Mademoiselle Eiffel by Aimie K. Runyan
As she proves her competence, Claire’s importance to her father grows. She accompanies him on his travels and becomes his confidante and private secretary. She learns her father’s architectural trade and becomes indispensable to his work. But when his bright young protégé, Adolphe Salles, takes up more of Gustave’s time, Claire resents being pushed aside.
Slowly, the animosity between Claire and Adolphe turns to friendship…and then to something more. After their marriage in 1885 preserves the Eiffel legacy, they are privileged by the biggest commission of Eiffel’s career: a great iron tower dominating the 1889 World’s Fair to demonstrate the leading role of Paris in the world of art and architecture. Now hostess to the scientific elite, such as Thomas Edison, Claire is under the watchful eye not only of her family and father’s circle, but also the world.
When Gustave Eiffel’s involvement in a disastrous endeavor to build a canal in Panama ends in his imprisonment, it is up to Claire to secure her father’s freedom but also preserve the hard-won family legacy.
Claire Eiffel’s story of love, devotion, and the frantic pursuit to preserve her family’s legacy is not only an inspired reflection of real personages and historical events, but a hymn to the iconic tower that dominates the City of Lights.
America has enemies - ruthless people that the police, the FBI, even the military can't stop. That's when the U.S. government calls on Will Robie, a stone cold hitman who never questions orders and always nails his target. But Will Robie may have just made the first - and last - mistake of his career...
It begins with a hit gone wrong. Robie is dispatched to eliminate a target unusually close to home in Washington, D.C. But something about this mission doesn't seem right to Robie, and he does the unthinkable. He refuses to kill. Now, Robie becomes a target himself and must escape from his own people.
Fleeing the scene, Robie crosses paths with a wayward teenage girl, a fourteen-year-old runaway from a foster home. But she isn't an ordinary runaway -- her parents were murdered, and her own life is in danger. Against all of his professional habits, Robie rescues her and finds he can't walk away. He needs to help her.
Even worse, the more Robie learns about the girl, the more he's convinced she is at the center of a vast cover-up, one that may explain her parents' deaths and stretch to unimaginable levels of power. Now, Robie may have to step out of the shadows in order to save this girl's life... and perhaps his own.
Really good fast paced book. Can't say I have read any of this author's books before, but I certainly will now. First book in the series.
Autumn
The brokenhearted billionaire visits Cozy Creek to escape. I never expected to become his fake girlfriend or fall madly in love...but here we are.
My first impression of Zane Alexander isn't great. The second is worse, but when he uses his powers of persuasion to get me to hang out with him, I can’t say no. We quickly go from familiar strangers to flirty friends.
When my ex returns, Zane flawlessly pretends to be my boyfriend to protect me. He’s so damn good at it, I almost believe it.
I don’t know when our relationship moves from pretending to passionate, but I catch feelings. As our exes desperately crawl back into our lives like zombies, I realize there is only one man for me, and (f)all I want is him.
Zane
Everything changes the moment I see her. Autumn's enchanting gaze makes my heart race, so I push her away to protect myself. Immediately, I regret it. But when I find her standing in my haunted house, I convince her to be my friend. She begrudgingly agrees.
As the leaves transform and Cozy Creek's fall festivities come alive, our playful charade blossoms into something more.
The lines between real and pretend begin to blur, and I find myself falling under her spell.
I should keep my broken heart in check, but instead, I fight for love that feels like magic.
This woman is all I've ever needed and (f)all I want.
This is first book in the Cozy Creek collection. All six books are written by different authors and all are standalone books. I enjoyed the book, but did think it was a bit "raunchy" for me!!! Bit predictable but a light hearted book and a quick read.
Will You, Won't You Want Me by Nora Zelevansky
Marjorie Plum never meant to peak in high school. She was Queen Bee. Now, 10 years later, she's lost her sparkle. At her bleakest moment, she’s surprised by renewed interest from a questionable childhood crush, and the bickering with her cranky boss—at a potentially game-changing new job—grows increasingly like flirtatious banter. Suddenly, she’s faced with a choice between the life she always dreamed of and one she never thought to imagine. With the help of a precocious 11-year-old tutee, who unknowingly becomes the Ghost of Marjorie Past, and a musician roommate, who looks like a pixie and talks like the Dalai Lama, Marjorie struggles with the ultimate question: Who does she want to be? Nora Zelevansky’s Will You Won’t You Want Me? is a funny, often surprising, novel about growing up when you are already supposed to be grown.
A typical "chick-lit" book. Fun and fast read, and I really enjoyed it.
"Party Girls Die in Pearls, by Plum Sykes"
It’s 1985, and at Oxford University, Pimm’s, punting, and ball gowns are de rigeur. Ursula Flowerbutton, a studious country girl, arrives for her first term anticipating nothing more sinister than days spent poring over history books in gilded libraries—and, if she’s lucky, an invitation to a ball.
But when she discovers a glamorous classmate on a chaise longue with her throat cut, Ursula is catapulted into a murder investigation.
Determined to bag her first scoop for the famous student newspaper Cherwell, Ursula enlists the help of trend-setting American exchange student Nancy Feingold to unravel the case. While navigating a whirl of black-tie parties and secret dining societies, the girls discover a surfeit of suspects. From broken-hearted boyfriends to snobby Sloane Rangers, lovelorn librarians to dishy dons, none can be presumed innocent—and Ursula’s investigations mean that she may be next on the murderer’s list.
I preferred the other book I read of Plum Sykes back in June/July of this year. This was okay, I gave it a 3 out of 5 on Goodreads. Will say I didn't figure out who the murderer was until close to when it was revealed. Made me glad I never went to Oxford University.....but then I never went to any university!! 🤷
Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home.
The True Love Bookshop by Annie Rains
In this powerful romance and celebration of friendship, a widow relies on the crucial support of her friends to help guide her through her grief and open herself up for love once again.
For Tess Lane, owning Lakeside Books is a dream come true, but it’s the weekly book club she hosts for the women in town that Tess enjoys the most. The gatherings have been her lifeline over the past three years since her husband’s mysterious death. Tess has tried to move on, but when River Harrison shows up on her doorstep, all her lingering questions come rushing back.…
River, a former marine turned private investigator, was her husband’s best friend, and seeing him again is a reminder of everything Tess lost. At first, she tries to ignore him, but Tess comes to realize that this is her chance, once and for all, to find the answers that have troubled her for years.
With the support of her friends, Tess joins River on a journey of discovery that leads them to the edges of Somerset Lake and on a road trip down the Carolina coast. Although their adventure isn’t always easy, Tess starts to find the joy in life again. But when secrets surrounding her husband’s death are finally revealed, can Tess find it in her heart to forgive the mistakes of the past … and maybe even open herself up to love again?
When I was around half way through this book, I had the feeling I had read this book before? However I looked on both this blog and my book review blog and nothing came up. It was a good story with enough twists in it to keep you entertained. A light book to read, with enough in it to keep you interested.
Years spent putting family first left little room for ambition, and she was convinced her opportunity for something bigger had passed. Then a chance encounter changes everything, thrusting her into a world she never imagined and opening doors she thought were permanently closed.
Now, Melanie must decide whether she's brave enough to embrace the future she's always wanted—or risk losing it all.
A heartwarming story about second chances, self-discovery, and the courage to pursue a dream at any age.
I won this book in a Giveaway on Goodreads. I will say I struggled to read it and was close to giving up on it. Then the character Barry appeared in the book and things picked up and it turned out to be a good book. I just couldn't understand what was going on to start with, however there are a couple of twists in the book and it all makes sense in the end. A very imaginative book, but too slow of a start for me.
The Lipstick Bureau by Michelle Gable
Despite limited resources, Niki and a scrappy team of artists, forgers and others—now nicknamed The Lipstick Bureau—find success, forming a bond amid the cobblestoned streets and storied villas of the newly liberated city. But her work is also a way to escape devastating truths about the family she left behind in Czechoslovakia and a future with her controlling American husband.
As the war drags on and the pressure intensifies, Niki begins to question the rules she's been instructed to follow, and a colleague unexpectedly captures her heart. But one step out of line, one mistake, could mean life or death…
A fictional story written about true events of the war. It was pretty ingenious how they operated in that department. It was an action filled book, but does have a sad ending to it......
Again a mixed bag of books I read in September. My favourite book, The Innocent by David Baldacci. My least favourite, probably Little Voices by Lisa Brandt, that was just an odd book...LOL
