Monday, September 26, 2016

Blog Tour: DARK WATER by Sara Bailey


Title: Dark Water
Author: Sara Bailey
Publisher: Nightingale Editions
Publication Date: October 3, 2016
ASIN: B01IAR4XX4
Number of Pages: 224
How I Got It: from publisher
Format: Kindle 
Goodreads Description:
Friendship doesn't die, it waits...
A haunting and lyrical novel, Dark Water is a psychologically intense portrait of adolescent yearning and obsession.
When Helena returns to her childhood home in Orkney, she is forced to face memories that she has spent half a lifetime running from. Her best friend, the charismatic Anastasia, disappeared after a swimming incident. But what really happened that night by the wrecks?

My Review:
1st of all, that tagline: "Friendship doesn't die, it waits..." paired with that cover, how can you resist? As soon as you start reading, you won't want to stop, wanting to know (just like everyone in the novel), "What happened to Anastasia?" I was quite surprised to find that this was Sara Bailey's debut novel because it was pretty perfect. The setting of the Orkney Islands made this read a great follow up to The Ice Twins by S.K. Treymayne. Dark Water has a slow intensity that delivers plenty of spine tingles and creepy feelings to make this a perfect read for a rainy fall afternoon.












More Info: 
For more information about this novel, check out its press release and review by Amy Liptrot, author of 'The Outrun' which won the Wainwright Prize 2016
***Disclaimer:: I was given a copy of this release in exchange for an honest review. I received no additional compensation. ***
Share:

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Blog Tour:: THE VANISHING YEAR by Kate Moretti




Title: The Vanishing Year

Author: Kate Moretti
Publisher: Atria 
Publication Date: September 27, 2016
ISBN: 9781501118432
Number of Pages: 304 pages
How I Got It: from publisher
Format: Kindle
Publicist Supplied Description: 
Zoe Whittaker is living a charmed life. She is the beautiful young wife to handsome, charming Wall Street tycoon Henry Whittaker. She is a member of Manhattan’s social elite. She is on the board of one of the city’s most prestigious philanthropic organizations. She has a perfect Tribeca penthouse in the city and a gorgeous lake house in the country. The finest wine, the most up-to-date fashion, and the most luxurious vacations are all at her fingertips. What no one knows is that five years ago, Zoe’s life was in danger. Back then, Zoe wasn’t Zoe at all. Now her secrets are coming back to haunt her. As the past and present collide, Zoe must decide who she can trust before she—whoever she is—vanishes completely.
My Review:
I don't read a lot of thrillers but when I do I either love them or I hate them. I hate if I can figure everything out in the first hundred pages. Not so with THE VANISHING YEAR! I loved that I truly couldn't put it down (that doesn't happen often with me) and that I just couldn't put my finger on how everything was connected. This one is going to be one I'll be recommending for sure! I've not read any other work from Kate Moretti but I just requested her previous releases from my library. I'm hooked! Enter the blog tour giveaway below and try to win a copy for yourself! 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



Kate Moretti is the New York Times bestselling author of Thought I Knew YouBinds That Tie, and While You Were Gone. She lives in eastern Pennsylvania with her husband and two kids. 

FIND KATE ONLINE:
Twitter: @KateMoretti1
Instagram: @katemoretti1

ORDER:

***Disclaimer:: I was given a copy of this release in exchange for an honest review. I received no additional compensation. ***



Share:

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Book Talk with R and T:: Review of THE BOOKSHOP ON THE CORNER by Jenny Colgan


Title: The Bookshop on the Corner
Author: Jenny Colgan
Publisher: William Morrow 
Publication Date: September 20, 2016
ISBN: 9780062467263
Number of Pages: 332
How I Got It: From publisher
Format: paperback
Goodreads Description:
Nina Redmond is a literary matchmaker. Pairing a reader with that perfect book is her passion… and also her job. Or at least it was. Until yesterday, she was a librarian in the hectic city. But now the job she loved is no more. Determined to make a new life for herself, Nina moves to a sleepy village many miles away. There she buys a van and transforms it into a bookmobile—a mobile bookshop that she drives from neighborhood to neighborhood, changing one life after another with the power of storytelling. From helping her grumpy landlord deliver a lamb, to sharing picnics with a charming train conductor who serenades her with poetry, Nina discovers there’s plenty of adventure, magic, and soul in a place that’s beginning to feel like home… a place where she just might be able to write her own happy ending.

My Review:
Months ago when I was planning my upcoming reading schedule, I came across this title and thought it would be the perfect choice for an edition of Book Talk with R and T. Tamara quickly agreed and after reading it, I think it was a perfect choice! I mean, a literary matchmaker with a bookmobile...hello! As soon as I started reading, I started texting Tamara to tell her how much I was enjoying this selection and how much it was making me smile. I thoroughly enjoyed spending an absolutely perfect Sunday with Nina, Surinder, Lennox, Parsley and the gang. I loved Jenny Colgan's The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris and after reading The Bookshop on the Corner, I will automatically read anything else by her.

Verdict: Grab a cuppa, a blanket, and The Bookshop on the Corner for a perfect autumn afternoon! 

Be sure to check out Tamara's review and enter our giveaway


***Disclaimer:: I was given a copy of this release in exchange for an honest review. I received no additional compensation. ***
Share:

Monday, September 19, 2016

Book Talk with R and T Giveaway: THE BOOKSHOP ON THE CORNER by Jenny Colgan


It's been a minute, but Book Talk with R and T is back! 



All week Tamara (@rockstar1023) and I will be discussing Jenny Colgan's latest novel, THE BOOKSHOP ON THE CORNER. Be sure to add it to your Goodreads shelf and enter our giveaway: 


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Share:

Friday, September 16, 2016

Foodie Friday:: Review and Giveaway of THE PROMISE KITCHEN by Peggy Lampman



Title: The Promise Kitchen 
Author: Peggy Lampman
Publisher: Lake Union 
Publication Date: September 27, 2016
ASIN: B01DF0TM5A
Number of Pages: 380
How I Got It: From author
Format: Kindle
Goodreads Description:
Food, friendship, family, and a fresh start. Shelby Preston, a young single mother, is at a crossroads. She feels suffocated by her hardscrabble life in rural Georgia and dreams of becoming a professional chef. Lord knows her family could use a pot of something good. In Atlanta, Mallory Lakes is reeling from a bad breakup. The newspaper food columnist is also bracing for major changes at work that could put her job at risk. Determined to find the perfect recipe for how to reinvent herself, she gets involved in the growing farm-to-table movement. But an emotional setback threatens to derail everything she’s worked for. Shelby and Mallory couldn’t be more different. But through their shared passion for food, they form an unlikely friendship—a bond that just might be their salvation. This heartwarming and lyrical tale reminds us that family isn’t necessarily whom you’re related to—it’s whom you invite to your table.
My Review:
I'm always excited to read books set in Atlanta or Georgia but sometimes the cliches can get in the way of a good story. Not so with The Promise Kitchen.  Author, Peggy Lampman, juxtaposes single-mother Shelby with career woman Mallory, and rural Georgia life with Atlanta city life very vividly. The dual narrative at the beginning gives readers great background on the two women and as the story progresses she weaves the women's stories together in a delicious way. Like any good foodie fiction story, I was wanted to eat each dish the women made. I also loved all the details behind the dishes and descriptions of the various places in the story, such as Shelby's hometown and the "fancy" Atlanta grocery store. There's great determination in both women that really made me want to cheer them both on. This book made me very happy (and hungry) while I was reading it. The Promise Kitchen was purchased in a two-book deal by Lake Union Publishing and I'm interested to see what's next for Lampman...

a Rafflecopter giveaway


***Disclaimer:: I was given a copy of this release in exchange for an honest review. I received no additional compensation. ***
Share:

Friday, September 9, 2016

Foodie Friday:: THE SECRET INGREDIENT OF WISHES by Susan Bishop Crispell



Title: The Secret Ingredient of Wishes
Author: Susan Bishop Crispell
Publisher: Thomas Dunne
Publication Date: September 6, 2016
ISBN: 9781250089090
Number of Pages: 304
How I Got It: contacted by publisher
Format: paperback
Goodreads Description:
26-year-old Rachel Monroe has spent her whole life trying to keep a very unusual secret: she can make wishes come true. And sometimes the consequences are disastrous. So when Rachel accidentally grants an outlandish wish for the first time in years, she decides it’s time to leave her hometown—and her past—behind for good. 

Rachel isn’t on the road long before she runs out of gas in a town that’s not on her map: Nowhere, North Carolina—also known as the town of “Lost and Found.” In Nowhere, Rachel is taken in by a spit-fire old woman, Catch, who possesses a strange gift of her own: she can bind secrets by baking them into pies. Rachel also meets Catch’s neighbor, Ashe, a Southern gentleman with a complicated past, who makes her want to believe in happily-ever-after for the first time in her life. 

As she settles into the small town, Rachel hopes her own secrets will stay hidden, but wishes start piling up everywhere Rachel goes. When the consequences threaten to ruin everything she’s begun to build in Nowhere, Rachel must come to terms with who she is and what she can do, or risk losing the people she’s starting to love—and her chance at happiness—all over again.

My Review:
This book is exactly what I have been  looking for for the last two years, ever since THE GLASS KITCHEN. I like magic realism and foodie fiction and I love them even better when they're together. If you liked Practical Magic, you'll love this release. Be sure to enter my giveaway below to get a copy for yourself! 
***Disclaimer:: I was given a copy of this release in exchange for an honest review. I received no additional compensation. ***


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Share:
© Ivory Owl Reviews | All rights reserved.
Blog Layout Created by pipdig