Tag Archive: contemporary



The Lost ApothecaryThe Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I ran out of things to read at two in the morning. Under available audiobooks, I found this one.

This is a layered story; three different characters share their truths around the Lost Apothecary. Lorna Bennett, Lauren Anthony, and Lauren Irwin narrate the people, giving the story depth I think might be missing in a book read by eyes.

It was a quick read. I must admit that it made me want to do research like the main character. Any time I am supposed to be writing, I find myself going down deep wells of information. Most of it never makes it into the book, but I feel it enriches my soul and mind.

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The Housemaid's SecretThe Housemaid’s Secret by Freida McFadden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love a series. Especially if I can get to a couple of the books at a time, this one was available when I found the first book. Yep, Libby.

Lauryn Allman did the narration as she did on the first book, so there was consistency in the story.

I found some parts of this one confusing. Maybe if you can read the book, it would be more apparent, but listening can lose threads. Or is it my ADHD? Still, by the end, I knew what was what. And the story continues.

Sadly, I can’t continue as the next two books weren’t available.

At least the book didn’t end on a cliffhanger.

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Gone Before Goodbye by Reese Witherspoon

Well, I hope this is made into a movie. This was suspenseful, thrilling, and intriguing! It had a star-studded cast of narrators, including Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Kiff VandenHeuvel, Suehyla El-Attar Young, Peter Ganim, Saskia Maarleveld, and James Fouhey. So not only did Ms. Witherspoon write this, but she also narrated it.

The characters were believable, flawed, and hopeful.

The book kept me interested long past a decent bedtime. I had to know what was going to happen.

I highly recommend this book. Libby provided my version. Thank you!


This was my favorite of the Memory House series. The series doesn’t have so many characters in common. Instead, there are threads of common ground. People meeting and supporting others. This book started sadly, but stick with it as magic will happen. Common sense and caring. Those are the silver threads. I don’t think that was a spoiler. Just the gift of these books.

This book was the last of the series, and it, too, was a Kindle Unlimited. These are short books that took only a couple of nights to read. I think you’ll like them. A nice escape from the stress of life right now.


Baby Girl (Memory House, #4)Baby Girl by Bette Lee Crosby

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the book that was at the bottom (oldest) of my TBR shelf. Because it is book 4 in the series, I went back to read the first 3 so I wouldn’t be lost. So really, I added 4 books to read one. And truth be known, any of these books could be read alone and still be interesting. There are other characters mentioned from other of Ms. Crosby’s works, but the names fall by the wayside. It reminds me of real life. When you meet someone new, they will mention other people in their associates. You don’t have to know them. Just stay open to get to know the person presented. Did that make sense?

I thought this would be one of my favorites. In fact, this is my least liked of the books. I didn’t like the main character much. But I stuck with it, and by the end, I think I understood her better. I was glad to move on to the next book. And to finally have freed space on the TBR. Which quickly got filled back up.

By the way, this is listed as Kindle Unlimited, if that helps you decide. And it is text-to-speech enabled. Enjoy.

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What the Heart Remembers (Memory House, #3)What the Heart Remembers by Bette Lee Crosby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There are always new people to greet. We met Max in the Loft. This story follows her as she tries to determine whether her dreams are worth pursuing.

I don’t like romance. But I love books about people finding their way. This book includes a little romance, but stick with it. There is more to the story.

This might have been the shortest of the Memory House books, as I got through it very quickly.

Once again, Bette Lee Crosby writes an engaging story. Text-to-speech helps me. This was on Kindle Unlimited.

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The Loft (Memory House, #2)The Loft by Bette Lee Crosby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a nice series. Though there is a bit of romance, what I like about each one is getting to know other people, characters, and philosophies, as well as the magic of life. They help us see how family grows, even those not blood-related.

After meeting the main characters in the first book, Memory House, we now watch their relationships grow or diminish. Life does as life does, boringly predictable with occasional accidents. And the characters live.

Bette Lee Crosby can tell a story. She keeps the reader involved in her world.

This copy was a Kindle Unlimited using text-to-speech. It was so good I had to pick up the next to get my Memory House fix.

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Memory House (Memory House, #1)Memory House

by Bette Lee Crosby

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is my second reading of this book. I stand by my first review. Except I have since read so many books by Bette Lee Crosby, so I felt more at home as I read it. I had the fourth and fifth books of this series on my TBR shelf. So I decided I should start it again, so I wouldn’t be lost. I did enjoy this and raised the star rating because of it. I love the friendships developed here and the curiosities of the histories of things and people in life. We should all follow these nudges of wanting to know more. By the way, I read this through Kindle text-to-speech.
~~~

I was given this book by the author for an honest review.

I usually like Bette Lee Crosby’s stories. This one was no different. I liked the story. I liked the characters. I liked watching the main character grow into a better life than the one she had before.

Does this feel like it is leading somewhere? Well, it is. After getting to know the not-so-good current flame and watching it fade out, I was looking forward to getting to know the bicycle rider and the new flame. The book seems to assume that you remember these characters from other books. Um… no. I think the story would have done better had that assumption not ruled the day. It all seemed to end far too abruptly. For all the buildup to the magick the memory house contains, it just fizzled and left me wanting to throw the book away. I don’t feel that way often. But I just felt cheated.

Still, outside of the literary crash landing at the end, I liked the book. Maybe folks who don’t read 150 books a year would remember more characters from other books by the same author. I have trouble remembering my own name, so…

Anyway, there seem to be a lot of 5-star ratings, so maybe you would love it, too. Enjoy.

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A Spark of LightA Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the way of Jodi Picoult, this book hits many buttons yet tries to show more complex characters on both sides of the issue. And in this, she finds more than just two sides; there are variations on all sides, showing how difficult a theme she is covering.

The characters come to life. As in real life, there is good and bad in everyone. Good people making bad decisions, bad people doing good deeds. Making this more realistic than any book I’ve read on the subject.

The only thing I didn’t like about the book is the reverse timeline. It is even more confusing when an audiobook. Especially if you have technical issues with streaming or Audible. I think I understand why. If you place this story in a real timeline, there is no good outcome.

I was lucky to find this on Libby. By the way, Bahni Turpin and Jodi Picoult narrated seamlessly.

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By Any Other NameBy Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Billie Fulford-Brown (Narrator), Laura Benanti (Narrator), Jodi Picoult (Narrator, Author), Jayne Entwistle (Narrator), Andrew Fallaize (Narrator), Joe Jameson (Narrator), John Lee (Narrator), Nicholas Guy Smith (Narrator), Simon Vance (Narrator), Steve West (Narrator),

With this cast of narrators and the beautiful writing and research of Jodi Picoult, I found this book so fascinating that I just bought the Audible version so I can read it again soon.

If you think you know Shakespeare, this gives a possible theory, with convincing evidence of what might have happened.

This is a historic work and a modern work featuring the female condition of the ages.

I highly recommend this book. This audiobook was borrowed from Libby.

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