The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

Two Truths and a Lie. The girls played it all the time in their tiny cabin at Camp Nightingale. Vivian, Natalie, Allison, and first-time camper Emma Davis, the youngest of the group. The games ended when Emma sleepily watched the others sneak out of the cabin in the dead of night. The last she--or anyone--saw of them was Vivian closing the cabin door behind her, hushing Emma with a finger pressed to her lips.

Now a rising star in the New York art scene, Emma turns her past into paintings--massive canvases filled with dark leaves and gnarled branches that cover ghostly shapes in white dresses. The paintings catch the attention of Francesca Harris-White, the socialite and wealthy owner of Camp Nightingale. When Francesca implores her to return to the newly reopened camp as a painting instructor, Emma sees an opportunity to try to find out what really happened to her friends.

Yet it's immediately clear that all is not right at Camp Nightingale. Already haunted by memories from fifteen years ago, Emma discovers a security camera pointed directly at her cabin, mounting mistrust from Francesca and, most disturbing of all, cryptic clues Vivian left behind about the camp's twisted origins. As she digs deeper, Emma finds herself sorting through lies from the past while facing threats from both man and nature in the present.

And the closer she gets to the truth about Camp Nightingale, the more she realizes it may come at a deadly price.

My Thoughts

Can I just say how much I LOVE Riley Sager's books?  LOVE!  I was so excited when I heard that this was being released, and it lived up to all of my expectations!

The setting was super scary (I can't believe I ever went to summer camp, thank god I didn't read this first HAHA), the characters were written perfectly, I could really see this as a movie, for sure.

Hmmm the main characters in my mind would be:

Vivian - Chloe Moretz

Emma - Elle Fanning

Theo - Chris Helmsworth

Chet - Liam Helmsworth

Sorry to digress for a moment there. HA!

Sager has the perfect amount of suspense, intrigue and deceit all in one amazing summer read.

Who knew two truths and a lie could be so sinister?

 The story begins when Emma was a first time attendee at Camp Nightingale.  She was placed in a cabin with older girls, being that she was the last to show up that day (fashionably late, right?).

She begins to idolize Vivian and then it turns into envy and eventually she begins to see her true colors and wants nothing to do with her.

And then her first camp experience turns into a nightmare when Vivian, Natalie and Allison leave in the middle of the night and never return.

15 years later, Franny the camp director approaches Emma and asks her to return for a final summer.  To get some sort of piece after what had happened all that time ago.

Then creepy things begin to happen to Emma - is she seeing things, did that really happen?  Will she survive this summer at Camp Nightingale or will the horror of what happened all those years ago swallow her whole?

Drink Selection

The perfect drink for this selection - Chasing Summer!

Ingredients

4 ounces Chai Sun Tea (see Note)

3/4 ounce passion fruit puree or juice

1/2 ounce sweetened condensed milk     

         

1/4 ounce balsamic vinegar           

Ice cubes, plus crushed ice for serving

In a cocktail shaker, combine the Chai Sun Tea, passion fruit puree, condensed milk and vinegar. Fill the shaker with ice cubes and shake well. Strain into a chilled, crushed-ice filled collins glass.

Note: Place 1 chai tea bag and 12 ounces cold water in a glass jar. Cover and leave in a sunny, warm place for 1 hour. Discard the tea bag and refrigerate the tea for up to 2 weeks. Makes 12 ounces.

Food & Wine

Rating

Could there possibly be any rating other than 5?  No!

About Riley

Riley Sager is the pseudonym of a former journalist, editor and graphic designer who previously published mysteries under his real name.

Now a full-time author, Riley's first thriller, FINAL GIRLS, became a national and international bestseller and was called "the first great thriller of 2017" by Stephen King. Translation rights have been sold in more than two dozen countries and a film version is being developed by Universal Pictures.

Riley's next book, THE LAST TIME I LIED, will be published in July. It was inspired by the classic novel and film "Picnic at Hanging Rock" and one horrible week Riley spent at summer camp when he was ten.

A native of Pennsylvania, Riley now lives in Princeton, New Jersey. When he's not working on his next novel, he enjoys reading, cooking and going to the movies as much as possible. His favorite film is "Rear Window." Or maybe "Jaws." But probably, if he's being honest, "Mary Poppins."

Website: www.rileysagerbooks.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rileysagerbooks
Twitter: @Riley_Sager

Link to Purchase

Amazon

Cover Reveal - The Lucky Dress by Aimee Brown

 

The Lucky Dress By author: Aimee Brown  

Publisher: Aria Fiction Genre: Romantic Comedy/Chick Lit 

Release Date: eBook - August 07, 2018 

PreOrder NOW: (international Amazon link) mybook.to/TheLuckyDress  

Blurb: We all have our lucky dress... an irresistibly hilarious rom-com: perfect for fans of Anna Bell, Jo Watson and Sophie Kinsella. Emi Harrison hasn't been feeling particularly lucky lately. Ever since her ex-fiancée, Jack Cabot, successfully shattered her heart into a million pieces. She's managed to avoid him for a whole year, but all that's about to change at her brother Evan's wedding... She will have to face Jack, Jack's sister, Jack's parents, and Jack's new girlfriend: a mean girl that just won't quit. What could possibly go wrong? But with her lucky dress on, she might just find new love, life, and maybe even happiness at last!   *This book was previously published as Little Gray Dress (now has a 20k word addition)

    

About the Author: Aimee Brown  

Bio: Aimee Brown is a writer of romantic comedies set in Portland, Oregon, and an avid reader. She spends much of her time writing, raising three teenagers, binge-watching shows on Netflix and obsessively cleaning and redecorating her house. She's fluent in sarcasm and has been known to utter profanities like she's competing for a medal. Aimee grew up in Oregon but is now a transplant living in cold Montana with her husband of twenty years, three teenage children, and far too many pets. She is a lot older than she looks and yes, that is a tattoo across her chest. Aimee is very active on social media and would love to see you stop by and say hello. 

Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Website/Blog | Amazon Page | Newsletter Thank you to the below bloggers for helping me reveal this cover and for being the most supportive bloggers I know! I appreciate you all more than I could tell you. <3 Emily Rabitoy Extreme Damage Rae Reads KDReads Ali - The Dragon Slayer Monique McDonell Pretty Little Book Reviews Avid Reader Diary ItaPixie's Book Corner Life at 17 Tale Out Loud Camilla Isley These Words A Blog Book Lover in Florida Books & Wine Are Lovely

Everything We Give by Kerry Lonsdale

Award-winning photographer Ian Collins made only one mistake in life, but it cost his mother her freedom and destroyed their family, leaving Ian to practically raise himself. For years he’s been estranged from his father, and his mother has lived off the grid. For just as long, he has searched for her.

Now, Ian seemingly has it all—national recognition for his photographs; his loving wife, Aimee; and their adoring daughter, Caty. Only two things elude him: a feature in National Geographic and finding his mother. When the prized magazine offers him his dream project on the same day that Aimee’s ex-fiancé, James, returns bearing a message for Ian but putting a strain on his marriage, Ian must make a choice: chase after a coveted assignment or reconnect with a mysterious woman who might hold the key to putting his past to rest. But the stakes are high, because Ian could lose the one thing he holds most dear: his family.

My Thoughts

I have enjoyed both other pieces to this puzzle (Books 1 and 2).  If you have yet to read those, I would skip my review until you have, there are some spoilers in this 3rd book in the series.

While I enjoyed this book, I found this one to be slightly slower and it took a bit for me to get into it, unlike the other two.

This book concentrates mainly on Ian's life, current and year's ago when he was a young child.  We learn about his mother with a split personality, one side being very abusive, her name was Jackie.

Despite his mother's mental issues and the abusive care he suffered at her hands, he has never stopped thinking about her and wondering where she is.

Some time ago, he was in touch with a psychic and recently has decided to put more efforts into looking for her and connecting with his father. 

He gets the dream job of a lifetime, to photograph for National Geographic and along the way he gets this sudden urge to look for the keys to his past as well.

He and his wife Aimee go through a few ups and downs in this third book, will they survive?  Will he find his mother?  Reconnect with his father?

Enjoy this third book in the series which starts to connect some missing pieces and has some challenges along the way. 

Drink Selection

I'm going to pair this selection with a Limoncello Collins.  So pretty, but not too pretty to taste.  Delish.

Check out this delish recipe:

Food and Wine

Rating

4 wine glasses for this 3rd book in the series!

A Little About Kerry

Amazon Charts, Wall Street Journal, and #1 Amazon Kindle bestselling author Kerry Lonsdale writes standalone and series based emotionally charged domestic drama, family suspense, and women’s fiction. Her books are sold worldwide in more than 25 countries and are being translated into 22 languages (and counting). Co-founder of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, an international organization that boasts over 1,000 writers, Kerry resides in Northern California with her husband, two children, two naughty kitties, and an aging Golden Retriever convinced she’s still a puppy.

Link to Purchase

Amazon

 

Lady Be Good by Amber Brock

Kitty Tessler is the winsome and clever only child of self-made hotel and nightclub tycoon Nicolas Tessler. Kitty may not have the same pedigree as the tennis club set she admires, but she still sees herself as every inch the socialite--spending her days perfecting her "look" and her nights charming all the blue-blooded boys who frequent her father's clubs. It seems like the fun will never end until Kitty's father issues a terrible ultimatum: she may no longer date the idle rich. Instead, Kitty must marry Andre, her father's second-in-command, and take her place as the First Lady of his hotel empire. Kitty is forced to come up with a wily and elaborate plan to protect her own lofty ideas for the future, as well as to save her best friend, Henrietta Bancroft, from a doomed engagement: Kitty will steal Henrietta's fiance, a fabulously wealthy but terribly unkind man from a powerful family--thereby delivering the one-two punch of securing her now-fragile place on the social ladder and keeping her friend from a miserable marriage.

Then Kitty meets Max, a member of a band visiting New York from her father's Miami club, and her plans take a turn. Smitten, but still eager to convince her father of her commitment to Andre, Kitty and Hen follow Max, Andre, and the rest of the band back down to Miami--and later to Cuba. As Kitty spends more time with Max, she begins waking up to the beauty--and the injustice--of the world beyond her small, privileged corner of Manhattan. And when her well-intended yet manipulative efforts backfire, Kitty is forced to reconsider her choices and her future before she loses everyone she loves.

My Thoughts

What an AMAZING piece of historical fiction!  I loved every page! It also takes place in my favorite spots to visit - NYC, Miami and Cuba (I haven't been but I am dying to take a trip one day!)

Kitty Tessler is an only child growing up in NY high society (or trying to at least)in the 1950's.  Her father rose to the top from nothing but that doesn't mean much when you want to fit in with the old money types as Kitty does.  Recently, she has been trying to figure out how to marry the right man to get her to where she needs to be, who knew it could be so difficult?

Then the ultimatum comes from her father - start to settle down or you will be getting a job starting as a maid in the hotel.  Someone must be getting sick of her over the top constant spending.

Kitty has two goals she must meet trying to keep herself from mopping the bathrooms - she needs to find a man to marry in the right social class and she needs to get her best friend away from the man that is ruining her life. 

Then one night at the club, Kitty meets Max, a trumpet player in a band visiting from her father's Miami hotel.  Well, he's not exactly high society, at all.  What is she going to do?

Of course a trip to Miami is order (and a Cuba detour) and that may be a recipe for trouble.  Will she marry Andre?  Will she kindle a relationship with Max?  Will Hen find out her plans to sabotage her engagement to a man she hates? What could possibly go wrong?  Or maybe things will turn out perfectly right?  Grab this amazing 2018 beach read today!  You will LOVE it!

Drink Selection

What better drink to pick for this tale then the Miami Beach Cocktail, doesn't that look fabulous?

"This Prohibition-era classic combines grapefruit juice with smoky scotch and dry vermouth."

1 oz. dry vermouth

1 oz. fresh white grapefruit juice

1 oz. blended scotch, such as Johnny Walker

Instructions

Combine vermouth, grapefruit juice, and scotch in a cocktail shaker filled with ice; shake vigorously and strain into a chilled coupe glass.

This delicious recipe is from:

Saveur

Rating

5 wine glasses of course!

About Amber

AMBER BROCK teaches British literature and creative writing at an all girls' school in Atlanta. She holds an MA from the University of Georgia and lives in Smyrna with her husband, also an English teacher, and their three rescue dogs.

Link to Purchase

Amazon

Clutch - Lisa Becker

clutch: a novel is the laugh-out-loud, chick lit romance chronicling the dating misadventures of Caroline Johnson, a single purse designer who compares her unsuccessful romantic relationships to styles of handbags – the “Hobo” starving artist, the “Diaper Bag” single dad, the “Briefcase” intense businessman, etc. With her best friend, bar owner Mike by her side, the overly-accommodating Caroline drinks a lot of Chardonnay, puts her heart on the line, endures her share of unworthy suitors and finds the courage to discover the “Clutch” or someone she wants to hold onto.

My Thoughts

What a fun read!  I'm a purse girl all the way - Marc Jacobs, Vera, Kate Spade, just to name a few! Although I am not able to buy as many as I would like being a single mom of three.  Someday...I will buy a purse a week versus a purse a season!

OK, enough about me...on to Ms. Caroline Johnson.

As the story begins, she meets this awesome, yet very sarcastic guy, Mike, during her time at Harvard Business School, yes I said HARVARD!  He showed up with a coffee, gave it to her and they have been besties ever since! (There was that one time that they slept together, and you will hear about it maybe once or 15 times!)

Catherine has used her love of purses and her Harvard Business degree to start her own business and is doing quite well for herself!  She is in several major department stores and has more talks set-up with future sellers frequently.  Mike chose not to follow in his families financial footsteps and instead put his business degree to use in setting up his own bar known as The Last Drop.  (Based on his love for Risky Business).

When school is over and graduation has commenced Mike asks his best friend in this world, Caroline, to move to LA - not with him but join him there.  She thinks for all of 2 seconds and the plans are set!

LA has been a great move for both of them, although their dating lives could say otherwise.  Mike has slept with each of his waitresses or so it seems and poor Caroline is truly finding someone to be happy with and she is hitting one dead end after another!

I do not want to give away too many details but I ill state their names and fun nicknames she has associated them with!

Jason Nash - AKA Hobo  (starving artist)

Craig - AKA Demi-Bag (shortie/boring)

Tyler - AKA Messenger (religious fanatic)

Sam Stanhope - AKA Doctor Bag (no one could think more highly of themselves then this man)

Damien - AKA Diaper Bag (single dad) **one of my faves

Dunham - AKA Briefcase (all about the connections)

Marcus - AKA Wallet (big spender)

???       - AKA Clutch (who will this be?)

As you can see Caroline has had a pretty interesting pool of dating candidates and I am going to leave you guessing who she ends up with in the end, or maybe she will continue her dating saga, we shall see!

Grab a bottle of Caroline's favorite wine, Chardonnay, and sit back and enjoy this fun dating tale!

Drink Selection

We are going to go with Ms. Caroline's Favorite, Chardonnay, White Cat Chardonnay from Hazlitt’s Red Cat Cellars!  Yum!

MY RATING

I loved this book from beginning to end, 5 wine glasses all the way!

About Lisa

Lisa Becker is a romance writer who spends her time like she spends her money - on books and margaritas. In addition to Clutch: a novel, she is the author of the Click trilogy, a contemporary romance series about online dating and Links, a standalone, second chance romance readers. As Lisa’s grandmother used to say, “For every chair, there’s a tush.” Lisa is now happily married to a wonderful man she met online and lives in Manhattan Beach, California with him and their two daughters. So, if it happened for her, there’s hope for anyone! You can share your love stories with her at www.lisawbecker.com.



Let's Take Some Time to Get To Know Orly Konig, author of Carousel Beach

Welcome Orly!

1. First of all let me begin by saying how absolutely gorgeous this cover is!  How did you come up with the storyline of this amazing carousel that had this mysterious hidden meaning?  I’ve always wondered how author’s are suddenly hit with inspiration?

Thank you! I love it as well. I had a print out that my publisher sent above my computer all winter. J

I’ve always loved carousels. There’s just something magical about them, especially the old, hand-carved ones. When my son was young, we would go to a local park that had a gorgeous historic carousel that had recently been restored. Okay confession, we went as much for me as for him.

 I’d been noodling a story idea but hadn’t quite wrapped my head around how the family secrets would come out. On one of the trips to the park, we were standing in line, inching forward so very slowly which allowed for enough time to read the plaques along the outside of the carousel house detailing the history and restoration work. When we got to the front of the line, there was the horse from one of the descriptions. I’m not sure what about him specifically spoke to me, but there in front of me was the key to my story.

2.  Do you have a 3^rd book started and if so can you give any hints as to what it may be about?

I actually have 3 projects underway that I’m pretty excited about. All three deal with different issues – rediscovering yourself after giving up who you wanted to be for a family, the fine line between friendship and emotional infidelity, and moving on after the world you know is pulled out from under you. My stories always touch on family and friendship dynamics because those are the themes that I love reading about. And yes, there are animals in each of those stories.

J

3.  When you’re not writing or reading, what are you doing with your spare time?

I have a newly minted 13-year old boy. Spare time? *laughing to tears*

The rare times I actually sit to watch a movie or TV show, I love to crochet. And pretty much every new writing project gets a crochet project or two. Sometimes I just need the busy fingers time to help sort through plot ideas. Each of the books so far has had a crochet animal associated with it for select giveaways. Those have turned out to be a ton of fun.

4.  I know it will be difficult to choose (at least for me it would be) who would you say is your favorite author?  Favorite book?

Oh wow. I honestly don’t think I have “a” favorite. There are a number of authors who are auto-buys for me and who I fan girl over. There are also several authors who I’m completely enamored with for their generosity.

Favorite book? The one I’m in the middle of reading. J Okay, that’s a cop-out. But it’s also true. There are a few books that have stuck in my heart, but when I pick up a new book that blows me away, it becomes the new favorite.

5.  What are your thoughts on negative book reviews?  Does it hurt to see someone dislike your book baby?

I’d love to say I’ve listened to the more seasoned authors and don’t read reviews, but, yeah I still read them.

I’m in two minds about negative reviews, to be honest. Everyone has a right to their opinion and taste and not every book will appeal to every reader. Thankfully, there are enough books out there to please everyone.

If a review calls out something that is fundamentally wrong with a book, then I think it’s fair. Sadly, mistakes happen – typos, missed or extra words, wrong names, etc., and I find it unfortunate when readers ding authors for that.

I struggle most, however, with the reviews that penalize a book and author for personal preference. Reading is subjective. If you picked up a book that wasn’t something you normally read and it didn’t float your happy, why leave a bad review or low star rating?

 

6.  Do you ever re-read books?  Do you keep your books and display them or do you donate or sell them to consignment shops?

I’m a one and done kinda gal. J I think I can count on one hand how many books I’ve re-read.

But I’m also very loyal to my books. The only books I can part with are ones that I’ve received in giveaways or at events but are so completely out of the genre-range that I read. I end up with duplicates from time to time either because I’ve won a copy that I’ve also purchased or because I was overenthusiastic and didn’t pay attention that I’d already bought a copy. Those are books and authors I want to support, though, and I’ll use the extra copy in a giveaway for my followers.

Orly it was so great to "meet" you!  I can't wait to talk more in the future and have you back again in the hot seat and answer more questions!

About Carousel Beach

A cryptic letter on her grandmother's grave and a mysterious inscription on a carousel horse leads artist Maya Brice to Hank Hauser, the ninety-year-old carver of the beloved carousel she has been hired to restore in time for its Fourth of July reopening in her Delaware beach town. Hank suffers from Alzheimer's, but on his "better" days, Maya is enthralled by the stories of his career. On his "off" days, he mistakes her for her grandmother--his secret first love.

While stripping chipped layers of paint from the old horse and peeling layers of fragmented memories from the old man, Maya untangles the intertwined secrets of love, heartbreak, and misunderstandings between three generations of strong willed women.

Links to follow Orly!

Goodreads

Facebook

Blog

Amazon

 

 

 

Book Blitz - Cooking with Ghosts by Patricia V. Davis

About Cooking for Ghosts by Patricia V. Davis

Do hearts broken long ago forever leave a tangible trace?

A Vegas cocktail waitress. An Indian herbalist. A British chemistry professor. An Italian-American widow. Four unique women with one thing in common: each is haunted by a tragedy from her past.

Cynthia, Rohini, Jane, and Angela meet on a food blogging site and bond over recipes. They decide on impulse to open The Secret Spice, an elegant café on the magnificent ocean liner, the RMS Queen Mary, currently a floating hotel in Long Beach, California. Rich in history and tales of supernatural occurrences, the ship hides her own dark secrets.

The women are surrounded by ghosts long before they step aboard, but once they do, nothing is quite what it seems. Not the people they meet, not their brooding chef's mystic recipes, and not the Queen Mary herself. Yet the spirits they encounter help them discover that there's always a chance to live, as long as one is alive.

An Official Pulpwood Queens Book Club Selection, COOKING FOR GHOSTS is an unforgettable tale of love, redemption, and divine female power.   

About Spells & Oregano by Patricia V. Davis

A mother desperate to save her twin sons, a war veteran in torment, a beautiful young psychic with a terrible secret, a powerful magician with a shattered soul, and a Queen steeped in history and glory. These extraordinary beings cross paths and set off a remarkable chain of events in Spells and Oregano: Book II in The Secret Spice Cafe Trilogy.

 

Overcome by despair after a trauma when she was sixteen, Sarita Taylor has spent the past ten years isolated and lonely aboard her beloved RMS Queen Mary. Fearful of outsiders, she dedicates her time to managing The Secret Spice Café, now an award-winning restaurant. Until Luca Miceli, a man with a dark past, steps on board.

 

Patricia V. Davis deftly spins past and present, mystery and magic, into a potent story of passionate longing and family tragedy all at once. Spells and Oregano is a compelling tale of atonement, devotion, and undying love, set aboard one of the world's most magnificent, haunted ships.

 

Spells & Oregano is an Official Pulpwood Queens Book Club Selection

About Patricia

PATRICIA V. DAVIS's debut novel, COOKING FOR GHOSTS: Book I in The Secret Spice Cafe Trilogy was presented at the Queen Mary Salon Series. Book II, SPELLS AND OREGANO has just been released. Both novels are official selections of The Pulpwood Queens Book Club, the largest book club in the world, with over 700 branches. The Secret Spice Cafe Trilogy is also part of the Breathless Wines Bubbles and Books program. Book III in the trilogy will be released in 2019. Patricia lives with her poker player/rice farmer husband, and so divides her time between southern Nevada and northern California. Prior to starting a full time writing career, she taught English in Athens, Greece, and Queens, New York. Represented by Gordon Warnock at FUSE LITERARY.

Link to connect with Patricia

FaceBook http://www.facebook.com/patriciaVdavis    

Twitter: http://twitter.com/PatriciaVDavis

Instagram:  http://www.instagram.com/authorpatriciavdavis/

You Tube Video Book Trailers:  http://www.youtube.com/user/patriciavdavis

And separately:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbhsFBBiZoA

 

https://youtu.be/7GU5PiigiKA

Links to Purchase

Cooking for Ghosts

Amazon

Spells & Oregano

Amazon