Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and it is now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is Things I’d Have at a Bookish Party. I decided to choose Books with Party in the Title. Here’s my list:
1. The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
2. Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie
3. Party Princess (The Princess Diaries #7) by Meg Cabot
4. The Wedding Party (The Wedding Date #3) by Jasmine Guillory
5. The Last Book Party by Karen Dukess
6. The Party by Robyn Harding
7. The After Party by Anton DiSclafani
8. The Bachelorette Party by Karen McCullah Lutz
9. Party of Two (The Wedding Date #5) by Jasmine Guillory
10. Late to the Party by Kelly Quindlen
(All photos taken from Goodreads)
What’s your list of books on your Top Ten Tuesday?
Title: The Summer Villa Author: Melissa Hill Genre: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary Publisher: MIRA Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: April 28, 2020 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Three women. One summer reunion. Secrets will be revealed…
Villa Dolce Vita, a rambling stone house on the Amalfi Coast, sits high above the Gulf of Naples amid dappled lemon groves and fragrant, tumbling bougainvillea. Kim, Colette and Annie all came to the villa in need of escape and in the process forged an unlikely friendship.
Now, years later, Kim has transformed the crumbling house into a luxury retreat and has invited her friends back for the summer to celebrate.
But as friendships are rekindled under the Italian sun, secrets buried in the past will come to light, and not everyone is happy that the three friends are reuniting… Each woman will have things to face up to if they are all to find true happiness and fully embrace the sweet life.
An epic summer read about food, friendship and the magic of Italy, perfect for fans of Mary Kay Andrews and Susan Mallery.
Review:
Six years ago Kim, Collette, and Annie ran away from their lives and ended up in the same villa in Italy. They didn’t know each other and came from different countries: the U.S., England, and Ireland. Though they had different backgrounds and different reasons for wanting to escape their lives for a few weeks, they all connected that summer. Now it is six years later and Kim is hosting a grand reopening of the same villa, which she has transformed into a wellness retreat. It seems like the perfect time for the three women to reunite, but they each bring their own personal problems back to Italy, where it all began.
This story alternated perspectives between then, six years ago, and now in the present. It also alternated between each of the three women. Things were slowly revealed in each timeline, but some details were held until the end, which built up the tension and surprise. I was shocked at some of the twists that I didn’t see coming.
One thing that this story demonstrated is how things in life can change so quickly. The women were struggling with life before they went to Italy the first time, but they each had life changing events happen there. These events changed the course of their lives in ways that didn’t seem possible at the beginning. This shows that even if you think you’re going through a difficult time in the present, there is no way to predict how your life will change years from now.
I really loved this story!
Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Summer in Sorrento by Melissa Hill
The Temptation of Gracie by Santa Montefiore
About the Author:
MELISSA HILL lives in south Dublin with her husband and daughter. A USA TODAY and international #1 bestseller, she is the author of 13 novels, including The Gift of a Charm and A Gift From Tiffany’s. The Gift of a Charm was a USA TODAY bestseller. Hailed “the queen of the big plot twist,” she combines all the warmth and humor of contemporary women’s fiction with plots that keep readers guessing from page to page. Melissa also cowrites forensic thrillers with her husband, Kevin, under the pseudonym Casey Hill, featuring crime scene investigator Reilly Steel. For more information, visit www.caseyhillbooks.com.
Have you read The Summer Villa? What did you think of it?
This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!
What I just finished:
This weekend I finished The Summer Villa by Melissa Hill.
What I’m currently reading:
I’m currently reading The Mothers of Quality Street by Penny Thorpe
What I’m reading next:
Next I will be reading Once Upon an Eid by S.K. Ali and Aisha Saeed (editors).
What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?
The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.
This Sunday I’m reading The Summer Villa by Melissa Hill.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Three women. One summer reunion. Secrets will be revealed…
Villa Dolce Vita, a rambling stone house on the Amalfi Coast, sits high above the Gulf of Naples amid dappled lemon groves and fragrant, tumbling bougainvillea. Kim, Colette and Annie all came to the villa in need of escape and in the process forged an unlikely friendship.
Now, years later, Kim has transformed the crumbling house into a luxury retreat and has invited her friends back for the summer to celebrate.
But as friendships are rekindled under the Italian sun, secrets buried in the past will come to light, and not everyone is happy that the three friends are reuniting… Each woman will have things to face up to if they are all to find true happiness and fully embrace the sweet life.
An epic summer read about food, friendship and the magic of Italy, perfect for fans of Mary Kay Andrews and Susan Mallery.
Title: The Betrothed (The Betrothed #1) Author: Kiera Cass Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy Publisher: HarperTeen Source: Purchased Format: Hardcover Release Date: May 5, 2020 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
When King Jameson declares his love for Lady Hollis Brite, Hollis is shocked—and thrilled. After all, she’s grown up at Keresken Castle, vying for the king’s attention alongside other daughters of the nobility. Capturing his heart is a dream come true.
But Hollis soon realizes that falling in love with a king and being crowned queen may not be the happily ever after she thought it would be. And when she meets a commoner with the mysterious power to see right into her heart, she finds that the future she really wants is one that she never thought to imagine.
Review:
Hollis Brite lives at the palace in Coroa with her family. The young King Jameson starts paying attention to her, leading to a courtship. Their relationship escalates quickly when the king of their neighbouring country, Isolte, comes to visit. Hollis has to step into the role as queen beside Jameson. This visit coincides with an aristocratic family from Isolte moving to Coroa as refugees. As Hollis learns more about her future position as queen, she wonders if it is the right path for her.
Hollis was driving me crazy throughout this story. She made so many decisions that I didn’t agree with. She also made snap decisions on big life changes, which affected her own life and everyone around her. I didn’t agree with her, but I had to keep reading to find out the outcome of her decisions.
I flew through this story! It was very fast paced. Hollis’s relationship with Jameson progressed quickly in a whirlwind. The story ended in a big bang, which left me wondering where Hollis’s story is going to go in the next book.
This was an exciting start to this new series!
What to read next:
The Selection (The Selection #1) by Kiera Cass
The Siren by Kiera Cass
Have you read The Betrothed? What did you think of it?
Title: The Secrets of Love Story Bridge Author: Phaedra Patrick Genre: Romance, Contemporary Publisher: Park Row Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: April 28, 2020 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
A single father gets an unexpected second chance at love in the heartwarming new novel from the author of The Curious Charms of Arthur PepperIt’s summer in the city and passions are soaring along with the temperature—for everyone but Mitchell Fisher, who hates all things romance. He relishes his job cutting off the padlocks that couples fasten to the famous “love story” bridge. Only his young daughter, Poppy, knows that behind his prickly veneer, Mitchell still grieves the loss of her mother.
Then one hot day, everything changes when Mitchell courageously rescues a woman who falls from the bridge into the river. He’s surprised to feel an unexpected connection to her, but she disappears before he can ask her name. Desperate to find out her identity, Mitchell is shocked to learn she’s been missing for almost a year. He teams up with her spirited sister, Liza, on a quest to find her again. However, she’s left only one clue behind—a message on the padlock she hung on the bridge.
Brimming with Phaedra Patrick’s signature charm and a sparkling cast of characters, The Secrets of Love Story Bridgefollows one man’s journey to unlock his heart and discover new beginnings in the unlikeliest places.
Review:
Mitchell Fisher is raising his daughter by himself after his wife died years ago. He works for the city council and cuts off the locks that people hang on bridges in his town to represent their love. One day when he’s leaving work, he sees a woman attach a lock to the bridge, then fall into the river below. Mitchell jumps in after her to rescue her, but they get separated after he rescues her, and he never learns her name. His daughter’s teacher sees an article about the rescue, and recognizes the woman he rescued as her missing sister. Mitchell and Liza, the sister of the missing woman, search for clues to find the woman, unraveling many secrets along the way.
I loved the premise for this book. It had so much mystery surrounding the woman’s disappearance. There were only a few clues that were left behind so it was difficult for her family to figure out what happened.
I liked seeing so much emotion in the character of Mitchell. He’s had a difficult time since his wife died, and he is constantly blaming himself. He wasn’t afraid to show his emotions, which made him appear stronger in my opinion. I haven’t seen many male characters like that, especially in women’s fiction.
I didn’t really like the explanation behind the woman’s disappearance. I can’t say too much about the ending without giving it away. There was so much tension leading up to it, but I didn’t feel that same tension in the reason that she disappeared. The genre of the book played into this kind of ending. Since it was a lighter story, not a gritty thriller, it had a more positive ending.
This is a great summer story.
Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
Have you read The Secrets of Love Story Bridge? What did you think of it?
Jill's Book Blog 