It only seems right that Mitchell Fisher finds himself responsible for cutting off all the locks placed on "love story" bridge since he has put all things romantic behind him.  After losing his beloved partner Anita, Mitchell is focused on raising their daughter Poppy.  He takes pride in keeping everything to a schedule and making their lives run smoothly.  All that changes in an instant, when Mitchell makes eye contact with a woman wearing a yellow dress as she fastens a lock on the bridge, then unexpectedly jumps into the water. Mitchell doesn't have any time to think and simply jumps in to help her. This event sets up a chain reaction that ultimately pushes Mitchell outside of the confines of the life he has set up for himself and may begin to help him deal with the loss of his love Anita.  

Mitchell Fisher is a character that worms his way into your heart.  At times, I was so frustrated with how closed off he was and at other times, his heartbroken demeanor touched my heart. His daughter Poppy was a bright light in the story and I loved how her character was presented. It was a brilliant love story, with just the right amount of mystery and intrigue mixed in.  

I received this book courtesy of Park Row through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  

Ever since I read The Address, Fiona Davis has quickly become one of my favorite authors.  Each of her books have interesting female characters, complex multi-layered relationships and are centered around an iconic building.  

The Lions of Fifth Avenue begins in 1913 with Laura Lyons and her family.  Her husband Jack Lyons is the superintendent of the New York Public Library and their family resides in an apartment inside the Library.  Laura dreams of going back to school to become a journalist while Jack spends all his extra time penning his novel.  Laura can't believe her good fortune when she is awarded a scholarship and can finally begin her studies. Laura wants her reporting to make a difference and draw attention to issues important to women.  

In 1993, Sadie Donovan is serving as an assistant curator for the Berg Collection housed in the New York library.  Sadie hasn't made public her connection as granddaughter of the famous essayist Laura Lyons, and she hopes to possibly find something yet unpublished from her grandmother in order to secure her position as curator.  Things quickly become complicated as precious works from the collection turn up missing with no easy explanation for their whereabouts and putting Sadie's precarious position in even more jeopardy.  

I truly loved this novel.  Fiona Davis writes novels that make me feel like I took a trip to New York and traveled through time as well.  The library setting is perfect for any book lover.  I treasure her unique characters and the way each character develops over the pages.  As always, I am already eagerly awaiting her next novel as I know it will have a spot on my favorites shelf.  Highly recommend!  

I received this book courtesy of Dutton Books through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.  

An old manor deep in the forest and a family full of secrets is the perfect recipe for  a suspenseful five star read!  

In 1970, Rita serves as nanny for the Harrington family and has been charged with caring not only for the two Harrington children Teddy and Hera, but also their grieving mother who is mourning the lost of her baby, as they spend the summer away from London in the deeply wooded home Foxcote Manor.  As new characters enter the story, Rita isn't sure who to trust and how to handle covertly reporting back to Mr. Harrington on Mrs. Harrington's mental status. Then young Hera finds the tiniest baby abandoned in the woods and it isn't long until a body is discovered in the woods as well.  

Some forty years later, Sylvie is in the midst of a divorce and trying to make peace with her daughter when Sylvie receives a call that her mother has been in an accident.  Suddenly, Sylvie must deal with her own uncertain past while trying to reach through her mother's coma and help her daughter make some life changing decisions.

This book truly intrigued me and even surprised me several times throughout the pages. I enjoyed the two differing plots and watching them connect.  It was definitely a 5 star read for me and I highly recommend it.  

Sometimes when I read historical fiction, I will find a book that has it all: characters that feel like someone I would know in real life, a setting that is so captivating that even when I'm not reading the novel, I'm thinking about it and the opportunity to learn about an event or period of time that I'm not familiar with or can't get enough of.  We Came Here to Shine checked every one of those of boxes.

Set at the 1939 World's Fair in New York, Vivi has come from Hollywood to star in the Aquacade show with promises that if she does well a starring movie role awaits her return.  Max is a journalism student with high hopes of being placed with the Times for her internship, only to find out that instead she has been assigned to Today at the Fair, the daily newspaper associated with the World's Fair.  Vivi and Max cross paths at the Fair and forge a quick bond.  While two very different personalities, they see each other strengths and weaknesses and promise to encourage each other to reach for their dreams.  

I absolutely loved this book.  All of the descriptions of the World's Fair and Aquacade were so vivid, I believe it was the next best thing to experiencing it first hand.  Vivi and Max's characters were flawed, yet perfect in a way.  I also loved the little hints to the author's other novel The Subway Girls, that was also one of my favorite historical fiction reads.  I couldn't help but wish my Mom was also around to read this book.  She loved Johnny Weissmuller and of course, Esther Williams, so I know she would have enjoyed this book as much as I did.  It is truly a great read and perfect for historical fiction fans looking for an immersive read.  

I received this book courtesy of St. Martin's Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  

The Girl from Widow Hills was the first book that I have read by Megan Miranda and I can assure you that it won't be my last.  This book kept me reading late into the night and was full of all the twists and turns needed to create a 5 star thrilling read.  

Arden Maynor was just a little girl when she became headline news for her sleepwalking disappearance and miraculous rescue days later.  Now, it is the 20th anniversary of the event and Arden Maynor has finally escaped all the notoriety, starting a life for herself miles away from Widow Hills as Olivia Meyer.  Even though Olivia has tried to put the past behind her, it is never too far out of sight.  Olivia awakens outside of her house and realizes she has been sleepwalking again.  Soon sleep becomes ever more elusive and she feels like she is being watched.  I don't want to give away too many spoilers, because you will want to read each and every nuance of this story for yourself.  

I highly recommend this thriller and know you will find yourself as drawn in as I was. I was surprised many different times during the book and the plot kept me engaged.  I received this book courtesy of Simon and Schuster via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

There are so many things that I really love about Lauren K. Denton's writing: the authentic Southern settings, the well developed characters that I build a bond with over the pages and the journey each novel takes me on.  The Summer House was the perfect summer read and I enjoyed every page.

Lily Bishop has just relocated to Foley, Alabama with her new husband Worth.  As she is preparing to go house shopping, she finds out he has been preparing for a divorce.  Suddenly her whole world is turned on end and Lily must find out which side is up.  She turns back to what she knows best: cutting and styling hair with a new job at the Safe Harbor Retirement Village.  Rose Carrigan runs the retirement village and keeps everything in order.  Something about Lily's situation breaks through Rose's tough exterior and they develop an unlikely alliance.  Both Rose and Lily see so much of their lives change over the course of the summer and as a reader, you will be transported right along with them.

This novel was a perfect immersive read. With so many unique characters living in the retirement village, combined with the fact that I would love to learn more about how Lily and Rose's lives continue, a sequel would definitely interest me.  

I received this book courtesy of the publisher Thomas Nelson through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.    

The concept of this book intrigued me as I love historical fiction mixed with a present day tie-in.  The Berachah Home for the Redemption and Protection of Erring Girls built in 1903 in Arlington, Texas provides the backdrop for the meeting of Lizzie Bates and Mattie McBride.  Their shared situation brings the two women to forge a sisterly friendship that will stand the test of time and many other tribulations.  In present day, university librarian Cate Sutton uncovers information in the archives about the Berachah Home and its residents.  She feels drawn to these women and their stories, inspiring her to deal with issues from her past as well.  

I thought the stories of Lizzie and Mattie were so interesting and compelling.  The fact that this home actually existed that long ago and touched so many lives was inspiring.  I failed to connect as much with Cate and found her portion of the story somewhat of a distraction for me.  I couldn't connect the importance of her assistant Laurel's character with the narrative.  That said, I did enjoy the book but just felt more drawn to the historical component.  

I received this book courtesy of Crown Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  

I loved the concept of The Second Chance Boutique.  Francesca Delaney has built her wedding dress business around some simple concepts:  1) Never covet a dress and 2) Never sell a dress that led to a doomed marriage.  Fran researches all of her shop's vintage wedding dresses to find the stories behind each one, the brides that wore them and the marriages that were created.  Fran has recently discovered a very unusual and beautiful vintage gown, but as she is tracking down the story of its bride, she crosses paths with Rafael Colt, whose mother and grandmother wore the gown.  Rafael is the ultimate playboy, but he is also a philanthropist heading up his family's foundation.  He and Fran consistently butt heads over almost everything, but sometimes love and hate are more closely related than we realize.

I did love the parts of the stories about connecting the brides with the unique dresses described and simply the concept of the wedding dress shop itself.  I felt that the exchanges between Fran and Rafael were a bit contrived and somewhat predictable.  I would have preferred their relationship to have developed a little differently in order to be more believable for me.

I received this book courtesy of Sourcebooks Landmark through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  
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This love story really took me through a range of emotions as I read it from cover to cover.  Missy Carmichael is 79 years old and finds herself in a new world that she isn't sure she is ready to be in.  Her son and grandson live in far away Australia; her relationship with her daughter is tenuous, at best; and the love of her life is gone.  Missy doesn't expect a spur of the moment trip to a local park to have such a tremendous impact.  Suddenly two complete strangers are making their way through all of Missy's barriers and finding a place in her life.      

The characters in this novel are so well written and real.  I would go from being a cheerleader for Missy to feeling she had let me down and then back to empathizing with her.  All of the relationships were unique and compelling.  It was a wonderful transformative journey to go through with Missy and I am grateful for reading this book.  What seems like a simple story in some ways is so multi-layered and touching that I will remember it for some time.  

I received this novel courtesy of Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putman Sons in exchange for an honest review.  

I fell in love with the cozy small-town of Winsome after reading The Printed Letter Bookshop so I was so thrilled to pickup Of Literature and Lattes and fall right back into that wonderful setting.  

While also being set in the same town, Of Literature and Lattes could truly be read as a standalone novel.  There are some familiar characters that appear but this novel introduces new individuals to the town.  The book primarily focuses on Jeremy Mitchell who has just moved to Winsome and taken over ownership of the local coffee shop and Alyssa Harrison, a Winsome local that is returning from Silicon Valley after a workplace scandal.  Both of these characters seem to be running from their past, and perhaps into each other's future.  

The author does an amazing job creating the town of Winsome and the cast of beloved characters.  Each character seems so realistic that that truly come to life off the page.  I think most readers would find many, if not all, of the characters relatable.  I very much hope that she will continue to explore the lives of the residents of Winsome, because I'm just not ready to let any of them go.  I just want to stroll the streets and visit The Printed Letter Bookshop, the coffee shop Andante, and the other quaint shops I envision there.  

I received this book courtesy of Thomas Nelson Fiction through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.