Shelley's Book Nook

☆☆☆1/2 ebook, 200 pages Published February 26th 2020 by Inkubator Books About the Book: The perfect laugh out loud romantic comedy. I knew nothing about this book when I stared reading it, it doesn't even have a blurb. The cover was cartoonish and I saw that it was a romantic comedy so of course I wanted to read it. I'v read so many thrillers and this was such a refreshing change of pace. Not too cloying or sentimental, it was the perfect salve. I enjoyed this cute story about Annie and this is truly a feel good story about a teacher who finds her voice and learns to follow her heart and find strength in the decisions she makes to improve her life, and that of her students, for the better. I found Lara Golden’s writing to be witty, funny, relatable and hopeful. I found her words easy to read, the story well paced, characters lovable and a feel good story with a feel good conclusion. There are many serious topics in this story, addiction, bullying and sexuality to nam

☆☆☆☆1/2 Kindle Edition, 272 pages Published February 25th 2020 by Kensington Books About the Book: When Tallulah Jones was thirteen, her grandmother plucked her from the dank Oakland apartment she shared with her unreliable mom and brought her to the family ostrich ranch in the Mojave Desert. After eleven years caring for the curious, graceful birds, Tallulah accepts a job in Montana and prepares to leave home. But when Grandma Helen dies under strange circumstances, Tallulah inherits everything—just days before the birds inexplicably stop laying eggs. Guarding the secret of the suddenly barren birds, Tallulah endeavors to force through a sale of the ranch, a task that is complicated by the arrival of her extended family. Their designs on the property, and deeply rooted dysfunction, threaten Tallulah's ambitions and eventually her life. With no options left, Tallulah must pull her head out of the sand and face the fifty-year legacy of a family in turmoil: the reality of her g

☆☆☆☆ Kindle Edition, 382 pages Expected publication: March 4th 2020 by Bookouture About the Book: I finally have everything I ever wanted. A home with floor-to-ceiling windows, a devoted husband who dazzles everyone he meets, and two angelic children I adore. But as I watch my husband chatting with the girl next door, I wonder if anyone can see the sadness in my pretty pink smile, or hear the scream behind my straight white teeth? I know I’m crazy to think there’s a hint of desire in his eyes. I know it's madness to see a flicker of fear in hers. I know all this, because I’ve been wrong before. And if I’m wrong again, he’ll try to take my children away. The party is my last chance to prove to my husband that I’m on the mend, that I can handle something as simple as a drinks reception without snapping under the pressure. It’s all going perfectly, until I see something in the swimming pool that changes everything. But if I can’t trust myself to believe it’s real, who will? Cla

☆☆☆☆ ebook, 387 pages Expected publication: March 5th 2020 by Avon Books UK About the Book: If someone was in your house, you’d know. Wouldn’t you? But the Hunter family are deaf, and don’t hear a thing when a shocking crime takes place in the middle of the night. Instead, they wake up to their worst nightmare. The police call Paige Northwood to the scene to interpret for the witnesses. They’re in shock, but Paige senses the Hunters are hiding something. One by one, people Paige knows from the Deaf community start to fall under suspicion. But who would kill a little girl? Was it an intruder? Or was the murderer closer to home? Only when Elisha snapped, ‘I’m deaf, not stupid,’ did the officer shut up and let me take over. Full disclosure here, I am deaf and I wanted to read this because I am deaf. As far as I know the author isn't deaf BUT... After studying English at university, Nell Pattison became a teacher and specialised in Deaf education. She has been teaching in the

☆☆☆ 368 pages Expected publication: February 18th 2020 by HARLEQUIN – Trade Publishing and Park Row About the Book: Sadie and Will Foust have only just moved their family from bustling Chicago to small-town Maine when their neighbor, Morgan Baines, is found dead in her home. The murder rocks their tiny coastal island, but no one is more shaken than Sadie, who is terrified by the thought of a killer in her very own backyard. But it’s not just Morgan’s death that has Sadie on edge. It’s their eerie old home, with its decrepit decor and creepy attic, which they inherited from Will’s sister after she died unexpectedly. It’s Will’s disturbed teenage niece Imogen, with her dark and threatening presence. And it’s the troubling past that continues to wear at the seams of their family. As the eyes of suspicion turn toward the new family in town, Sadie is drawn deeper into the mystery of Morgan’s death. But Sadie must be careful, for the more she discovers about Mrs. Baines, the more she be

☆☆☆☆ ebook, 352 pages Expected publication: February 6th 2020 by HarperCollins UK and One More Chapter About the Book: Seventeen years ago, Eve Roberts had the wonderful life she’d always dreamed of: a degree in archaeology, a gorgeous boyfriend, and exciting plans to travel the world with him, working on digs. But when her sister Faye died, the life Eve knew ended too. Faye’s daughter Caitlyn came to live with Eve, her boyfriend left, and she quickly gave up on her dreams. Now approaching her fortieth birthday, Eve faces the prospect of an empty nest as Caitlyn is leaving home. Caitlyn gives Eve a set of twelve ‘Be Kind to Yourself’ vouchers, telling her that she has to start living for herself again, and that she should fill one in every time she does something to treat herself. With her very first voucher, Eve’s life will change its course. But with eleven more vouchers to go, can Eve learn to put herself first and follow the dreams she’s kept secret for so long? Because life i

☆☆☆☆☆ ebook, 448 pages Expected publication: February 21st 2020 by Grove Press About the Book: Shuggie Bain is the unforgettable story of young Hugh “Shuggie” Bain, a sweet and lonely boy who spends his 1980s childhood in run-down public housing in Glasgow, Scotland. Thatcher’s policies have put husbands and sons out of work, and the city’s notorious drugs epidemic is waiting in the wings. Shuggie’s mother Agnes walks a wayward path: she is Shuggie’s guiding light but a burden for him and his siblings. She dreams of a house with its own front door while she flicks through the pages of the Freemans catalogue, ordering a little happiness on credit, anything to brighten up her grey life. Married to a philandering taxi-driver husband, Agnes keeps her pride by looking good—her beehive, make-up, and pearly-white false teeth offer a glamourous image of a Glaswegian Elizabeth Taylor. But under the surface, Agnes finds increasing solace in drink, and she drains away the lion’s share of eac

☆☆☆☆ Kindle Edition, 336 pages Expected publication: February 11th 2020 by HARLEQUIN - MIRA About the Book: Cousins by chance, sisters by choice. After her cat toy empire goes up in flames, Sophie Lane returns to Blackberry Island, determined to rebuild. Until small-town life reveals a big problem: she can’t grow unless she learns to let go. If Sophie relaxes her grip even a little, she might lose everything. Or she might finally be free to reach for the happiness and love that have eluded her for so long. Kristine has become defined by her relationship to others. She’s a wife, a mom. As much as she adores her husband and sons, she wants something for herself—a sweet little bakery just off the waterfront. She knew changing the rules wouldn’t be easy, but she never imagined she might have to choose between her marriage and her dreams. Like the mainland on the horizon, Heather’s goals seem beyond her grasp. Every time she manages to save for college, her mother has another crisis. C

☆☆☆ ebook, 352 pages Expected publication: February 25th 2020 by Gallery Books and Simon & Schuster Canada About the Book: Audrey Miller has an enviable new job at the Smithsonian, a body by reformer Pilates, an apartment door with a broken lock, and hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers to bear witness to it all. Having just moved to Washington, DC, Audrey busies herself impressing her new boss, interacting with her online fan base, and staving off a creepy upstairs neighbor with the help of the only two people she knows in town: an ex-boyfriend she can’t stay away from and a sorority sister with a high-powered job and a mysterious past. But Audrey’s faulty door may be the least of her security concerns. Unbeknownst to her, her move has brought her within striking distance of someone who’s obsessively followed her social media presence for years—from her first WordPress blog to her most recent Instagram Story. No longer content to simply follow her carefully curated li

☆☆☆☆ Kindle Edition, 308 pages Published February 1st 2020 by Amazon Publishing UK About the Book: Oliver Clock has everything arranged just so. A steady job running the family funeral parlour. A fridge stocked with ready meals. A drawer full of colour-coded socks. A plan (of sorts) to stay trim enough for a standard-sized coffin. And in florist Marie, he’s even found the love of his life—not that she’s aware of it. When a terrible tragedy takes Marie out of his life but leaves him with her private journal, he discovers too late that she secretly loved him back. Faced now with an empty love life, a family funeral business in trouble, a fast-approaching fortieth birthday and a notebook of resolutions he’s never achieved, Oliver resolves to open himself up to love—and all the mess that comes along with it. But, with a habit of burying his feelings, can he learn to embrace his lovability and find the woman who will make him feel whole? I couldn’t stand the way she bought tissue hol

☆☆1/2 ebook, 312 pages Published December 3rd 2019 by BooksGoSocial About the Book: When irrepressibly romantic Lucy Gray is ditched at said wedding by her date in front of her whole family, the promises of a psychic seem better than her pity-riddled reality. The psychic's advice seems insightful: stop ignoring fate's signs - fate will lead you to love. But when "fate" leads Lucy to London, she finds herself tangled in a web of lies. In a story about finding independence and taking chances, Lucy learns that leaving everything up to fate can be dangerous - and jeopardize her chances at happily ever after. The way this book ended was such a bummer as I was enjoying the first 75% of it. What stared out as a quirky romance, with a kind of love triangle thrown in, turned into a mad-cap caper. So the rating is a little hard for me as it was like a bad Lifetime Movie or something. Such a shame as it could have been a sweet book for the holidays and had so much potenti

☆☆☆☆ ebook, 368 pages Expected publication: March 10th 2020 by Crooked Lane Books About the Book: Violet Young is a hugely popular journalist-turned-mummy-vlogger, with three young children, a successful husband and a million subscribers on YouTube who tune in daily to watch her everyday life unfold. But one day she disappears from the online world - her entire social media presence deleted overnight, with no explanation. Has she simply decided that baring her life to all online is no longer a good idea, or has something more sinister happened to her? Told from the perspectives of her most avid fans, obsessed with finding out the truth, their search quickly reveals a web of lies, betrayal, and shocking consequences. Her life is perfect. So why has she left us? Wow what a great book, full of twists and turns. I found this to be a quick and easy read and one that was hard to put down. The plot starts speedily and never lets up; it keeps you guessing about the next twist and its

☆☆☆☆☆ Kindle Edition, 368 pages Expected publication: February 4th 2020 by Penguin Random House Canada and Viking About the Book: The story of a solitary green notebook that brings together six strangers and leads to unexpected friendship, and even love. Julian Jessop, an eccentric, lonely artist and septuagenarian believes that most people aren't really honest with each other. But what if they were? And so he writes--in a plain, green journal--the truth about his own life and leaves it in his local café. It's run by the incredibly tidy and efficient Monica, who furtively adds her own entry and leaves the book in the wine bar across the street. Before long, the others who find the green notebook add the truths about their own deepest selves--and soon find each other In Real Life at Monica's Café. The Authenticity Project's cast of characters--including Hazard, the charming addict who makes a vow to get sober; Alice, the fabulous mommy Instagrammer whose real life i

☆☆☆☆ Kindle Edition, 256 pages Expected publication: February 4th 2020 by Counterpoint Press About the Book: Set against the backdrop of a decaying Pacific Northwest lumber town, Vera Violet is a debut that explores themes of poverty, violence, and environmental degradation as played out in the young lives of a group of close-knit friends. Melissa Anne Peterson’s voice is powerful and poetic, her vision unflinching. Vera Violet recounts the dark story of a rough group of teenagers growing up in a twisted rural logging town. There are no jobs. There is no sense of safety. But there is a small group of loyal friends, a truck waiting with the engine running, a pair of boots covered in blood, and a hot 1911 with a pearl pistol grip. Vera Violet O’Neely’s home is in the Pacific Northwest—not the glamorous scene of coffee bars and craft beers, but the hardscrabble region of busted pickups and broken dreams. Vera’s mother has left, her father is unstable, and her brother is deeply troubl

☆☆☆ ebook, 400 pages Expected publication: February 4th 2020 by HARLEQUIN - MIRA About the Book: JJ, Spenser, Charlie and Philip, the four adult sons of retired Senator John Bright, dutifully head with their partners to the lake house for their annual family reunion. The Brights are the picture of perfectness, a family of outsize pride—fun, attractive, competitive and a bit terrible… They have everything they need, except the ability to see themselves clearly. This year the senator has agreed to let a producer film them for a documentary. Naturally, they let their guard down—each adrift in his own way. Petty jealousies surface amid the joys of summer. Philip, the youngest and least like his siblings, announces an unconventional decision and earns the ribbing—or is it scorn—of his brothers. The senator toys with another political run. But not everyone wants in this time. So one by one, family secrets start to come out…and keep coming. It becomes apparent that, despite their affecti

☆☆☆☆ Kindle Edition, 303 pages Expected publication: February 20th 2020 by Bookouture About the Book: Looking back, I wish I could find my way back to that moment. I’d snatch it and hold onto it and live in it for the rest of my life, if I could. When Emily could still throw her arms around me. Oh God, just give me that moment, or one like it again. That’s all I want. From the moment Emily was born, reaching out with her tiny little star-shaped hand towards her mother, blinking with long eyelashes over soft blue eyes, she became Rachel’s whole world. But Rachel’s worst nightmare comes true when a rare auto-immune illness leaves four-year-old Emily in a coma the doctors say she may never come out of. And Rachel has to make a heartbreaking decision – one that her ex-husband, Emily’s dad James, doesn’t agree with. Terrified she’s going to lose her daughter for good, Rachel knows she must find a way to keep the hope alive for Emily. But there is only one person she can turn to for hel

☆☆☆1/2 ebook, 282 pages Published February 1st 2020 by Thomas & Mercer About the Book: After barely surviving a brutal attack, Brienne Dougray rarely leaves her house. Suffering from debilitating headaches and memory loss, she can rely only on her compassionate new tenant, Dr. Niall Emberlin, a welcome distraction from the discomfiting bubble that has become her existence. But Brienne’s growing confidence in her new routine is shaken when she stumbles across unsettling evidence that someone else is living as…her. Same name. Same car. Same hair. Same clothes. She’s even friended her family on social media. To find out why, Brienne must leave the safety of her home to hunt a familiar stranger. What she discovers is more disturbing than she could have ever imagined. With her fragile mind close to shattering, Brienne is prepared to do anything to reclaim her life. If it’s even hers to reclaim. A different kind of mystery wherein the reader is allowed a lot of access to the minds

☆☆☆☆ Kindle Edition, 336 pages Expected publication: February 18th 2020 by Random House Publishing Group About the Book: Fifteen-year-old Jessica Silver, heiress to a billion-dollar fortune, vanishes on her way home from school. Her teacher, Bobby Nock, is the prime suspect. It's an open and shut case for the prosecution, and a quick conviction seems all but guaranteed. Until Maya Seale, a young woman on the jury, persuades the rest of the jurors to vote not guilty: a controversial decision that will change all of their lives forever. Ten years later, one of the jurors is found dead, and Maya is the prime suspect. The real killer could be any of the other ten jurors. Is Maya being forced to pay the price for her decision all those years ago? The Holdout is one of those books that just captures your interest from the first page and four hours later you look up and have forgotten to eat dinner. The personalities of the jurors and their reaction to each other and the facts of

☆☆☆☆ ebook, 352 pages Expected publication: February 18th 2020 by Celadon Books About the Book: Claire is only seven years old when her college-age sister, Alison, disappears on the last night of their family vacation at a resort on the Caribbean island of Saint X. Several days later, Alison’s body is found in a remote spot on a nearby cay, and two local men – employees at the resort - are arrested. But the evidence is slim, the timeline against it, and the men are soon released. The story turns into national tabloid news, a lurid mystery that will go unsolved. For Claire and her parents, there is only the return home to broken lives. Years later, Claire is living and working in New York City when a brief but fateful encounter brings her together with Clive Richardson, one of the men originally suspected of murdering her sister. It is a moment that sets Claire on an obsessive pursuit of the truth - not only to find out what happened the night of Alison’s death but also to answer t