Wow! Just WOW! I thought this was such a good book. A thriller that kept me guessing and turning the pages. It had everything I love about a good thriller.

One of the best thrillers I've read this year.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/04/i-would-die-for-you-by-sandie-jones.html

@sandiejones_author
@stmartinspress
@macmillan.audio

This was a wonderful book. Emily Carpenter has done a great job of pulling me in and making my day. This is such a good book. From start to finish. Not holds barred.
An edge of your seat thriller. I loved it...

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/03/gothictown-by-emily-carpenter.html

@emily.d.c
@kensingtonbooks

Book 6 in The Lost Daughters series and each seems better than the last.

A story of a girl and boy who loved each other for many years. They were in their early teens when they feel head over heels in love even though they both knew her mother would never allow it. Would never approve.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/03/the-spanish-daughter-by-soraya-m-lane.htm...

This author has never disappointed me. Her books always take me away from the crazy things going on. To an adventure that I keep close to my heart. This book was exceptional. The prose was beautiful and the fact that it is about a girl searching for her mother who was an author... Well that just makes it that much better.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/03/the-story-she-left-behind-by-patti.html

@pattichenry
@atriabooks

I will be reading more by this author. This book is so good. One I highly recommend. It has so much in it. Ups and downs. Laughter and tears. History and more. And it has the TITANIC... Of course that is the part that makes this story come together.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/03/the-lost-passenger-by-frances-quinn.html

@franquinn21
@randomhouse

This is an incredibly beautiful story. It's also an incredibly sad story. It is filled with so much. So many lives lived. So many deaths. From so many years. Year after year of loving and dying. And not knowing why. Not remembering what happened to start it all. But when that final answer comes your jaw will drop. It will floor you. Unpend your heart.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/03/our-infinite-fates-by-laura-steven.html

This is the story of what happened in 1921 in a town in Oklahoma. What happened to a group of people who were doing nothing to warrant such hostility and hatred. Simply because of the color of their skin. That is a fact. A very sad fact.
I highly recommend this one.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/03/the-filling-station-by-vanessa-miller.htm...

@authorvanessamiller

I read and loved Looking For Jane. The debut novel by this same author. This is a brilliantly told story. The way this author weaves the two main characters together is nothing short of perfection.

I loved this line in this story:
““Audrey nodded warily. “Yes. My name is Audrey. Audrey James.““ It was just the perfect sentence at the time. I

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/03/the-secret-history-of-audrey-james-by.htm...

This is McAllisters best novel yet. While I figured out all of the twists it did not take away from the story at all. I had to keep going to see that I was right. I rooted for the couples to end up just like they did. This was such a good book.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/03/famous-last-words-by-gillian-mcallister.h...

@gillianmauthor
@williammorrowbooks

This was such a beautiful story. Told with so much feeling and heartfelt love. Even in the worst parts it‘s beautiful. Perfection in a book is rare but this one truly is perfection.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/03/broken-country-by-clare-leslie-hall.html?...

@clarelesliehall
@simonbooks

This author writes books that really pull you in and pull at your heartstrings. They usually have all the feels included too. This one is no different and is possibly her best to date. I thoroughly enjoyed “Somebody's Daughter“ and “This Is Not How It Ends.“ I look forward to reading quite a few more.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/03/we-are-made-of-stars-by-rochelle-b.html

@rochellebweinstein
@lakeunionauthors

This is one of those books that is pure pleasure to read. A modern day witch story. A love story. A story about finding a way to remove a curse. I really loved how the story played out too. It was just adorable and perfect.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/03/a-circle-of-uncommon-witches-by-paige.htm...

Another heartfelt story by one of my favorite authors. Alison Ragsdale captures your heart with her stories. They are always so realistic that I wonder if she has lived it or knows someone who has. Her books always make me shed tons of tears.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/03/my-husbands-child-by-alison-ragsdale.html

@alisonragsdalewrites
@bookouture

A very enduring story. This one captures a human's ability to learn how to give. How to be kind in the face of hardships. To be compassionate even when they fight it will all they have. To grow in ways they didn't think possible.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/02/a-tiny-piece-of-blue-by-charlotte.html

@charlottewhitney65
@shewritespress

This has been one of my favorite series. This author gave exactly what I wanted from start to finish. There is a lot going one so be prepared.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/02/rebel-witch-by-kristen-ciccarelli.html

@kristenciccarelli
@stmartinspress @wednesdaybooks
@bookofthemonth

This was such a beautiful story. A debut novel about a subject that is not talked about very much. A story that will draw you in and have you cringing at things that happened. A story about slavery in Alabama in the 1800s right before the Civil War.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/02/junie-by-erin-crosby-eckstine.html

I absolutely loved this book. It will be in my top books for 2025 if we survive the year.

A story about the Egyptian digs back in. 1936 then skip ahead to 1978. You meet some strong young women and a couple of older ones in this intriguing story of love, loss, and found. It's so good.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/02/the-stolen-queen-by-fiona-davis.html

Fiona Davis

Barbara Davis is one of my favorite authors. I always look forward to a new book. She knows how to capture your heart. Your fears. Your everything. Whether it is a thriller or a love story she pulls you in and keeps your attention. This book is so good. So emotional and filled with so much. Another winner for sure...

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/02/every-precious-and-fragile-thing-by.html

@bdavisauthor
@lakeunionauthors

This one is breathtaking. It's prose is beautiful and enchanting in ways. Sad and abusive in other ways. The love story is one that will sweep you away. The struggles will captivate you. Hold you hostage. Make you cringe. And in so many ways give you hope.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/02/isola-by-allegra-goodman.html

This story was so good. So deep and light at the same time. How to deal with a lost love... Forty years later.

Full five star review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/02/a-forty-year-kiss-by-nickolas-butler.html

This was one of the best books ever. Grab it. Devour it.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/02/come-fly-with-me-by-camille-di-maio.html

What if you could go back in time. Would you? If so, who would you want to meet? I'm not sure who I would want to see and talk too. Maybe a relative I read about in a genealogy report that I read about. He was called “The Lost Poet Of Georgia.“ A long time ago. That would be kind of cool, right? But at the same time it would be scary…

Review :https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/02/the-vanishing-of-josephine-reynolds-by.html

David Baldacci is an excellent author. His books pull you in and keep you until the very end. This one is no exception. It is a very emotional story. A time when things were not good in this country. When people thought it was ok to hate. Kind of like now. Back in 1968 there was a hope for change. Now in 2025 there are those that want to go back to the 60s.

review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/02/a-calamity-of-souls-by-david-baldacci.htm...

Outstanding WW2 novel. This book will grab you and keep you until the very last word.

Full review as part of a blog tour coming tomorrow....

@pamjenoff
@harlequinbooks @harlequin_audio
@parkrowbooks

I read some very good books in January..

@jocallaghankat
@robertdugoni
@jennifercoburnbooks
@kristinkovalwriter
@authormariebenedict
@kay_bratt_author
@rebeccayarros
@dkenitz
@alicewriterland
@costanzacasati
@melissalarsenauthor

I didn't care for the first half. Yes the first 50%. The second was great. It made the first better. I almost DNFed this book because I don't like to read other people's messages or text in books but held out. It was great for the last half. I figured out a lot of it but not the killer.

Full review:
https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/02/cross-my-heart-by-megan-collins.html

This book was so well researched and takes you inside a Jewish ghetto camp where humans were treated like animals. Starved and many horrors facing them daily. It's heartbreaking to know these things happened and very possibly could happen again.

Full five star review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-girls-of-glimmer-factory-by.html

I believe this is a debut novel. It‘s one you don‘t want to miss. It has so many feelings and will give you such deep emotions. In parts I got goosebumps and sure shed lots of tears. But the overall story is so good. It made me look at some things in a whole new way. Especially where kids who have committed crimes are concerned.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/01/penitence-by-kristin-koval.html?m=1

Excellent addition to the other books in the series. It has a lot going on and the love story of Violet and Xaden. Also much more.
If you enjoy fantasy you should read this series. The ending blew me away. Now the wait begins for the next book.....

I received an arc from Brilliance Audio along with an ebook from Lake Union. The narrator was spectacular. He brought the emotions out in this story. Made you feel all of the characters laughs and tears. The pain. The sadness. And the love between the main two characters. It was narratorated to perfection.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/01/hold-strong-by-robert-dugoni.html

I received an audio from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I loved this audio. Both narrators were so good. Both portrayed the characters supremely. Both gave me exactly what I expected in a great audio.

I loved it. This was my BOTM choice and I'm very happy with it.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/01/beautiful-ugly-by-alice-feeney.html

Babylonia

This was such a good book. I highly recommend it.
You follow a woman who started out with nothing but went on to rule an empire. She married a king. She had his child. She became queen....

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/01/babylonia-by-constanza-casati.html

@costanzacasati
@sourcebooks @bookmarked
#rbmedia

I was very pleasantly surprised with this book. A new to me author and a very exciting book. It was filled with a lot of action and some edge of your seat tension.

While I would not call this a book about fixing up houses or a girl truly gone missing, it is about a tv personality who remodels homes and a woman who takes her twins and leaves.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-perfect-home-by-daniel-kenitz.html

Not your typical Christmas story. I'm so glad though. This book is excellent. It kept me turning the pages.

Another wonderful story in the Hart's Ridge series.

Full Review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/01/so-this-is-christmas-by-kay-bratt.html

@kay_bratt_author

My favorite line from this book is: “You saw what I wanted you to see and what you expected to see. Things are not always as they appear.“

The main characters in this book are: Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Baroness Emma Orczy, Margery Allingham, and Ngaio Marsh. Five authors from 1931.
This book is very good.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-queens-of-crime-by-marie-benedict.htm...

The Lost House

This is my first book by this author. I look forward to reading more.

This book was slow to start for me but it did pick up and the ending was great. The author definitely wrapped it up great.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-lost-house-by-melissa-larsen.html

@melissalarsenauthor
@stmartinspress
@macmillan.audio
@netgalley

This is the second book in the Kat and Lock series. Jo Callaghan has created very likable characters with these two. One is a female DI and the other is an AI who they are trying to use in the course of investigations.

This book is so good.

Full 5 star review here: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2025/01/leave-no-trace-by-jo-callaghan.html?m=1

I loved this book. Keeping in the fantasy genre it was a perfect read for the end of this crazy year.
This book is so good. I enjoyed it from start to finish.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2024/12/a-sorceress-comes-to-call-by-t.html

@redwombatstudio

I loved this book. It was such a good story about witches, powers, and a witch hunter. It had all the feels and all the things I love in a good book. I laughed in places and cried in others. I rooted for the three witches to prevail. This author did a fantastic job of capturing my attention and keeping it until the very last word.

An unputdownable historical that will take your breath away. A story set in Paris that gives a look at fashion and what happened during WW2. How the resistance worked. And a bit of a love story too.

This is a must read if you love a good historical.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-last-fashion-house-in-paris-by.html

@reneeryanbooks
@harlequinbooks
@harlequin_audio
@netgalley

I loved this book. I can't wait for the sequel coming early next year.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2024/12/heartless-hunter-by-kristen-ciccarelli.ht...

I everyone has a great Holiday Season.

How to review this book/audio. This was a like/hate book for me. Parts were really good and parts were just aggravating. I think maybe it could have been shortened and possibly better.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2024/12/blood-of-hercules-audio-by-jasmine-mas.ht...

@harlequin_audio
@netgalley

First, the narrator was wonderful. I was sucked into this story. It was a bit slow at first but it was worth it. What this world did to humans was horrendous. What white people did to slaves was deplorable. Owning another human will never set right with me. Harming another human for the benefit of having a slave is awful. It‘s sad what happened in this book. Good to hear the side of the slave. James was a good man.

I devoured the first book, The Road of Bones and this one was even better. Such a good series this is.

This book continues with Silla and Rey and their story. You also meet Saga who is Silla's sister.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2024/12/kingdom-of-claw-ashen-series-2-by-demi.ht...

@demiwinterswrites
@randomhouse
@netgalley

This book was great. It has everything I love in a good book. Laughter, thrills, intense behavior, family, murder, who done it... It's filled with action from start to finish.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2024/12/what-wife-knew-by-darby-kane.html

@hkdimon
@williammorrowbooks
@netgalley

I loved this book. It's so good and I can't wait for the next in this series.

A fantasy filled with lots of action. A love story in the making. A lost sister.

If you like fantasy you will love this one.

I read and loved this author's book Weyward. I didn't know exactly what to expect from this one but I did enjoy it also. It kept me turning the pages until the very ending which I did not see coming. Not that this is a thriller but still... I did not see that part coming.

5 stars

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-sirens-by-emilia-hart.html

This is one of the best books I have ever read. Definitely in the top ten that I have read for this year.
If you haven't read it, you should.

I enjoyed this book. It was a bit longer than necessary but still good. It kept me wanting to read to see where it was going. Though it was obviously going to a home where unwed mothers stay. Little did they know what awaited them. And you won't find out until the last third of the book. It's quite good but I did feel that the ending was a bit rushed.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-ghost-woods-by-c-j-cooke.html