Black Cake

This is Ms. Wilkerson's debut novel. I doubt it will be her last. 

And it's a stunner. Well-crafted. Emotional. Full of twists and turns. 

The story is told in multiple points of view, spanning decades, and flipping between past and present in a masterful way, that a lesser author would've stumbled to execute. 

This was a local book club pick and I'm happy it was. I might not have run across it otherwise. 

Ultimately it's a story of love, but hits the more challenging parts of global racial history and cultural food. 

Worth the read. 

AMAZON

We can’t choose what we inherit. But can we choose who we become?
In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage and themselves.

Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor’s true history, and fulfill her final request to “share the black cake when the time is right”? Will their mother’s revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever?

A Suite Deal

I think this is my first read by Ms. Gibson. 

The story follows the correct romantic arc, but I struggled to get emotionally invested in the characters. All of the proper elements are there, but somehow I wasn't connected. I like the tropes, but it just didn't hit. 

I'm uncertain if this was a formatting issue of scene breaks being lost, but I was bothered by the head hopping. One moment I was in the woman's point of view and the next I was in the man's. I enjoy dual point of view in my romances so that wasn't the issue for me. The abrupt changes jolted me out of the story. 

AMAZON

Opposite-attract, but nobody ever said it'd be easy!

Dumped by her fiancé, Lily Greensly retreats to Buttermilk Falls to help out at her family's rustic fishing lodge…

But when she finds a new-age hotel spoiling the view from her cherished Osprey Island, Lily decides that the Nirvana Hotel's handsome owner warrants closer scrutiny.

Ambitious hotelier, Ethan Weatherall, is determined to buy Lily's island and convert it to a concrete helipad. But when Lily’s sweet soul and independent spirit start to make his heart beat faster, he struggles not to fall for a woman who hates the city life.

Now, Lily must figure out a way to stop Ethan from destroying the tranquility of the lake while trying to resist his charms. If she can't, there's more than just Osprey Island at stake.

You will adore this sweet romance because who doesn’t love watching two enemies fall in love?

Autumn Collection: A Timeless Romance Anthology

This is an excellent fall read or any time of year really. 

Six marvelous stories, well crafted by talented writers. Lots of emotional depth in bite size chunks that will keep you page turning. 

Delightful. 

AMAZON

2014 RONE Award Winner for Best Romance Anthology of the Year

*Crown Heart for Excellence* Awarded Book —IND’TALE MAGAZINE

"Just in time for fall, six loved authors have produced a collection of romantic suspense novellas which will tingle the spine and thrill the heart." —DESERET NEWS, Melissa Demoux

A HOUND DOG NAMED ELVIS by Heather Horrocks
Interior designer, Kaitlin Hartley returns to her hometown of Aspen Grove, California, to the job of her dreams after a year of specialized training in New York. During the town’s Autumn Festival, she enters her dachshund, Elvis, into the Running of the Hallowieners race. Joshua Moore, the man who hadn’t wanted her to leave Aspen Grove, but hadn’t waited for her either, enters Elvis’s sister, Priscilla. When Kaitlin gets home afterward, she realizes Elvis has left the building—with Joshua. She has the wrong dog! Can she get her dog—and the man she’s never stopped loving—back?

EYE FOR AN EYE by Stephanie Black
Mallory is just getting her life back together, living with her sister and brother-in-law and starting college. After a difficult few years following a family tragedy, she’s finally ready to move forward, which includes getting to know the charming Darien better. But when illegal drugs turn up in her sister’s drawer, the first person accused is Mallory, and suddenly she doesn’t know who to trust. She turns to Darien, but with all evidence pointing at her, she doesn’t know if Darien is the man to save her.

FIRST HEIST by Heather B. Moore
Mia, an undercover agent is about to make a handoff to co-agent, Omar Zagouri. But before she can complete her assignment, her cover is blown, and she finds herself escaping with Omar. The only problem is, her boss warned her about Omar and his sketchy history of landing himself in the middle of danger. After losing her mother in an attack planned for Mia, pulling off any heist with a man like Omar is the last thing she needs for her career . . . or her life.

LETTER FOR TWO by Sarah M. Eden
Sophia looks forward to the 5:30 p.m. mail sorting she does with her next door neighbor, Ethan. They live in a renovated house, now split into two apartments. Ethan is one of those dreamy, smart guys, but he shows no interest other than being friendly toward Sophia. When they find a mysterious letter addressed to Eleanor, dated to 1953, Sophia and Ethan determine to solve the puzzle together. Sophia knows that spending evenings with Ethan in ‘research’ might be her only chance to convince him that she should be more than just a neighbor.

SILVER CASCADE SECRETS by Rachelle J. Christensen
Jillian is the master landscaper at a beautiful park. Meeting Travis there soon after breaking up with her boyfriend, Jillian is wary at first. Travis seems like a great guy, but Jillian had fallen for great guys before. When she learns that his brother, Craig, was murdered six months before, her heart goes out to Travis. True to her curious nature, she starts asking questions and learns about Craig’s close connection with the park. But finding the answers puts Jillian’s life in danger, and she must decide who she really trusts.

CHOCOLATE OBSESSED by Annette Lyon
Whitney, an executive pastry chef, is working her resort’s booth at the New York Chocolate Show. The only problem is that she shares the shift with her arch rival, Stephen. But then an unexpected visitor shows up: Jeremy, a man who lost a dessert competition she judged. When Jeremy confronts her and becomes threatening, Stephen gets Jeremy dragged off by security. But that doesn’t throw Jeremy off for long; soon Stephen and Whitney are running for their lives.

Autumn Collection is a Timeless Romance Anthology® book

More TIMELESS ROMANCE ANTHOLOGIES:
#1: Winter Collection
#2: Spring Vacation Collection
#3: Summer Wedding Collection
#4: Autumn Collection

The Women of Ambrose Estate Box Set

This is a fabulous box set of this series. All four books included. 

I think my only complaint was that I wanted to see all of the sisters love stories. I hope they'll get added on. 

Great storytelling and all the feels by these two talented authors. 

AMAZON

Generations of secrets and an ancient curse keep the sisters of Ambrose Estate from following their hearts.

Join each heir of the Ambrose family as they work to overcome their dark legacy and break the deadly curse that threatens any happiness for their futures.

MOSTLY DANGEROUS Sofia Ambrose might be falling in love with Gavin Spencer while they work together on saving the estate’s oil well, but an old family curse discovered in a long-lost journal from a hundred years ago stands like a burning fire between them and true love.

MOSTLY PERFECT Lauren Ambrose knows that millionaire investor Nick Matthews might be perfect for her, but money has no power over the curse that haunts her every relationship.

MOSTLY RISKY When Amelia Ambrose accepts that co-worker Grigg Edison is the man she wants in her life, it’s a whole other matter to risk that love against a curse that’s more powerful than both of them.

MOSTLY PERILOUS Emma Ambrose didn’t plan on falling for the local county coroner, and if Ian Phelps should know anything, it’s to stay away from a family with empty graves and centuries of secrets. But together can they finally find the hidden secrets to break the Ambrose curse once and for all?

If you like enchanting romance, intriguing legacies, and moody mysteries, then you’ll adore these smoldering love stories.

Saving Ceecee Honeycutt

 I had the good fortune of my book club selecting this novel, otherwise I would've missed it. 

If you're looking for a slice of life story with solid writing, lots of heart, and plenty of growing up struggle, then this is the right book for you. 

Love the immersion into the Southern culture and feeling I was in the story. So powerful. 

AMAZON

Twelve-year-old CeeCee Honeycutt is in trouble. For years, she has been the caretaker of her psychotic mother, Camille-the tiara-toting, lipstick-smeared laughingstock of an entire town-a woman trapped in her long-ago moment of glory as the 1951 Vidalia Onion Queen. But when Camille is hit by a truck and killed, CeeCee is left to fend for herself. To the rescue comes her previously unknown great-aunt, Tootie Caldwell.

In her vintage Packard convertible, Tootie whisks CeeCee away to Savannah's perfumed world of prosperity and Southern eccentricity, a world that seems to be run entirely by women. From the exotic Miz Thelma Rae Goodpepper, who bathes in her backyard bathtub and uses garden slugs as her secret weapons, to Tootie's all-knowing housekeeper, Oletta Jones, to Violene Hobbs, who entertains a local police officer in her canary-yellow peignoir, the women of Gaston Street keep CeeCee entertained and enthralled for an entire summer.

Laugh-out-loud funny and deeply touching, Beth Hoffman's sparkling debut is, as Kristin Hannah says, "packed full of Southern charm, strong women, wacky humor, and good old-fashioned heart." It is a novel that explores the indomitable strengths of female friendship and gives us the story of a young girl who loses one mother and finds many others.

Project Hail Mary

Wow. I mean wow. 

I liked the Martian. I was interested to read Hail Mary. But I wondered if it was going to be repetitive of the concept of lone man in space and not live up to Mr. Weir's previous success. 

I didn't need to be concerned. Mr. Weir isn't a one hit wonder. 

This book took many unexpected twists and turns that I didn't see coming. 

There's a reason the story is told between present day and flashbacks, and the seamlessness of the two is well executed. 

Everything on the page is related and drives the plot. 

The science boggles the mind by doesn't bog down the story if you're not a science-minded person. 

Highly recommend. 

AMAZON

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.

Or does he?

Persuading the Billionaire

This is a fun romantic read. 

Escape to Hawaii, learn the heartbreak and sorrows that bring these different people together, and have a blast while reading. 

The characters are well formed, the story hits all the right notes, and you'll keep turning pages to the satisfying conclusion. 

AMAZON  

They weren't looking for love, but it found them in Hawaii anyway.

Alexis Robinson is alone on what should have been her honeymoon. It's just her luck that she gets knocked over by a car door before she even steps foot inside the Hawaiian resort. The man who hit her offers to pay her, but she refuses. It reminds her of what her ex would have done - throw money at everything. But when she witnesses his assistant quit her job, she persuades him to let her take over, desperate to keep her mind off her cheating ex.

Maxwell King is only at the Maui Royal Resort to decide whether or not to purchase it. His wealth has only grown over the years, but it's time for him to step into a different role and take on something more challenging. Little does he know that looking for one challenge might lead him to an even bigger one: not falling in love with the woman he's hired as his assistant for the week.

A jilted bride alone on her honeymoon.
A stubborn billionaire in need of an assistant.
And a resort in paradise for a week.

When the lines of their working agreement blur, will Alexis and Maxwell keep it strictly business? Or will the sparks flying between them be enough to persuade the billionaire?