Jencey's Writer's Corner

Thank you to Goodreads and Penguin for give me a copy of Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner.   I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.   It was also a Goodreads First Read book. Imagine that you were separated from your sister and you might never see her again.   What questions might you have? Would they be something like where did she go?   How do I find her?   Is she still alive?   These questions not only included all siblings but a nation as English parents who sent their children away from the front of the war, in London.   Then the debilitating losses of the London Blitz struck and   permanently tore families apart.    Are you ready for the journey in Secrets ofa Charmed Life by Susan Meissner? Facebook      Twitter          Pinterest “Current day, Oxford, England. Young American scholar Kendra Van Zant, eager to pursue her vision of a p...

I hope that everyone had an enjoyable Christmas holiday!   Today we are once again turning to the beach.   It is time to get your tool belt out and help the ladies of Ten Beach road renovate another house.   This time the location is South Beach, Florida in Wendy Wax’s Ocean Beach .   Anyone say road trip? Facebook   Twitter   Instagram “When unlikely friends Madeline, Avery, and Nicole arrive in Miami’s South Beach neighborhood, they’re hoping for a do-over. Literally. They’ve been hired to bring a historic house back to its former glory on a new television show called  Do Over . If they can just get this show off the ground, Nikki could fix her finances, Avery could restart her career, and Maddie would have a shot at keeping her family together.   The women quickly realize that having their work broadcast is one thing, but having their personal lives play out on TV is another. Soon they’re struggling to hold themselves, and t...

Karen White is known for her beach books of the summer. This time the readers are given a more contemporary story line with a little history, in The Night The Lights Went Out. It is a different kind of story. It is one full of gossip, blogging, and the secrets of a small town. Synopsis: Merilee Talbot Dunlap has recently divorced her ex-husband and is ready to start her life a new in Sweet Apple Georgia.  She and her kids move into a house on Sugar Prescott’s property. Sugar has lived there forever and is not keen on starting a friendship with Merilee. Yet circumstances seem to throw them together anyway.  Her kids start school at a private school her ex-husband’s parents paid for Merilee begins a friendship with one of the mother’s Heather. She works on her committees and their daughters become friends. There is also this mysterious blog that seems to chronicle closely Merilee’s life since her divorce. It also questions her relationship with Heather. Who is this mys...

Thank you Alyson Richman  for sharing a copy of The Velvet Hours .  I look forward to reading it and sharing your novel with us.  A review from Writer’s Corner is coming soon!   I first met Alyson when her novel The Lost Wife appeared in Penguin’s Read for Pink.  Her novels are all very interesting reads.  There is always a little truth in fiction.  She writes with such vivid detail the plight of the Jews during World War two.  Let’s learn a little about The Velvet Hour .  Synopsis: From the international bestselling author of   The Lost Wife and   The Garden of Letters , comes a story—inspired by true events—of two women pursuing freedom and independence in Paris during WWII. As Paris teeters on the edge of the German occupation, a young French woman closes the door to her late grandmother’s treasure-filled apartment, unsure if she’ll ever return. An elusive courtesan, Marthe de Florian cultivated a life of ...

Thank you to Random House for a copy of The Job by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg in exchange for an honest review. When I was a young girl I remember watching the movie of the week on the major networks.  This movie would have an all-star cast much like the Marvel movies, but on the smaller screen.  When I read this novel it had the same feel.  So who would I cast in these roles? Kate O'Hare:  Scarlett Johansson Nick Fox:  Matt Bomer Jake O'Hare:  Terry O’Quinn Eddie:  Kevin Wiseman Boyd:  Bruce Campbell Tom: Scott Caan Willie: Gabriel Anwar Menendez:  Nestor Carbonell Rayna:  Merrin Dungey Synopsis: Kate is finishing a bank robbery case as her boss calls her to tell her what Nick Fox is up to next.  The call reveals that there have been robberies in Nashville Tennessee, Turkey, and France.  Nick Fox is blamed for all the thefts until France.  The FBI has an arrangement with Nick to hel...

For the first time in history three women authors have gotten together to tell a story.  This story is written one seamless story.  The Forgotten Room is one such novel.  I also know that they are working on another project. Synopsis: Olivia Van Alen is a maid in the Pratt mansion in New York.  She has taken the post to get revenge for her father’s death.  Will she be able to find the proof that she needs?  Or will she be distracted by one of the sons?  Their story remains a secret until we meet Lucy Young who takes a job with a law firm.  Her boss is a Schuyler and one of his clients is a Ravenel.  When Lucy is asked to take this client out will she find that they have more in common than she thought?  Then in the Second World War the mansion has become a hospital.  Doctor Kate Schuyler who is Lucy’s daughter makes a case for taking on an extra patient.  This patient is Cooper Ravenel.  What will they discover a...

Thank you to Penguin for a copy of How We Started by Luanne Rice. This copy was given in exchange for an honest review.  She is a new author for me.  I have become a recent fan of her work.  It is a short story that is a prequel to her to two of her other novels Silver Boat and Little Night . Synopsis: Paul and Clare meet one day in a park. She has found a bird that fell from a nest.  Paul offers to help and save it.  So begins a long friendship. Will the friendship become more? What could separate them?  Rory and Harrison have had an on and off again relationship.   Why is it important that he stay connected with Rory?  Will she learn to appreciate him or let him go?  How are the two sisters so different but yet the same? My Thoughts: I liked this short story.  It is actually two stories in one.  This novel contains an interesting story.  The writing style keeps the reader interested in finding out more...

Beatriz Williams continues the story of the Schuyler sisters in her latest novel Along the Infinite Sea .  We will also see another character from a previous novel A Hundred Summers Nick Greenwald will come back for a visit as well.  I always think of Beatriz’s novels as being engrossing.  Synopsis:  Pepper Schuyler with has restored a mercedes and she means to sell it. You see Pepper is in a delicate situation.  She got in trouble in with her job in Washington.  She needs a little cash to help her out of the sticky situation.  What about the history of the car?  The buyer Annabelle Dommerich pays handsomely to get the car back in her possession.    She also takes an interest in   Pepper.  How will Annabelle’s story help Pepper in her current situation?   What will be Pepper’s  solution? My Thoughts:  I enjoyed reading Beatriz’s latest novel.  I am looking forward to her next...

I can’t identify all the different kinds of love.  I can identify a few.  I am not blessed with the gift that Jane Williams has.  Sarah Jio in her most recent novel The Look of Love tells her story. Synopsis:  Ever since Jane was little she has seen a neurologist because of a condition which causes her to go blind temporarily. It is supposed to be a special gift that she received from a woman named Collette when she was a baby. Years later after the death of her mother she runs her mother’s flower shop.  Through her work Jane sees many different types of love and can often play confidante to those who enter the shop. Collette has said she must identify the six different kinds of love in this year or she may not find true love.  Can Jane do this and assist her friends?  Or is she doomed to spend the rest of her life single? My Thoughts:  Like always I enjoy any of Sarah Jio’s novels.  I found this one different than the rest...

The Heart of Jerusalem is the third novel in the legacy series by Brock and Bodie Thoene.   This series continues the characters you love from the Zion Chronicles and The Zion Covenant series.   This series continues to follows the history of the country of Israel. Synopsis: The fight for Israel has begun…The Hagenah soldiers have spread across Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Jaffa, and other areas.   Moshe and Dov have struck a critical blow to the Arab Legion to protect the old city where the Jews reside.    Will it be enough?   Ellie is given an assignment to cover Madame Rose for the people back in America because of her work with the immigrant Jews.   Will she be able to complete her assignment and find her husband?   Lori is a medic posted in the old city of Jerusalem helping keep the soldiers alive while her husband Jacob fights on other fronts.   Will any of it be enough to save the old city in Jerusalem? My Thoughts: I ca...

In Karen White’s remarkable novel Return to Tradd Street , a woman goes in search of clues in a neighboring house. This is the fourth novel in the Tradd Street series, but the fifth one is coming soon!   Catch up with as we share this exciting novel! Synopsis: Meet Melanie Middleton, a forty year old Realtor from Charleston who is facing two problems. She’s pregnant and something is going on behind Mr. Vanderhorst’s house. Located at 55 Tradd Street, no one has lived in that house since the day Nevin Vanderhorst died.   Melanie is doing all she can to prevent anyone from owing it. One day, she has visions of a white bonnet and gown, also a baby and cradle.   Melanie meets Irene and George Gilbert who claim to be descendants of Mr. Vanderhorst. They want to own rights to his home. Melanie doesn’t believe it at first, but the Gilberts show her a yellow bonnet as proof.    Could this bonnet be the same one in her vision?   It turns o...