Novelas Romanticas Gratis

  To order, click here   This delightful mystery has been getting all the buzz lately, and I couldn't wait to read it.  Molly Gray is a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel, and she takes her job very, very seriously. She will not leave a hotel room less than perfect for a hotel guest. Her tag line: "I am here to restore your room to a state of perfection".  Molly is a character that is certainly memorable. She has trouble reading social cues and takes everything people say literally. She's painfully honest, too. Sadly, she's a loner amongst the hotel employees, and of course they make fun of her. Yet she is the sweetest, most honest person around.  One day, Molly returns to the hotel suite of the Blacks, a rich couple who frequent the hotel. Molly doesn't care for Mr. Black, as he's rude, crude, and treats his young second wife badly. He's been known to be mean to hotel staff, too. Molly had already been in the suite once that morning, but had to leave bef...

  To order from Amazon click here   I'll admit sometimes I stubbornly refuse to read an author right out of the gate--mostly because there's so much praise about the novels that I have to take a step back and not rush to jump on the bandwagon. I don't want to read something just because everyone else is--I'd rather come around in my own time.  So, I ordered Malibu Rising from BOTM and decided to give it whirl. I was looking to read something very different after reading my Christmas novels in December. This fit the bill! Yeah, I loved it. I don't know if it was the setting: Malibu in the early 1980's; or the characters, or reading a novel set by the Pacific Ocean in the warm California sun. All of it combined to create a read that I simply couldn't put down.  So, the Riva family: Nina, Jay, Hud, and Kit. Children of singer Mick Riva (I kept picturing Dean Martin), who was a famous crooner in the 1950's, all the way up to the early 1980's. He ...

  To purchase from Amazon, click here   There's nothing I like better than to recommend books to people. It's no surprise, then, that this novel gave me all the feels and a lot of sighing over my "if I could do it all over again" wish to own a bookstore in a small town.  Nora and Simon operate a small bookstore in the village of Stowford, England. Nora inherited the shop from her mother, and they've been a cornerstone of the village for thirty years.  Unfortunately, unpaid taxes and a slowdown in sales has meant Nora is keeping some important news from Simon: they are in danger of losing the shop if payments aren't brought up to date by the end of the year.  Simon is oblivious to the financial pickle they're in because Nora is worried about his heart (he had a minor heart episode previously) and won't let him help much in the shop.  An elderly man stops in and purchases a special book--it's the one book that has gone unsold in the shop for thirty...

  To purchase from Amazon click here Ooh, I couldn't wait to dive into the sequel to The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux  (click on the title to see my review from 2020).  I would definitely recommend reading the first novel before grabbing this in order to just dive right into the world of Sophie and the magical Chateau de Champvert.  Sophie has inherited the chateau from her grandmother, a celebrated chef who turned the chateau into a renowned place to stay and dine. Now Sophie is the Grand Chef and life looks to be pretty wonderful for her: she's rich, talented, beautiful, and happily engaged to her childhood sweetheart Remi.  Sophie is unsettled, though. Having all of this handed to her has left her feeling overwhelmed and not worthy. She's also still determined to get her Michelin star. After all, she was blamed for her previous restaurant's loss of a Michelin star. That blame was misplaced, but it still cost her her reputation and ca...

*Warning: this memoir discusses anorexia, bulimia and a miscarriage To Purchase from Amazon, c   It's only fitting I read a food memoir in the month of Thanksgiving, which is all about the food. I want to have a special appetizer on Thanksgiving and I haven't figured out just what it will be. I will say, however, this memoir gave me some inspiration, and my appetizer will definitely have a cheese component to it!  Hannah Howard is a food writer and has a varied background in all things food: waitressing, working at a cheese shop, traveling and writing about food, and supporting local restaurants in New York City.  Hannah has also suffered from anorexia and bulimia and her relationship with food is definitely unusual. How do you pick food as a career when it is the one thing that drives you to constantly count calories, skip meals, and gorge yourself? The restaurant & food industry is male dominated, and Hannah decided it was time to start seeking out those w...

  This book came out of nowhere thanks to an invite to read and review it (thank you Dutton/Penguin/Random House).  I just got back from vacation and found it in a pile of books while I was unpacking and immediately started reading it. I'm not exaggerating when I say I couldn't put it down. I spent quite a bit of Sunday on the couch reading this historical novel that bounced between 1920's New York ad 1945 San Francisco.  Ellie Morgan is a secretary at the San Francisco Chronicle and has recently become engaged to a handsome officer stationed in San Francisco as World War 2 rages on. She chafes against societal rules that keep her career limited to housewife or secretary--when all she wants to do is write for the newspaper and wear trousers like Katherine Hepburn.  However this all falls to the wayside with a telegram stating that her father, a pilot, is missing and presumed dead over the Adriatic Sea near Italy in December, 1944. Devastated, she refus...

  There aren't many series that I start and read all the way through to the last book. However, The Tradd Street Series by Karen White is one that I have loved from the first novel published in 2008: The House on Tradd Street.  I was so excited to read this novel I purposely bought a backpack purse large enough to fit a hardcover and took it on the plane with me when I went on vacation last week. I promptly buckled myself into my seat, opened my book, and read for the next three hours of my flight.  So, no, do not start with this book if you've never read the series. This really is a series that needs to be read in order so you aren't confused because BIG things happen over the course of the series. So, for a quick recap: Melanie is a realtor selling historical homes in her hometown of Charleston. She's called to a home on Tradd Street to talk to the owner about listing it. However, the owner has something else in mind, and dies, leaving the home to Melanie...

  The Montoya family is an interesting group of people; their matriarch Orquidea Divina is especially interesting and different. She's quite magical, too. Appearing in Four Winds decades before as a very young woman, she created an oasis out of nothing, leaving the townspeople to whisper about her and send the sheriff out on occasion to try to get her to leave.  However, Orquidea stayed. She never left her little oasis, where food was always plentiful, the weather was beautiful, and there was a definite other-worldliness about it.  Now Orquidea is calling her children and grandchildren back to Four Winds because she is dying and it's time to leave each of them an inheritance. When her family arrives, they are shocked to see Orquidea is not only dying, but is slowly transforming into a tree. Questions abound! Now it's seven years later, and two of her grandchildren and one great-grandchild have gifts that are definitely odd: Rey, Marimar, and Rhian...

  Not going to lie. It hurt my heart a bit to finish this book. I, along with a whole lot of other readers, don't want to say goodbye to the Owens family. I was dragging my feet finishing this novel simply because I love this series so much. I guess you could call it a series, spread over 25 years. Alice Hoffman didn't expect to write more than the first novel, Practical Magic . That novel (I still have my original paperback) introduced me to Alice Hoffman and I've been a fan since.  However, fans kept asking for more about the Owens family, so Alice wrote three more books. But now it's time to say goodbye.  It took me a few chapters to remember the family tree, but heck my eyes were leaking not far into the story. Dang it! This novel centers around Fanny and Jet, and nieces Sally and Gillian. It also brings back brother Vincent, and two more Owens women, Kylie and Antonia, the two daughters of Sally.  Reading Magic Lessons will set you up for th...

  This book wasn't on my TBR list at all, but as I was cataloging at my library it came across my desk and I thought it looked like a good domestic thriller and a quick read. Boom! Perfect summer read. This novel takes place in Portugal and involves five friends: Jack and Rachel, Noah and Paige, and Will. Jack and Will are brothers, and they are all gathered to celebrate the wedding of Will and Ali--who really irritates the hell out of everyone but Will. She's bubbly, wears clothing that really accentuates her curves, and is an attention seeker. Will's gaga over her, but no one else really cares for her. Especially Jack. He appears to loathe her--but you're just not sure why.  The story is told from Rachel's point of view. She's happily married to Jack, and they have a 19 year old son. Rachel and Noah were college friends--and secretly slept together just once, confessing their love for each other. It ended with Noah begging Rachel to leave her then new relation...

  Last year's Big Summer was the first Jennifer Weiner book I'd read and I enjoyed it very much. That Summer has completely different characters, but Cape Cod plays a big role in this novel, too.  Diana Scalzi is fifteen years old and has the world ahead of her the summer she spends on Cape Cod, nannying for her mom's friend Dr. Levy. She even meets a boy named Poe who just graduated from Emlen, a private boy's school that is the place to send the sons of the wealthy and powerful. They spend time on the beaches, getting to know one another. Diana is smitten, and believes Poe is, too.  Until one night, at the end of the summer, when Poe gets her drunk, and rapes her. It changes Diana forever. Revenge comes back years later, just when she thinks she's able to let go and move on. However, Diana finds out revenge isn't that easy. Diana "Daisy" Shoemaker is married to Hal, an older, handsome lawyer. Their daughter Beatrice is a teenager who recently was kic...

  Click here to order from Amazon This was a fun, quick read. Jo Thomas is an English author who reminds me of Katie Fforde novels--contemporary women's fiction with a dash of romance and usually featuring a woman in her 30's-40's. This novel takes place in Sicily, Italy and involves lemons--which I adore so much. I love everything lemon. Lennie and Zelda are friends who have come to the conclusion that life in England is not going to get better. Neither of them are happy with their humdrum lives. Lennie tells Zelda about an opportunity to move to Italy and live in a small town where they will pay for you to stay and help grow the community. Sounds like a win-win, right? And that pesky part about not finding love?  Lennie and Zelda made a pact years ago that if they reached age forty without finding true love, they would get married. What could possibly go wrong with marrying your best friend? Off they go to Italy, and meet a few other people who have also taken the ...

  Click here to purchase from Amazon I spotted this novel a few months ago as I was ordering books for my library and thought "Hmmm" this may be an interesting read.  I was correct.  I will confess to drinking a glass of wine Friday night as I was reading the last 50 pages, but it wasn't a rose. I kid you not, if you're not a wine drinker, this novel will certainly tempt you to try a few. If you are a wine drinker, just settle back, pop the cork, and pour yourself a glass while you enjoy this novel about a family winery, 80's glam novels, and cheese. Yes, cheese. You'll want some cheese and crackers, too.  The Hollander Estates Winery has been a hot spot for parties, day trips, and a big tourist attraction on the North Fork of Long Island for decades. What were once potato fields is now a gorgeous winery, complete with an equally gorgeous home to the Hollander duo of Leonard and Vivian. Newly married, the couple created the winery through years of...

Click here to purchase     Oh, I've been in a bit of a reading slump the past few weeks. I have oodles of books here at home, but I just can't seem to sit still long enough to make a dent in any of them. So frustrating!  I picked this novel from June's BOTM choices because it looked fun. You know sometimes you get in a slump and keep reading the same type of book over and over, and you just don't realize it. Well, that was me. Reading Last Summer at the Golden Hotel kicked me out of my routine and it was the perfect summer book for me.  Nostalgia is HUGE in this novel about two families: the Goldmans and the Weingolds. Benny and Louise Goldman, and Amos and Fanny Weingold owned the famous Golden Hotel in the Catskills of New York State. For sixty years, it was a classic summer getaway for Jewish families living in the big city. A week or two spent at the Golden Hotel meant plenty of time for swimming, dancing, endless food, class A entertainm...

Click here to purchase from Amazon I had to start my summer reading in May when I purchased this novel and couldn't be disciplined enough to wait for June.  I've read a number of Wendy Wax novels and am never disappointed. Her latest, The Break-Up Book Club was the perfect read to finish up on a holiday weekend and darn it all, gave me a few book recommendations, too.  There are quite a few characters telling their stories in alternating chapters: Jazmine, Judith, Erin, and Sara are the main characters. There's also Dorothy and Meena, and Annell.  It may seem like a lot of characters to keep straight, but it's really pretty easy. Annell owns the Between the Covers bookstore where their monthly book club meets. It sounds like a dream place (for me, it certainly is!) and the book club sounds pretty wonderful, too. It is the landing space for all of these women who live around Atlanta, Georgia and at first don't have much in common except this book shop a...

  Click here to order from Amazon I've got mixed feelings about Libertie. I was excited to read it and was looking for a good historical novel. It delivered in some ways, and fell flat in others.  Libertie is about a young woman who is the daughter of a light skinned female doctor living near New York City in the mid-late 19th century. Libertie's mother often passes for white, but Libertie, on the other hand, is very dark-so much so that people comment on her skin often. Her mother's deepest wish is to have Libertie become a doctor and join in her practice. Libertie, for a long time, also believes in this dream, but as she grows older, her enthusiasm fades.  Libertie witnesses her mother bring a man back to life after he's escape slavery by being drugged and put in a coffin. That episode leaves Ben Daisy mentally fragile, as does his inability to come to peace with his escape from slavery.  Libertie sees first hand her mother's attempts to cure Ben--a...

  Click here to Order from Amazon I'll admit I'm a little bit obsessed with Erin French and The Lost Kitchen. I first saw the show streaming on Discovery Plus but didn't pay any attention to it; then somehow I read a review of it and decided it might be worth checking out.  Well I checked out the show, alright, and binged watched all eight episodes over a few weekends (yes, that is binge-watching in my world). I was captivated by Erin's Lost Kitchen and her life in Maine. So of course I quickly found out she had a memoir coming out in April, and I checked it out of the library.  This woman has been through some stuff. BIG stuff. She's a prime example of what a parent does or does not do sticking with their child through adulthood. A father who showed no affection, no support. A mother whom she loved (and still does!), but who didn't stand up to her husband. Those two examples in her childhood lead her down a really dark path as a young woman, and it took a ...

  This novel has my vote for the most gorgeous cover of 2021. I can't stop staring at it!  The Lost Apothecary    was one of the books I've most eagerly awaited this year, and it didn't disappoint. It moves back and forth between 1791 and present day London, and I found both settings equally interesting.  Caroline Parcewell has arrived in London alone-on what was supposed to be a tenth wedding anniversary trip with her husband James. Instead, she fled Ohio after finding out James was having an affair. Heartbroken and disillusioned, Caroline decides to come to London herself, to have time to think. Her first day there, she takes a last minute mud-larking trip to the Thames River, and finds a small glass bottle with an intriguing bear mark on it.  Mud larking, by the way, is when people actually walk along the banks of the River Thames and search the mud for artifacts the river has left ashore. People have been doing this for centuries (some made their livin...

  I first read about the real-life mystery of Agatha Christie's disappearance in 1926 a few years ago and was fascinated by it. What intrigued me the most is that no one, to this day, knows what exactly happened, and why she disappeared for eleven days in December, 1926. This lead to a wave of news media and police searching for her, fearing the worst. And yet after eleven days, she's found staying at a hotel near London, under an assumed name.  Agatha Christie never explained her disappearance--never talked about it for the rest of her life. Instead, she went on to become the most popular author of all time, writing mysteries that defined the genre and made her so famous she still steadily sells books and has movies based on her works produced 100 years later. Amazing.  Marie Benedict was also intrigued by this real-life mystery and decided to craft a novel around it, with a possible explanation as to the "why" of it. It's an interesting take on ...

  In my quest to read holiday novels, I picked up Christmas at the Restaurant at my library a week ago. As I started to read it, I realized I had The Restaurant sitting on my bookcase. I had picked it up a few months ago and never got around to reading it. So...I had to read it first before I read the follow up Christmas novel. You're getting two reviews in one post today, Christmas Eve.  This was a quick read, and I'd recommend Pamela Kelley's novels to anyone who likes a gentle read with likable characters and a uncomplicated plot. That is not to say this was a dull book at all! As a matter of fact, it felt like a good visit with friends I hadn't seen in awhile. Three sisters: Emma, Mandy, and Jill, all have busy lives. Mandy lives in Nantucket with her husband and kids; Jill leads a busy life in corporate Manhattan, and Emma lives in Arizona with her professor husband. Their beloved  grandmother passes away, and leaves them a surprise: they, along with Chef P...