A Hand to Hold in Deep Water by Shawn Nocher ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

We are heading into the Dog Days of Summer when it's too hot to do much of anything but read a good book. At first glance, A Hand to Hold in Deep Water by Shawn Nocher isn't your typical summer "beach read". But the lazy, sometimes meandering, unfurling of a story of a woman who must delve into the past to understand her present and move forward with her future is the perfect match for a lazy, late summer day.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

The Alchemy Thief by R. A. Denny ~ a Review

by MK French

A young woman in 2019 finds a relic engraved with a symbol in Martha’s Vineyard as terrorists in Morocco steal a seventeenth-century book imprinted with the same symbol. They’re all transported back to 1657; Ayoub becomes a Barbary Coast pirate, and Peri meets the alchemist John Winthrop, Jr, who plans to lure scientific minds to the New World. They all have plans for the future and the drive to succeed.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

Resistance by Eilidh McGinness ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

Bravery, courage, fear, treachery and love in a time of war.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.  A free book was provided for an honest review.

The Council of Animals by Nick McDonell ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

At first glance, this wouldn't look like a book I would pick up and you might be thinking the same thing of yourself, but if you want to read a book that makes you think deeply then it is exactly the book you should pick up.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free audiobook was provided for an honest review.

No Spring Chicken: Stories and Advice from a Wild Handicapper on Aging and Disability by Francine Falk-Allen ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

As we age, we all begin to have physical difficulties to contend with.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

Summer Reading, Movies, and Recipes

by Alison DeLuca

Whew, it's hot. Weather like this makes me want to run a 5K and read Anna Karenina, NOT.  Instead, I need fun, frothy novels for the beach or poolside as we face another humid thunderstorm. 

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.

6 Audiobooks for Your Summer Listening Enjoyment

by Donna Huber

My to-do list doesn't seem to be shrinking. Thankfully, I've had a number of audiobooks to listen to while cooking, cleaning, and doing yard work. These books would also be awesome for road trips or for walks on the beach. While I received early print or digital copies of many of these books, I was able to get the audiobooks from the library. For the last two books reviewed, I received advance copies of the audiobooks from the publishers via Netgalley.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

Ghost Forest by Pik-Shuen Fung ~ a Review

by MK French

The unnamed protagonist has to figure out how to grieve after her father dies, when her family doesn't discuss emotions at all. He had been an "astronaut father," staying in Hong Kong to work while the rest of the family emigrated ahead of the 1997 handover to China.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

Those I Have Lost by Sharon Maas ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

A secret love affair on a faraway island. Seas crawling with Japanese spies. A terrible war creeping ever closer…

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.