Tag: 2026 Release

Book Review | You Belong With Me by Beth Moran

When a developer arrives on the Isle of Siskin to build a mega-resort, podcaster Blue Beddoes and her mother Goldie, the unofficial Mayor of Siskin, form an action committee to find a way to prevent the development. They have two possible ways to foil the plan, both involving finding the truth behind old island rumours. Do rare natterjack toads live on the farm known as Jack’s Place? And is Sienna Griffin the rightful owner of Jack’s Place?

Blue teams up with Jonathan White, the attractive and very personable environmental consultant hired to search for the elusive toads. She’d be interested in him if it wasn’t for her disastrous relationship history, and the fact she doesn’t need a man to be happy. Her (many) declarations to this effect add several comedy moments, particularly as she is pursued by some less than desirable men and more than a few zealous fans of her podcast, Only on Siskin.

That’s the present story. You Belong With Me is a dual timeline novel, and the past timeline is set in the late 1950s and shows Sorrel falling in love with Calvin Griffin, who inherited Jack’s Place when his parents died when he was seventeen. This story is beautiful yet bittersweet, because we know from the present storyline that Calvin lives and dies alone.

I loved everything about You Belong With Me.

I loved the tiny Isle of Siskin, home to just over 3000 people, which means everyone knows (or knows of) everyone else. I love Beth Moran’s writing style–full of humour and emotion that brings her characters to life. And I loved her characters, especially Blue and Jonathan in the present timeline, and Sorrel and Calvin in the past.

While You Belong With Me isn’t overtly Christian fiction, it’s an excellent novel with characters who are quietly Christian, and with no inappropriate language or content.

Recommended for readers who love a little mystery and a little romance in a British setting full of quirky characters.

About Beth Moran

Beth Moran is the award-winning author of women’s fiction, including number one bestseller Let It Snow and top ten bestseller Just the Way You Are. Her books are set in and around Sherwood Forest, where she can be found most mornings walking with her spaniel Murphy. She has the privilege of also being a foster carer to teenagers, and enjoys nothing better than curling up with a pot of tea and a good story.

Find Beth Moran online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram

About You Belong With Me

Three times a fiancée but never a bride is not a claim to fame Bluebell Beddoes is proud of. But she is taking it as a sign…

Sworn off romance, instead the love of Blue’s life is the beautiful Isle of Siskin. Her home from birth, her community and now her job with the wildly successful podcast Only on Siskin. Her life is full and her future is set.

So, when the peace on Siskin is threatened with being destroyed forever, Blue knows she has to act. There are secrets from the past that may be able to save the future of the island, and only Blue can get to the bottom of them.

When handsome and mysterious Jonathan White arrives on Siskin, Blue is unsure if he’s here to help or hinder. But when it becomes clear Jonathan holds the key to unlocking the past, Blue will have to learn to trust again or risk losing everything she loves…

Find You Belong With Me online at:

Amazon | Goodreads

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First Line Friday

First Line Friday #420 | Not What We Pictured by Becca Kinzer

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m quoting from Not What We Pictured, an upcoming rom-com from Becca Kinzer, who also wrote Dear Henry, Love Edith, Love in Tandem, and First Love, Second Draft (which I loved). Here’s the first line from Chapter One:

You want the facts? Okay, well first off, I didn't kiss him.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About Not What We Pictured

This is absolutely not how they pictured their summer going.

McKenna Boston is feeling stuck. She’s spent years growing her photography skills only for her career to hit a wall. She’s ready to move on, and she will, just as soon as she helps her sister’s boyfriend stage the perfect proposal. But when her best laid plans go awry and a handsome stranger accidentally ends up with the heirloom ring, McKenna hops on a flight to retrieve it. Piece of cake, right?

Nate Lambert was hoping to enjoy a relaxing summer before starting his new job as a literature professor, but he arrives in Tennessee to discover his mom’s bed and breakfast is struggling and there’s a long list of repairs to be tackled. The last thing he needs is a gorgeous, determined photographer searching for a ring he doesn’t have since the airline lost his luggage somewhere on his route from Nebraska.

With the ring nowhere to be found, all McKenna can do is wait and use the time to build her portfolio and plan her next career move. But she also can’t help getting swept up in Nate’s bed and breakfast renovations and in planning a community concert with the townsfolk. As both await news of Nate’s suitcase, it begins to seem their serendipitous meeting, and the proposal gone wrong, could actually be everything going right . . . and that this may be their chance at a love neither could have pictured.

Find Not What We Pictured online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

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Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

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I always watch for the pivot--I sense it before I see it and I notice it before the crowd.

Book Review | The Lies we Trade by Kristine Delano

The Lies We Trade is a thriller set in and around Wall Street, which is a new-to-me fiction setting.

Just as Meredith is celebrating the successful launch of her new exchange-traded funds (ETFs), she is also signing a restraining order against her colleague, Betsey. What wasn’t clear to me (and possibly to Meredith) is why Betsey has been ousted from the firm.

I found the beginning a little confusing.

It wasn’t immediately obvious what was happening–at least, not to me, someone who has close to zero knowledge of stocks, shares, options, securities, or trading. I’d never even heard of exchange-traded funds, and that probably meant I missed some of the context (like the significance of ringing the bell on the trading floor in the opening scene).

It’s obvious Kristine Delano has deep insider knowledge of Wall Street, and the business of trading stock and securities. She did her best to find the balance between making the technical aspects intelligible to the lay reader without losing the tension, and to intertwine Meredith’s work and personal lives.

I did find the personal side of the story easier to read and more interesting, probably because having problems with teenage daughters is more relatable.

The Lies We Trade is written in first person present tense point of view.

I’m usually a fan of first person, although it’s more common in genres such as romance or rom-com. I did find the combination of first person, present tense difficult at first, although present tense did give the story a more edgy feel than the more traditional past tense.

Despite the somewhat confusing beginning, I did enjoy The Lies We Trade once I got into the story. The writing was good and the author certainly knows the ins and outs of Wall Street and is able to use that knowledge to craft a compelling thriller.

Recommended for readers looking for something different from a debut author.

Thanks to Tyndale Fiction and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Kristine Delano

Kristine Delano is a former Wall Street executive turned award-winning author of domestic thrillers set in the high-stakes finance world. She hosts the We Talk Careers podcast and mentors women on work-life balance. When she’s not writing or reading, she enjoys scuba diving, playing games with friends, and chasing her family down the ski slopes of western Maine.

Find Kristine Delano online at:

Website | Instagram

About The Lies We Trade

A high-powered Wall Street career, a beautiful family in a quiet suburban neighborhood―she seems to have everything. Which means she has everything to lose.

Meredith Hansel should be having the best week of her life. After establishing herself as a portfolio manager at a prestigious Wall Street firm, she’s in the national spotlight for the innovative funds she created. But as Meredith prepares to celebrate, the plates she’s kept spinning for years begin to crash: Her strained marriage reaches a breaking point. Her conscientious teenage daughter acts out under mysterious pressures. Someone vandalizes her home with disturbing graffiti. And Betsey, her most trusted ally at the financial firm, goes rogue, and Meredith is forced to sign a restraining order against her.

Then her worlds collide when she receives a thumb drive and a cryptic note from Betsey threatening to reveal a secret that could have devastating effects on Meredith’s family . . . unless she can figure out what Betsey wants and deliver it in time.

As Meredith begins to dig into the data, however, she begins to suspect that it’s no coincidence her life is crumbling. That maybe what’s happening to her family is connected to what’s boiling beneath the surface at her investment company. Soon Meredith realizes there’s only one way to avoid taking the fall, and it all hinges on Betsey’s true motives. Was she really threatening Meredith or trying to warn her?

Find The Lies We Trade online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

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