“If you were a house, what house would you be? I’d be the Cranberry Inn, of course!” This was a game Laurel remembered playing with her mom and sisters as a child. Laurel’s mom and dad owned and operated the 12 room Cranberry Inn nestled in the Adirondack Mountains in scenic Lake Summers. Barbara Josselsohn takes readers on a soul-searching journey as Laurel, whose mom died ten years ago, gets a strange request from her dad to leave New York City and come home to run the Cranberry Inn for the month of December.
Barbara Josselsohn creates mystery and anticipation as she develops the relationships between Laurel and Joel, a former high school crush, and Laurel and Christopher, the outgoing, charismatic single, surprise guest at the Cranberry Inn. Emotions get as tangled as light strands as Christmas Eve and Laurel’s dad’s return fast approaches. Feelings of guilt, living up to expectations, handling confrontation, and complicated family misunderstandings are all explored through Laurel’s memories of the relationship with her dad, high school days with Joel, and Christopher’s feelings of inadequacies through interactions with Lake Summers’ beloved residents that readers have come to cherish. Read The Cranberry Inn as a mirror to reflect on family relationships and belonging through “fresh eyes.” Follow your heart. Check in at The Cranberry Inn, for a view of the sunset and snow on the evergreens and discover the perfect Christmas romance.
Grateful Reader’s vision of the views from The Cranberry Inn
“Uncovering a dark family secret sends one woman through the history of Britain’s World War II spy network and glamorous 1930s Paris to save her family’s reputation.
Katherine Reay is the national bestselling and award-winning author of several novels and one full length non-fiction work. Her upcoming novel, THE LONDON HOUSE, will release 11/02/2021.
Katherine holds a BA and MS from Northwestern University and is a wife, mother, rehabbing runner, former marketer, and avid chocolate consumer. She lives outside Chicago, IL.
The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab
“O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive,” Scottish poet and novelist, Walter Scott.
Katherine Reay weaves an intriguing, poignant ‘tangled web’ in her dual timeline novel, The London House. The web begins in 1934, England when twin sisters, Caroline and Margaret Waite are separated for the first time. Caroline leaves for school in Switzerland then on to work at the House of Schiaparelli in Paris. Coming of age during the interwar years, “Caro” becomes involved in a life of espionage; revealing tiny bits about her love life, secrets, and spy-craft through letters to Margaret. “Margo” stays home, recovering from scarlet fever, coveting Caro’s letters, and recording her own thoughts in a diary named Beatrice. The Waite family believes reports that Caro is a traitor who ran away with her Nazi lover but have convinced next generations that she died of polio in childhood. Was she an informant, a traitor?
The ‘tangled web’ continues in present day Boston when Mat Hammond, writing for the Atlantic, calls on Caroline Payne, asking her to comment on the article he’s writing about her namesake, great-aunt Caroline Waite. Mat’s perspective is that “humans are resilient…and that hope emerges from tragedy.” Thus begins the ‘untangling’ of letters and diaries to find proof whether as Mat believes, Caro is a traitor or as Caroline wants to believe, she is a hero.
Katherine Reay’s characters develop very eloquently and with empathy through letters, diary entries, and dialogue; showing how “grief, fear, guilt and pain can transform you.” The stories of grief and misunderstanding are mirrored in both timelines: Caroline’s revelations about her 9-year-old sister Amelia’s death, and Caro and Margo’s separation and secrets with the ensuing years of family distrust. Readers find as Katherine Reay so aptly describes, “Banishment can take many forms.” Thanks to Mat and Caroline’s many hours of grueling research and cross checking of letters and diaries, readers will finally know if Caro is a traitor or a hero!
“In the newest installment of New York Times bestselling author Kristy Woodson Harvey’s Peachtree Bluff series, three generations of the Murphy women must come together when a hurricane threatens to destroy their hometown—and the holiday season in the process.”
Kristy Woodson Harvey is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, including Under the Southern Sky, Feels Like Falling, and The Peachtree Bluff series. Kristy is the cocreator and cohost of the weekly web show and podcast Friends & Fiction. She blogs with her mom Beth Woodson on Design Chic, and loves connecting with fans on KristyWoodsonHarvey.com. She lives on the North Carolina coast with her husband and son where she is (always!) working on her next novel.
The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab
Meteorologists are reporting that the “storm of the century” is bearing down on the coastal Georgia town of Peachtree Bluff. Fourth in the series, Christmas in Peachtree Bluff, opens with the matriarch, a true Southern lady, Ansley Murphy, waiting for her daughters, Sloane, Emerson, Caroline, and families to arrive for Thanksgiving Day. Kristy Woodson Harvey does an excellent job of providing the details and backstory on each of the daughters and other characters from the first three books in the series. Through memories and storytelling readers come to empathize and settle into the traditions and history of homes known as Murphy Row, all a short walk from the marina on the beach. Charming descriptions add a holiday thrill and chill to strolling and shopping the boutiques with twinkling lights and wreaths on streetlights in the square. The saga continues amidst family secrets uncovered, mystery mixed with legends, and the angst of a teenager dealing with a divorce. The safety of the entire Murphy family and the cherished holiday traditions of Peachtree Bluff are in jeopardy as Hurricane Pearl gains intensity. In the face of adversity readers are reminded of the importance of family, forgiveness, and faith.
Fans of KWH, new and old, will treasure the blend of holiday traditions, suspense, and surprise in Christmas in Peachtree Bluff.
Official hurricane season is June 1-November 30. With plenty of warning, Peachtree Bluff fans are sheltering in place and bracing for Pearl- “coming ashore” October 26!
“Once upon a wardrobe, not very long ago, and not far away” in the town of Oxford, England, Megs Devonshire followed the winding, icy path to The Kilns, the home of the famous author, C.S. Lewis. His newest book The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, was hugely popular, and her brother George was obsessed with the land of Narnia. Megs was desperately hoping to find the courage to speak to Mr. Lewis and ask, “Where did Narnia come from?” Desperate because her 8-year-old brother, George, didn’t have long to live and he wanted to know. Megs, an introverted physics student ruled by logic and equations, not fairy tales, was boosted by her deep devotion and love for George. Mr. Lewis or Jack, and his older brother, Warnie, welcomed Megs into their common room with worn leather chairs, books piled high and a roaring fire and tea to warm her. Thus, Megs begins frequent visits to The Kilns and walks about the woods with Jack and Warnie as her questions lead to accounts of the death of his mother at age 9, the horrible Wynyard School, and his time in the army at The Somme -all told by the genius with wit; Jack wants Megs to just listen and take notes later. This quest to find the beginnings of Narnia will lead to much, much more-for readers, for George, and Megs.
As Megs returns to George’s sickbed to retell the stories shared by Jack and Warnie, George and readers are anxious for her to keep sharing. Megs is becoming quite a storyteller and readers realize that through stories one can see ‘reality from new angles.’ Megs is enthralled, becomes distracted from her exams, and finds herself in the Bodleian Library searching for Phantastes, a fantasy novel by Scottish writer George MacDonald, that Jack claims “baptized his imagination!” A lesson Megs learns from George is that all fairy tales have a bad part, a scary part-just as in real life. George is helping Megs to cope with his illness as much as she is helping him by sharing Jack’s stories. Patti Callahan weaves history through Jack’s life stories so Megs finds out about Operation Pied Piper, when in 1939 children were brought to The Kilns from London to escape The Blitz. This novel shines a glowing lantern of compassion on Clive Sterling Lewis and his efforts to comfort the children with his stories and a home along with his deep empathy for their parents during this time of separation. (Children coming from London to live with a professor, sound familiar?)
The only gift George wishes for this Christmas 1950, is a trip to Ireland to visit Dunlace Castle. Will his wish be granted? Will he find out where Narnia came from? Come along on this “Grand Adventure” to find answers and see if you hear “the lion’s roar” as Patti Callahan unravels mysteries of the universe and the magic of hope in Once Upon A Wardrobe-an outpouring of love and enlightenment.
“A novella celebrating the magic of Christmas and second chances…”
-Publishing for Christmas reading and gifting on September 28, 2021-
MARY KAY ANDREWS is the New York Times bestselling author of 27 novels. She and her family divide their time between Atlanta and Tybee Island, GA, where they cook up new recipes in two restored beach homes, The Breeze Inn and Ebbtide—both named after fictional places in Mary Kay’s novels, and both available to rent through Tybee Vacation Rentals. In between cooking, spoiling her grandkids, and plotting her next novel, Mary Kay is an intrepid treasure hunter whose favorite pastime is junking and fixing up old houses.
The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab
Get wrapped up in magical new beginnings, glistening snow on an old farmhouse, and friendly small-town connections in MKA’s Christmas novella, The Santa Suit. Ivy Perkin’s world has turned upside down and she’s “cashed in all her chips” to buy an old farm away from the city lights and traffic of Atlanta. As Ivy unpacks, she finds a box with a Santa suit and a special letter tucked into the pocket; “Please bring my father home safely from the war.” Ivy begins a search to find out the “rest of the story” and in the process begins to soften and trust new acquaintances, Ezra the realtor and Phoebe from the county courthouse. The charming townspeople and their outgoing, helpful ways share bits of wisdom and readers learn the value of opening your heart and home, trusting your instincts and being true to yourself. Sorting through photos of children on Santa’s lap and vintage Shiny Brite glass ornaments, Ivy’s hurt feelings, and fears get tangled in the strings of bubble lights and garland, as she prepares her “new” old farmhouse for Christmas. So many lose ends: The Langley Sweet shop survival, Phoebe’s cyber fiancé, and the Santa letter! As the whole town and surrounding communities pack the streets for the annual Christmas Stroll, readers will receive a gift from MKA wrapped in love and topped with a satisfying big red bow. Ivy’s neighbor reminds readers, “You’re never too old to have a new friend.” Accept The Santa Suit by MKA as the perfect uplifting holiday read.
Thomas and Charlotte Pitt’s former maid takes a new job as Christmas approaches—but not everyone in the household may survive the holidays in this tension-filled novel from bestselling author Anne Perry.
Anne Perry is the bestselling author of fifteen previous holiday novels, as well as the bestselling William Monk series, the bestselling Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series, the new Daniel Pitt series, five World War I novels, and a work of historical fiction, The Sheen on the Silk. Anne Perry lives in Los Angeles.
The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab
Anne Perry’s annual holiday offering, A Christmas Legacy, is certainly a special gift for readers and fans of period dramas set in 1900, London. From Anne Perry’s Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Series comes now married, former maid Gracie Tellman with her own story.
Millie Foster, housemaid at the Harcourt estate, reports to her friend Gracie Tellman that cakes, pudding, and chicken are going missing; none of the staff says a word, because all are afraid someone will be ‘sacked’; and right before Christmas! Gracie, now married to an Inspector, trades places with Millie to discover what’s happening. As the mystery unfolds readers are treated to the now familiar pecking order of the “downstairs” staff due to six seasons of Downton Abbey! Anne Perry slowly builds suspicion and casts doubt on the Harcourts and the servants; between conversations with butler, Mr. Denning and housekeeper, Mrs. Jenkins, along with love secrets shared between Mrs. Harcourt’s lady’s maid, Nora and Walter, Mr. Harcourt’s valet. Perhaps most endearing is bright, red headed Archie, the footman, that Gracie encourages to learn to read so he can “go anywhere…, anywhere real, or not real.” Readers learn along with Gracie that facing challenges and struggles brings people together. At the end of A Christmas Legacy there is great “satisfaction in realizing that kindness is noticed.”
Return to the origins of the Victorian-era sleuthing couple with the first three mysteries in the “unfailingly rewarding” New York Times–bestselling series (The New York Times Book Review).
“ONE UNFORGETTABLE SUMMER . . . When Remy discovers she’s mysteriously inherited a house on the French Riviera she drops everything to go there…”
Available August 31, 2021
Natasha Lester worked as a marketing executive for L’Oréal, managing the Maybelline brand, before returning to university to study creative writing. She completed a Master of Creative Arts and has written several novels including A Kiss From Mr. Fitzgerald, Her Mother’s Secret, The Paris Seamstress, The French Photographer, and The Paris Secret.
In her spare time Natasha loves to teach writing, is a sought after public speaker and can often be found playing dress-up with her three children. She lives in Perth.
For all the latest news from Natasha visit: http://www.natashalester.com.au Twitter: @Natasha_Lester Instagram: natashalester Facebook: NatashaLesterAuthor
The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab
An envelope with money, a key, and the title to a villa on the French Riviera.
Natasha Lester’s The Riviera House is the tale of daring women protecting famous artworks since the Nazis are coming for France! It’s 1939, and the Louvre is closing for three days for “essential repair work.” Main character, Eliane Dufort, a student of art history, goes to school and works at the Louvre. Eliane, becomes involved in protecting the art by adding codes on crates of artwork being sent to another smaller museum, the Jeu de Paume, for cataloging and eventually transit. Her brother, Luc, an aspiring artist, and his friend Xavier, also become involved in the plot to save the famous artworks. Natasha Lester provides an excellent character study of brother and sister, and the wealthy friend, Xavier Laurent, whose father owns art galleries in Paris, London, and New York City. According to Xavier, Hitler is “not just seizing nations, he’s destroying their art and culture, too.” Readers learn to distrust both Luc and Xavier, for different reasons. Eliane and the reader fall for Xavier as Natasha Lester, in a time of such fear, gives a very calming and tender description of Xavier’s love for Eliane. Later Xavier appears with Reichsmarshall Goring as a guide at the Louvre and readers are filled with extreme doubt! Who can Eliane trust?
In a dual timeline, Natasha Lester whisks the reader to the grand vistas of the French Riviera, to a breathtaking villa in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. (See below!) At the urging of her best friend Antoinette, Remy Lang has come from Sydney, Australia, to spend three months in France to recover and reassemble her life. In 2015, Remy is a widow of two years, and owner/curator of a vintage fashion business. Remy is in a “coma of agony.” Natasha Lester has a way with the language that speaks to the soul. As Remy navigates her journey of grief NL injects doubt and questioning, so readers are urged to examine their own conscience and come to conclusions. The villa is part of Remy’s inheritance, and her quandary is “How do I have in my possession a painting that Herman Goring stole seventy years ago?” That answer is filled with art history, mystery, and “Wait. What?” moments.
As Xavier says, “Art is all we have when words fail us, mankind fails us, and we fail each other.” Join the throng of Natasha Lester fans, to discover the treasures and uncover the mysteries hidden in The Riviera House.
The Louvre
Tuileries Gardens & the Louvre
Mona Lisa
The Winged Victory of Samothrace: Restauration de la Victoire de Samothrace, une sculpture grecque de l’époque hellénistique représentant la déesse Niké, personnification de la victoire, posée sur l’avant d’un navire. Elle est actuellement conservée au musée du Louvre. La hauteur totale du monument est de 5,57 mètres.
Saint Jean Cap Ferrat
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild- Remy’s villa is based on this!
“Amid the violent last days of the glittering Russian monarch, a princess on the run finds her heart where she least expects it.”
Bestselling author and with a passion for heart-stopping adventure and sweeping love stories, J’Nell Ciesielski weaves fresh takes into romances of times gone by. When not creating dashing heroes and daring heroines, she can be found dreaming of Scotland, indulging in chocolate of any kind, or watching old black and white movies. She is a Florida native who now lives in Virginia with her husband, daughter, and lazy beagle. Learn more at: http://www.jnellciesielski.com.
Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab
The Ice Swan opens in the chapter of Russian history, 1917, when the Bolsheviks are ridding the country of royalty. Distant relatives of the Tsar, Princess Svetlana Dalsky and family are fleeing the Blue Palace in Petrograd, seeking safety in Paris. Known as the “cold, conceited, condescending” princess, Svetlana crosses paths with Scotsman surgeon, Dr. Edwynn MacCallan, second son of wealthy Duke of Kilbride. Svetlana and Wynn, each facing fears and distanced by pride and stubbornness, are flung closer when the influenza epidemic strikes her family. A Paris hotel turned hospital is where Dr. Wynn performs daring cardiac surgery and Svetlana reveals her servant heart. Svetlana, a princess who speaks six languages and finds joy in ballet, has become indebted to Sheremetev, ruler of the underworld and the decadent White Bear Club. With his disgusting offer of marriage to offset her mother’s debts and the alarming announcement that the entire Romanov family has been executed, Svetlana races from the club with Wynn in close pursuit.
Readers will thrill to Ciesielski’s crisp details and dialogue as “revolution, murder, and survival tend to block out the pretense of happiness.” Ciesielski’s stunning descriptions of Paris streets and charming exchanges showing humor are delightful; especially as Wynn translates Scottish expressions and puns for Svetlana. Ciesielski uses analogies of caring for plants and the changing threads in a pattern to explain Svetlana’s transformation and tangled feelings. Wynn’s conundrum is very rightly compared to women’s choices and their right to vote. Readers need to bundle up to face the decisions of “duty vs. personal desires, finding grace out of ruin, and turning fear to trust.” Along with traditional Scottish kilts and bannocks, royal tiaras and vareniki, readers will weep with joy at this astonishing story. The Ice Swan, elegant Svetlana will warm readers’ hearts, and as Wynn would say, “It’s a bonny read!”
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral -Paris, Svetlana & family lived in the basement
When an ambitious female artist accepts an unexpected commission at a powerful earl’s country estate in 1920s England, she finds his war-torn family crumbling under the weight of long-kept secrets. From debut author Courtney Ellis comes a captivating novel about finding the courage to heal after the ravages of war. Available August 10, 2021
Courtney Ellisis the author of the forthcoming historical fiction novel, AT SUMMER’S END. She began writing at a young age, and developed an interest in history from her grandfather’s stories of World War II. After obtaining her BA in English and Creative Writing, she went on to pursue a career in publishing. She lives in Western New York with her rescue dog.
“Everything important and remarkable I had ever done, I’d done on my own.” Bertie
Alberta Preston, an unknown aspiring artist in 1922 England, enters a competition as Bertie, hoping the assumption would be that ‘she’ is a ‘he.’ Her painting titled, Something for the Pain, wins and is featured in the Times. Soon Alberta receives a letter from the Earl of Wakeford, addressed to Mr. Preston, offering to commission ‘him’ for several paintings of his estate in Wiltshire, England, known as Castle Braemore. Against her parents’ wishes Bertie accepts the commission to spend the summer at the castle and the experience changes her life forever. This debut novel by Courtney Ellis is a superb character study of women and their aspirations in the early 20th century, the long-term effects of World War One on soldiers, nurses, and those left behind, along with the economic aftermath dealt with by families. Upon his father’s death, 12- year-old Julian becomes the Earl of Wakeford and his oldest sister, Gwen, takes over the responsibilities of her siblings. The author’s use of flashbacks develops compassion and empathy as alternating chapters take a glimpse into the family dynamics, early years, and the personalities of each of the Wakeford children. Bertie’s personal feelings are explored as she comes to grips with her own aspirations and her feelings of unworthiness within her own family. Readers will get a true sense of Bertie’s inspiration and obsession in painting and sketching Castle Braemore as Courtney Ellis fills in with superb descriptions of the palace and grounds, along with artistic details of composition and techniques. As the family faces reality, the Earl of Wakeford and his siblings attempt to heal their wounds of war with love and loyalty. Readers will be filled with suspense, sometimes even anxiousness, but also cheer for Bertie’s boldness, her sense of accomplishment and the decision she makes “at summer’s end.”
“From Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, the bestselling authors of Meet Me in Monaco, comes a coming-of-age novel set in pre-WWII Europe, perfect for fans of Jennifer Robson, Beatriz Williams, and Kate Quinn.“
Three cities, two sisters, one chance to correct the past…
Available July 27, 2021
Hazel Gaynor is an award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, Irish Times and international bestselling author. Her most recent historical novel, set in China during WW2, published as THE BIRD IN THE BAMBOO CAGE, in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, and as WHEN WE WERE YOUNG & BRAVE in the USA and Canada, was an Irish Times bestseller, a National Bestseller in the USA and was shortlisted for the 2020 Irish Book Awards. Her next novel, THREE WORDS FOR GOODBYE, co-written with Heather Webb, will be published in the USA and Canada in July 2021, and in the UK and Ireland in September 2021. https://www.hazelgaynor.com/
Heather Webb is the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of seven historical novels. In 2015, Rodin’s Lover was a Goodread’s Top Pick, and in 2018, Last Christmas in Paris won the Women’s Fiction Writers Association STAR Award. Meet Me in Monaco, was selected as a finalist for the 2020 Goldsboro RNA award in the UK, as well as the 2019 Digital Book World’s Fiction prize. https://heatherwebbauthor.com/site/
Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab
Violet, too ill to travel in 1937, has organized a journey to Europe for granddaughters Clara and Maddy to deliver good-bye letters to the meaningful people in her life of 40 years ago. The sisters, once inseparable as young girls, have barely spoken since their father’s death over a year ago. Co-authors Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb have done a superb job of defining the personalities of Clara and Maddy, using poignant memories and images from their childhood and complexities of their adult desires, inhibitions, and fears. Clara, cautious, pessimistic, rules and schedules dictate her days, is a promising artist. Maddy, ambitious, refuses to conform and insists on going her own way, is a budding journalist. Violet encourages the girls to “enjoy your differences,” which also suggests readers do the same with family and friends. The journey to Paris, Venice, and Vienna is as much for Violet’s last good-byes to be delivered as it is for Clara and Maddy to experience time for self-examination. Maddy, very inquisitive, bold, and brash is directly opposite of Clara who has not found her voice, even with her fiancé, millionaire Charles Hancock. The self-analysis and discoveries made by each sister along the way gives the reader plenty to ponder long after the journey is over. One thing the sisters DO agree on is Violet’s transportation choices which include the opulent Queen Mary, the Orient Express, and the Hindenburg. With the detailed descriptions and perfect analogies readers will travel first class throughout the trip! The suspense of decisions to be made and secrets to be revealed are intensified as the sisters travel to each destination. In Three Words for Goodbye, the anticipation of what lies ahead for Clara and Maddy adds to this enriching, enjoyable journey.
The Grateful Reader 