⭐️⭐️ (2 stars) I usually enjoy Lisa Scottoline’s work, but The Unraveling of Julia just wasn’t for me. Gothic literature and astrology aren’t my cup of tea, and this novel dives headfirst into both. The story follows Julia Pritzker, a grieving widow who inherits a mysterious Tuscan villa from a stranger. Once she arrives in Italy, strange things start happening—ghostly visions, eerie coincidences, and a possible family link to a Renaissance duchess obsessed with astrology. It sounds intriguing on paper, but the story quickly spirals into something so far-fetched I had trouble suspending disbelief. Scottoline does a lovely job painting the Tuscan landscape—you can almost feel the sun on the vineyards and […]
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Facing Humanity’s Darkest Chapters
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Confronting Evil: Assessing the Worst of the Worst isn’t light reading—but it’s the kind that matters. The book explores the darkest corners of human history, from Genghis Khan and Caligula to Stalin, Hitler, Mao, and Putin. Each chapter dives into how absolute power, greed, and twisted ideology turned ordinary men into monsters who shaped the world through fear and bloodshed. O’Reilly and Hammer don’t just recount these horrors—they challenge readers to see the moral lesson behind them. Evil has existed since Cain and Abel, but what allows it to flourish is when good people do nothing. That theme runs through the book like a live wire. It’s not just […]
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A Spirited Girl with True Grit of Her Own
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sandra Dallas once again brings the Old West to life in Tough Luck, a rollicking adventure filled with humor, grit, and heart. The story follows fourteen-year-old Haidie Richards, who escapes a dreary Illinois orphanage with her little brother, Boots, to search for their gold-mining father in Colorado. Disguised as a boy, Haidie joins a wagon train and sets off across dangerous territory, armed with more nerve than experience. Along the trail, she meets a colorful cast of characters—a kind freighter, a gambler with a soft spot, two feisty spinster sisters, and one loyal dog who might just steal the show. As Haidie learns to handle mules, men, and misfortune, […]
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Finding Grace: The Haunting Echo of Choices Made
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (3.5 stars) Loretta Rothschild’s debut, Finding Grace, starts with a shocking twist that pulled me right in. Honor Wharton, her husband Tom, and their daughter Chloe are living an enviable life until tragedy strikes. Tom, left shattered, makes a decision that changes everything, connecting his future with Grace Stone, a widow who bears an uncanny resemblance to his late wife. Narrated by Honor from a limbo state, the story tackles themes of motherhood, grief, and the haunting pull of secrets. The premise is powerful, but the pacing lags after the strong opening, and the romantic angle between Tom and Grace felt unsettling rather than moving. Honestly, I couldn’t stand […]
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When Truth Glitters: Friendship, Betrayal, and Survival in Hitler’s “Model” Settlement
⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (4.5 stars) rounded up to 5 Before reading this book, I wasn’t very familiar with Theresienstadt. The Nazis portrayed it as a “model ghetto,” but in truth it was a stage-managed prison where starvation, fear, and deportation loomed over daily life. Jennifer Coburn tells this story through two women who once shared a childhood bond. Hannah Kaufman, a Jewish girl stranded in Prague with her grandfather, is swept into Theresienstadt and forced to survive inside the Nazi illusion. Her former best friend, Hilde Kramer-Bischoff, a war widow and German national, sees the Reich as her only chance at status and belonging. When their paths collide, both must decide whether […]
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Joseph’s Story, Told with Heart and Faith
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Jill Eileen Smith’s The Prince and the Prodigal is a faithful retelling of one of the most beloved Old Testament stories. Joseph’s journey—from his brothers’ betrayal to his rise in Egypt—is familiar to many of us, but Smith keeps it fresh by adding depth and humanity without straying from Scripture. I especially appreciated how she balanced Joseph’s story with Judah’s, showing both men’s struggles and growth. The family dynamics feel real: the jealousy, guilt, and eventual forgiveness strike an emotional chord. Smith doesn’t reinvent the story (thankfully), but she does make these biblical figures relatable. Joseph’s resilience and trust in God are woven through every chapter, reminding readers that divine providence […]
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Murder, Secrets, and Baby Turtles on Jekyll Island
When your best friend who can’t swim suddenly drowns, you know something isn’t right. That’s exactly what sends hotel heiress Torie Bergstrom back to Georgia’s Jekyll Island in Colleen Coble’s A Stranger’s Game. Torie hasn’t been home since she was ten, but she’s the one who arranged her best friend Lisbeth’s job at one of the family’s properties. Now Lisbeth is dead, and Torie is convinced it wasn’t an accident. To get answers, she checks into the hotel under an alias, only to discover that danger is lurking much closer than she imagined. Her quest for the truth leads her straight into the path of Joe Abbott and his young […]
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Faith, Justice, and Second Chances in Guilty Until Innocent
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Second chances don’t usually come twenty-five years late, but that’s exactly what happens in Robert Whitlow’s Guilty Until Innocent. Ryan Clark, a young lawyer on shaky professional ground, takes a job with his cousin Tom in small-town North Carolina. Almost immediately, he’s pulled into revisiting one of Tom’s most painful cases: Joe Moore, convicted of murder decades earlier. Joe was high the night of the crime and doesn’t remember what happened, but he’s since become a man of faith with a ministry behind prison walls. His family has never stopped believing in his innocence, and now they want Ryan and Tom to prove it. The deeper they dig, the more […]
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The Syndicate Spy Misses the Mark
⭐️⭐️☆☆☆ Every so often, a book comes along with a premise that sounds like a surefire winner. Brittany Butler’s The Syndicate Spy is one of those. A futuristic, female-led spy syndicate battling over dwindling oil supplies in a climate-altered world? Count me in. Sadly, the story never quite lives up to its promise. I don’t wish to be unkind, after all, writing a book is hard work, but the pacing is uneven, with stretches of clunky exposition slowing the action to a crawl. The world-building, while creative, often feels more like background noise than an integral part of the story. Juliet Arroway, the lead spy, has plenty of potential but […]
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Grief, Glitches, and a Message from the Beyond
⭐⭐⭐⭐ I Think I Was Murdered blends grief, tech, and suspense into a twisty, emotionally charged mystery. After her husband Brian dies, Katrina finds herself relying on a cutting-edge AI chatbot that mimics his personality and speech patterns. Built using Brian’s digital footprint—emails, texts, videos—it becomes her lifeline. She chats with “him” daily, unable to let go. But when the bot suddenly types the chilling sentence “I think I was murdered,” Katrina’s world is turned upside down. The concept is both eerie and fascinating. The bot isn’t just a gimmick—it’s Katrina’s crutch, a digital ghost she confides in, argues with, and leans on to cope with overwhelming loss. Her emotional dependency adds depth […]
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