Jencey's Writer's Corner

  Katherine Center released The Love Haters last May.  This is the book that you want to go on vacation with.  This story takes us to the Florida Keys.  What could be a better vacation spot even now?  Or a setting for a story?   About the Book:  “Katie Vaughn has been burned by love in the past—now she may be lighting her career on fire. She has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West. The catch? Katie’s not exactly qualified. She can’t swim—but pretends that she can. Plus, Cole and Hutch are brothers. And they don’t get along. Next stop: paradise! But paradise is messier than it seems. As Katie gets entangled with Hutch (the most scientifically good-looking man she has ever seen . . . but maybe a bit of a love hater), along with his colorful aunt Rue and his rescue Great Dane, she gets t...

  Kimberly Belle released her latest tale in June of this year.  The Expat Affair is set in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.  The two main characters are Americans.  They both seem to be involved in a murder and a diamond heist.  Are you ready for an adventure? About the Book:  “Rayna Dumont came to Amsterdam for a fresh start. She’s never been the type for a one-night stand, but this move is all about adventure, and Xander is handsome and successful and more than willing to go along for the ride. Until the morning after, when Rayna finds him dead, millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds missing from his safe. Willow Prins is captivated by the news. Her husband is Xander’s former boss and heir to a diamond house, and the scandal strains their already-rocky marriage. As the house comes under scrutiny, Willow wonders how much of the blame she can place on Rayna. Soon, the two women are dragged into the dark underbelly of the diamond market, where they’ll have to un...

  I recently had the pleasure of meeting with author Kristy Cambron virtually.  She shared in this meeting we both attended about her desire to write about strong women.  Her readers will not be disappointed with this story.  Who wouldn’t want to read about bookstores?  This story takes place during the London Blitz during World War II. About the Book:   “Inspired by real accounts of the Forgotten Blitz bombings, The British Booksellers highlights the courage of those whose lives were forever changed by war—and the stories that bind us in the fight for what matters most. A tenant farmer’s son had no business daring to dream of a future with an earl’s daughter, but that couldn’t keep Amos Darby from his secret friendship with Charlotte Terrington…until the reality of the Great War sobered youthful dreams. Now decades later, he bears the brutal scars of battles fought in the trenches and their futures that were stolen away. His return home doesn’t come with...

  Kate Quinn is one of my favorite authors!  I recently had the opportunity to read The Briar Club.  This book is her pandemic book, meaning that there wasn’t much traveling.  This story takes us back to the early 1950s and the McCarthy era.  The story begins when Grace takes a room at the Briarwood house.  About the Book: “Washington, DC, 1950. Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation’s capital where secrets hide behind white picket fences. But when the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic room, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendship: poised English beauty Fliss, whose facade of perfect wife and mother covers gaping inner wounds; policeman’s daughter Nora, who finds herself entangled with a shadowy gangster; frustrated baseball star Beatrice, whose career has come to an end along with the women’s baseball league of WWII; and ...

  I have become a fan of Nora Roberts in recent years, starting with her Bridal quartet books.  Her books are great to listen to as audiobooks as well.  Today, I am reviewing her book One Inheritance of the Lost Rings Series.  I loved the cover for this book!   About the Book:  “1806: Astrid Poole sits in her bridal clothes, overwhelmed with happiness. But before her marriage can be consummated, she is murdered, and the circle of gold torn from her finger. Her last words are a promise to Collin never to leave him… Graphic designer Sonya MacTavish is stunned to learn that her late father had a twin he never knew about―and that her newly discovered uncle, Collin Poole, has left her almost everything he owned, including a majestic Victorian house on the Maine coast, which the will stipulates she must live in for at least three years. Her engagement recently broken, she sets off to find out why the boys were separated at birth―and why it was all kept secre...

  The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patty Callahan came out two years ago.  This book is pure escapism!!  I would also say a beach read! Journey into a magical land!  Enjoy the ride.  About the book:  In the war-torn London of 1939, fourteen-year-old Hazel and five-year-old Flora are evacuated to a rural village to escape the horrors of the Second World War. Living with the kind Bridie Aberdeen and her teenage son, Harry, in a charming stone cottage along the River Thames, Hazel fills their days with walks and games to distract her young sister, including one that she creates for her sister and her sister alone—a fairy tale about a magical land, a secret place they can escape to that is all their own. But the unthinkable happens when young Flora suddenly vanishes while playing near the banks of the river. Shattered, Hazel blames herself for her sister’s disappearance, and she carries that guilt into adulthood as a private burden she feels she deserves. Twenty...

Welcome to the second prequel of the Hunger Games series!  “May the odds be ever in your favor.”  In this novel, we learn about Haymitch's background and his experiences in the games.  Or why is he the way he is? If you have watched or read the succeeding books, then you know what the results will be.  About the Book:  “As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes. Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves. When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begi...

  Janice Cantore is a Christian writer who shares stories that involve her experiences in the police force in Long Beach, California. She continues to write to this day.  The story that I am interested in sharing is from her novel Visible Threat.   This story is told from multiple points of view.  About the Novel:  “Officer Brinna Caruso wants perfection―perfect justice and a perfect world. She wants to save and protect all the innocents in the world, no matter the cost. Orphaned and struggling to get by, Ivana and her sister left Bulgaria for America with dreams of a better life. But since they arrived in Long Beach, everything they were promised has turned out to be a lie. After a dead girl is found in the river with a mysterious tattoo on her hip, homicide detective Jack O’Reilly asks for Brinna’s help. Unaware of the depths of evil that will be uncovered, Brinna finds herself flung into a dangerous frontier―an organized human trafficking ring.” My Thoughts:...