talk and laugh over a pot of tea, she was the glue that kept Alison together through the first few tough years of motherhood. And now Alison is trying to figure out a future without her. With a little help from her two best friends, Alison resolves to be more Maggie. After an emotional New Year’s Eve get together, the three women create a happiness project, challenging themselves to step outsid...

☆☆☆☆ Kindle Edition, 348 pages Published November 27th 2018 by Random House About the Book: Claire and Matt are no longer together but decide that it would be best for their daughter, Scarlett, to have a “normal” family Christmas. They can’t agree on whose idea it was to go to the Happy Forest holiday park, or who said they should bring their new partners. But someone did—and it’s too late to pull the plug. Claire brings her new boyfriend, Patrick (never Pat), a seemingly sensible, eligible from a distance Ironman in Waiting. Matt brings the new love of his life, Alex, funny, smart, and extremely patient. Scarlett, who is seven, brings her imaginary friend Posey. He’s a giant rabbit. Together the five (or six?) of them grit their teeth over Forced Fun Activities, drink a little too much after Scarlett’s bedtime, overshare classified secrets about their pasts . . . and before you know it, their holiday is a powder keg that ends where this novel begins—with a tearful, frightened cal...

☆☆☆☆ Kindle Edition, 384 pages Published October 5th 2018 by HQ Digital About the Book: One night will change their lives forever... Georgia Bailey is closing up her little charity shop in Oakbarrow when she gets a mysterious late night call from a stranger, threatening to jump off the town's bridge. Something about the man's voice is faintly familiar but all she can do is stay on the line and after talking for hours, losing sense of time passing, coax him back from the edge. The next morning, Georgia walks to work, buys a festive latte from Leo (who she's had a crush on for months!) at the local coffee shop, and is shocked when she suddenly recognizes the voice from last night. A heartwarming festive love story that reminds us that even in the darkest of times, hope is always just around the corner. For everyone. You are good enough. No matter how impossible things seem, you truly have a wonderful life, and the world will always be better with you in it. This story...

☆☆☆1/2 Kindle Edition, 316 pages Published December 1st 2018 by Lake Union Publishing About the Book: A beloved teacher is murdered and left in a ditch beside a country lane. His wife is found beaten and gagged in their suburban home. New detective Pippa Adams learns that the teacher ran a homework club for vulnerable pupils. But what did he really teach them? When Pippa scratches the surface of the school community, she meets families who’ve learned a shattering lesson. And finally uncovers the good teacher’s darkest secrets. A man found after a vicious attack opens the book and immediately grabs hold of your heart, pulling you along for an emotional ride through the tale of a teacher's death. The characterization and heart are very well done in this story. I found this far more emotional than I had expected. I was initially convinced I knew where this story was heading and was then shocked when I found out what had really been going on. Bit by bit, the reader is introd...

☆☆☆☆☆ Kindle Edition, 316 pages Published December 1st 2018 by Lake Union Publishing About the Book: The four Bliss siblings have a loving but complicated bond, but when their mother, Dorothy, dies seemingly without a will, this relationship is put to the test. As the mourning siblings try to make sense of the situation, one of them is caught with a secret: before she died, Dorothy entrusted her favourite daughter with her will and a letter—and told her to destroy them both. Of course it was Anna their mother turned to for this mission. Miriam, the eldest, is far too sensible; Sebastian, the baby, too sensitive; and Clare, the middle child, has always been too rebellious to rely on, and long ago cut herself out of her siblings’ lives. But what Anna finds in the documents could change everything. Do the other siblings not deserve to know what it is about them that their mother was so desperate to hide? And if it is revealed, will the Bliss family ever be the same again? Sometimes...

☆☆☆☆ Kindle Edition, 252 pages Published December 1st 2018 by Lake Union Publishing About the Book: It’s been twenty years since Cara’s boyfriend died in a horrible accident and her sister, Anna, went to prison. The tragedy has become a local legend, but Cara has moved past her grief to have a successful career and a happy family. Pity about Anna. Recently released from incarceration, she’s struggling with addiction, guilt, and shame—a shattered life. Cara’s forgiveness seems to be the only thing that helps her pick up the pieces. But as Anna pulls herself together, her memories of that night on the bridge start to come into focus. And few of them match her sister’s. As past secrets unfold and nothing is what it seems anymore, Anna desperately searches for the truth. But what if Cara doesn’t want her to find it? The beginning of this book is captivating and then becomes more & more suspenseful. The characters are engaging and, even the minor ones, are sharply drawn. I suppos...

☆☆☆ 1/2 Kindle Edition, 432 pages Expected publication: February 19th 2019 by The Dial Press About the Book: Fixie Farr has always lived by her father’s motto: “Family first.” But since her dad passed away, leaving his charming housewares store in the hands of his wife and children, Fixie spends all her time picking up the slack from her siblings instead of striking out on her own. The way Fixie sees it, if she doesn’t take care of her father’s legacy, who will? It’s simply not in her nature to say no to people. So when a handsome stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, Fixie not only agrees—she ends up saving it from certain disaster. Turns out the computer’s owner is an investment manager. To thank Fixie for her quick thinking, Sebastian scribbles an IOU on a coffee sleeve and attaches his business card. But Fixie laughs it off—she’d never actually claim an IOU from a stranger. Would she? Then Fixie’s childhood crush, Ryan, comes back into her life a...

☆☆☆☆☆ ebook, 260 pages Expected publication: January 8th 2019 by Sourcebooks Landmark About the Book: Every seven years, a boy disappears from Camp Waukeelo. Who will be next? It doesn’t take long for a little boy to disappear. Joey Proctor can’t swim, but that doesn’t stop camp counselor Alex Mason from leaving him out on a raft in the middle of the lake in a fit of rage. Alex only meant to scare the kid, teach him a lesson. He didn’t mean to forget about him. But now Joey is gone… and his body is never found. More than twenty years later, Alex is a success. The proof is there for anyone to see, in the millions of dollars he makes, his lavish house, his beautiful wife and daughters. And no one knows what happened that summer at camp. At least, no one should know. But it looks like Joey Proctor may be back to take his revenge. Joey looked into the water at the edge of the dock, and beneath the reflected ripple of sunlight saw nothing but darkness and depth and mystery. He’d neve...

☆☆☆☆☆ ebook, 144 pages Expected publication: January 1st 2019 by Andrews McMeel Publishing About the Book: Bookworms rejoice! These charming comics capture exactly what it feels like to be head-over-heels for hardcovers. Book Love is a gift book of comics tailor-made for tea-sipping, spine-sniffing, book-hoarding bibliophiles. Debbie Tung’s comics are humorous and instantly recognizable—making readers laugh while precisely conveying the thoughts and habits of book nerds. Book Love is the ideal gift to let a book lover know they’re understood and appreciated. I absolutely loved this comic book! Every single comic brings a smile, if not an outright fit of laughter. I could relate to many of the book situations as I am an avid reader myself. I haven't read a book of comic strips since I was a kid, but when I saw a couple of positive reviews about this one I downloaded it immediately. Once I started reading, I couldn't put the book down. The drawings are simple, yet expressi...

☆☆☆☆ ebook, 320 pages Expected publication: June 25th 2019 by HARLEQUIN Trade Publishing & Park Row About the Book: Joel lives in a nursing home and he’s not one bit happy about it. He doesn’t like being told when to eat, when to sleep, when to take his pills. In fact, he doesn’t like living at all, and he’s decided he’s going to end his life on his terms. When he tells retired soap-actor Frank about his dark plan, Frank urges him to go out with a bang. Together, they embark on a mission to find the perfect suicide, and along the way, discover the strength of friendship when you really feel alone. As he stared across at the empty bed that once held his wife, Joel Monroe decided he was going to kill himself. What a refreshing book to read. It seems sad to begin with, but hope is in sight and it's really quite an optimistic little story. The novel was a lot of fun to read. This is one of those achingly beautiful books that leaves you with a lovely warm feeling. Joel and ...