Goodreads Blurb: In her life, there have only been three lovers. But Leslie doesn’t lament the meager number, she only truly mourns the second one. In her youthful arrogance, she turned him away, thinking there would be many more chances. Now, she lives two lives—one in the present, and another plagued by bittersweet memories of the past.
But maybe, even now, it might be possible to reconcile the two.
Goodreads Blurb: Today is supposed to be the happiest day of my life.
I’m engaged to the man of my dreams, and in a few short hours, I’m going to stand before a judge, who will declare us husband and wife, till death does us part. Despite some bumps in the road, this day is everything I dreamed it would be.
There’s only one problem:
Someone out there doesn’t want me to live long enough to say my vows.
And if I’m not careful, they may very well get their wish.
Goodreads Blurb: It’s hard to find an employer who doesn’t ask too many questions about my past. So I thank my lucky stars that the Garricks miraculously give me a job, cleaning their stunning penthouse with views across the city and preparing fancy meals in their shiny kitchen. I can work here for a while, stay quiet until I get what I want. It’s almost perfect. But I still haven’t met Mrs Garrick, or seen inside the guest bedroom. I’m sure I hear her crying. I notice spots of blood around the neck of her white nightgowns when I’m doing laundry. And one day I can’t help but knock on the door. When it gently swings open, what I see inside changes everything…
Goodreads Review: I think I’m getting a handle in this series now – it’s always the twists that make the book. And this one had a whopper. Not quite as juicy as the last one maybe but decent.
Goodreads Blurb: In this evocative short piece, Candace worries that her mother, Annie, has reached an emotional breaking point. When her best friend loses her battle with cancer, Annie is acting in uncharacteristic ways, seemingly less concerned than ever about what her friends and neighbors think of her—a troubling development in her daughter’s eyes. But while Candace may think she knows her mother better than anyone, something deeper lingers beneath the surface, and times of hardship have a way of bringing us closer together than ever.
Goodreads Review: This story was an experience, a fascinating step into the mind of two women dealing with loss and the change it brings. It didn’t actually seem to have a plot but as it was more of a character study I think that would have just bogged the whole thing down.
Goodreads Blurb: Townie is a brief yet dramatic glimpse at a blossoming friendship between two young women in a small college town – Amal, a transplant from LA, and Bridgette, a local 20-something who feels lost in her own life and becomes enamoured with her new friend’s confidence. At first, the new relationship is intoxicating, and the two women spend every spare minute getting drunk on cheap liquor, party-hopping, and binging reality TV. But soon, a secret is revealed that shifts the dynamic, and Bridgette makes a choice she can never take back.
Goodreads Blurb: Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.
I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.
I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.
But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.
Goodreads Review: I had to say I did not see that twist coming at all. I love a book that plays on our expectations of the crazy woman trope. Just like I love a good revenge tale. Perfect blend in one here.
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce
Goodreads Blurb: An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge opens with the story’s hero, Peyton Farquhar, hanging bound from a bridge, awaiting hanging. Farquhar is a Confederate sympathizer in the American Civil War and has been brought to this end by a Union spy. The novel was unique in its time for its jumbled chronology and is also famous for its surprising conclusion.
Uncovering Celtic Mythology: A Beginner’s Guide Into The World Of Celtic Myths, Fairy Tales, Folklore, Warriors, Celtic Gods and Creatures by Lucas Russo
Goodreads Blurb: Relive the magic of captivating legends and folktales in this rich collection on Celtic Mythology In 58 BCE, when Julius Caesar – the famous Roman general – wrote a commentary on the Gallic wars, he described the “Celt” speaking people who lived in the area then known as the Gaul.
These people had their own culture, gods, and beliefs – called Celtic Mythology – which were very different from the Romans.
The influence of this mythology, however, was not limited to a small territory. This culture spread across Europe, especially to the western nations of Britain, Ireland, France, and Spain.
The legacy of Celts is still alive, and you may even have encountered these traces of Celtic
The languages spoken by modern-day Irish, Scottish, and Welsh people King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table The legends and pop-culture depictions of the shrieking spirit of Banshee Conan the Barbarian, a very famous character appearing in films as well as comics Bran Stark, from Game of Thrones, who becomes the Three-eyed Raven The above examples are just a handful of successors from the ancient Celtic culture, and the last two draw direct inspiration from Celtic mythology.
Goodreads Blurb: Brother turns on brother. The throne of England is at stake. The deadly Wars of the Roses have begun…
Elizabeth Woodville, a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition, secretly marries the newly crowned boy king. While she rises to the demands of her exalted position and fights for the success of her family, her two sons become the central figures in a famous unsolved mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the lost princes in the Tower of London.
They ruled England before the Tudors, and now internationally bestselling author Philippa Gregory brings the Plantagenets to life through the dramatic and intimate stories of the secret players: the indomitable women.
Goodreads Review: As usual an excellent read from Philippa Gregory. A book based on real historical events, guesswork, and one kind of insulting rumour. It’s up to the reader to guess which one is which.
Goodreads Blurb: He’s the perfect man. It’s a perfect lie.
Nina Swann is intrigued when she received a condolence card from Nick Radcliffe, an old friend of her late husband, who is looking to connect after her husband’s unexpected death. Nick is a man of substance and good taste. He has a smile that could melt the coldest heart and a knack for putting others at ease. But to Nina’s adult daughter, Ash, Nick seems too slick, too polished, too good to be true. Without telling her mother, Ash begins digging into Nick’s past. What she finds is more than unsettling…
Martha is a florist living in a neighbouring town with her infant daughter and her devoted husband, Alistair. But lately, Alistair has been traveling more and more frequently for work, disappearing for days at a time. When Martha questions him about his frequent absences, he always has a legitimate explanation, but Martha can’t share the feeling that something isn’t right.
Nina, Martha, and Ash are on a collision course with a shocking truth that is far darker than anyone could have imagined. And all three are about to wish they had heeded the same warning: Don’t let him in. But the past won’t stay buried forever.
The Wee Writing Lassie 