First Book of 2020

I've chosen for my First Book of the Year 2020 another book by Julie Klassen, "The Bridge to Belle Island". 

After a humiliating mistake, lawyer Benjamin Booker resolves to never again trust a beautiful woman. When an old friend is killed, the senior partner isn't satisfied with Bow Street's efforts and asks Benjamin to investigate. Eager to leave London for a while, Benjamin agrees. Evidence takes him to a remote island on the Thames, a world unto itself, shrouded in mist and mystery. Soon he finds himself falling for the main suspect--a woman who claims not to have left the island in ten years. But should he trust her?

On Belle Island, Isabelle feels safe and leads a productive life, but fear keeps her trapped there. When Mr. Booker arrives with news of her trustee's murder in London, Isabelle is stunned. She has not left the island, yet she has a recurring dream about the man's death. Or is it a memory? She had been furious with him, but she never intended . . . this.

When a second person dies and evidence shockingly points to her, Isabelle doesn't know who to trust: the attractive lawyer or the admirer and friends who assemble on the island, each with grudges against the victim. Can she even trust her own mind? While they search for the truth, secrets come to light and danger comes calling. 

Happy Reading in 2020!

The End of the Year Round-Up

Well, I can hardly believe it's December 31, 2019. Where did the year go? I did better with my reading than I thought I would this year. After eye problems this year and eye surgeries on each eye, I surprised myself in that I managed to get 118 books read this year. Now back to the reading corner and get ready for the new year 2020. 

My reading goal for 2020 is hopefully 100 books read. It shouldn't be to difficult, that is only two books a week. I really want to try listening to audio books this year. Oh! I know some people think that listening to a book isn't reading it, but I chose to disagree. One reason is the fact that blind people love to listen to books, and it does help with my old eyes when I can read awhile and listen awhile to my books.

Well, so long 2019, and on into 2020...Happy Reading Everyone....

"Someone to Remember"

It's never too late to fall in love in this enchanting new novella in the Westcott series from New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh.

Matilda Westcott has spent her life tending to the needs of her mother, the Dowager Countess of Riverdale, never questioning the life of solitude she has spun for herself. To Matilda, who considers herself the aging spinster daughter, marriage is laughable--love is a game for the young, after all. But her modest, quiet life of order unravels when a dashing gentleman from her past reappears, threatening to charm his way into her heart yet again.

Charles Sawyer, Viscount Dirkson, does not expect to see Matilda Westcott thirty-six years after their failed romance. Moreover, he does not expect decades-old feelings to emerge at the very sight of her. When encountering Matilda at a dinner hosted by the Earl of Riverdale, he finds himself as fascinated by her as he was the first day they met, and wonders if, after all these years, they have a chance at happiness together. Charles is determined to crack the hard exterior Matilda has built for over three decades or risk losing her once again.

My Thoughts...

I've read a book or two by this author, however, when I bought this book I didn't realize it was the latest  book she has written in a series. Even though it is a stand alone book, I probably would have liked it better if I had read the other books in the series. 

 Something that I didn't like...was the story was 149 pages, in a book with 244 pages. From page 151 to 244 was excerpts from the six novels in the series already published. 
The Author wrote at the beginning of the book the reason for the excerpts was because it may entice you to read the other six novels, and if you have already read them, maybe you will go back and reread them. Excerpts are something I never read. If I enjoyed the novel I just read I will go get the next in the series on my own. Otherwise, just leave the excerpts out of my books....3 stars for this novella.

"Winter Cottage"

A gripping novel about family secrets…and coming home for the first time.

Still grieving the loss of her wandering, free-spirited mother, Lucy Kincaid leaves Nashville for the faded town of Cape Hudson, Virginia. She goes to see the house she’s inherited—one she never knew existed, bequeathed to her by a woman she’s never even met. At the heart of this mystery is the hope that maybe—just maybe—this “Winter Cottage” will answer the endless questions about her mother’s past…including the identity of her birth father.

Rather than the quaint Virginian bungalow Lucy expected, Winter Cottage is a grand old estate of many shadows—big enough to hold a century of secrets, passions, and betrayals. It also comes with a handsome and enigmatic stranger, a man next in line to claim Lucy’s inheritance.

Now, as Lucy sifts through the past, uncovering the legacy of secrets that Winter Cottage holds, she’ll come to discover as much about her family history as she does about herself. In searching, she could finally find the one thing she’s never really had: a home.

My Thoughts...This book was not bad. It was just kind of wishy-washy, bordering on boring at times.

There were way too many characters and at times it became hard to remember how they all fit into the story. I ended up not caring much about some of the characters at all. You can  pretty much guess the plot right from the beginning of the book. 

The narration of the audio book was unpleasant. The accents used were distracting from the story and made the protagonist seem eccentric. I thought the reason I was having trouble with the book was the narration, so went back to reading the book, it didn't help, I just couldn't get up much speed for reading this book

 And another thing...If you find a box of old video recordings, made by your now dead mother, and you miss her and care about her as much as you profess to do, wouldn't you binge watch them? Instead of spreading them out over a couple of days. I know I would have...This book was the first pick of November for Prime Readers and therefore was free, which was great. I guess I will award this book 3 weak stars***.