Home No Matter Where

Great Summer Read!

Third in a Series

Learn more about the author at this website:

https://www.nancynaigle.com/contact/about

One late spring day I requested an advance reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley. I was dreaming of the arrival of summer and joy filled days enjoying walks outside. This title and the book’s description caught my eye. I have to say upfront, this author is brand new to me. I’m not sure how I missed her books. Her deep portfolio of successful novels spans more than a decade.

At the start, my jaded, cynical brain rejected the character Fisher. I decided he was just too good to be true. His budding relationship with Nina was moving way too fast for my comfort zone. Plus she was mired in solving relationship issues with her ex-husband and disgruntled teenage daughter. But something changed when Fisher showed his driftwood sculptures to Nina and her daughter Kendra. From that point forward I was rooting for Nina, Kendra, and Fisher to find a path forward.

This book is the third book in The Shell Collector series. There are a few character references and plot points that are hard to understand if you are unfamiliar with the previous books. The pace of the dialogue is satisfying and the multi-generational characters added a good dimension to the plot. Some of the proverbs or axioms that studded the prose didn’t land positively with me because they seemed to be so frequent. Whether it was older characters advising Fisher about relationships, his musings about storms and peace, or the analogies comparing the sea and life; in total I found their appearance just a tad too frequent. It’s just these two points about needing to be familiar with the series to know all the characters and the plethora of wise sayings and sea analogies that hold me back from giving the book a five star review.

The conclusion is very strong and satisfying. I would definitely read another book by this author. One of the most positive points in the book is the transformation of the mother and daughter relationship. Oh and it was just wonderful to read about Kendra’s experiences helping at the shelter for the retired military service dogs. Thank you to NetGalley for supplying me with the copy in exchange for my honest review.

On Moonberry Lake

On Moonberry Lake
By Holly Varni / Revell

We’ve all seen those signs, “Life is Better at the Lake!”. Holly Varni’s novel proves the truth in this statement. Her novel On Moonberry Lake is chock-full of characters to love and plots you fall for hook, line, and sinker. From beginning to end, readers are treated to equal parts of heartwarming sentiment and comedy.

The book opens with a spotlight on broken relationships experienced by the main character Cora Matthews. She attends her mom’s funeral and can only think about how the words, distant and estranged, perfectly describe their relationship. Two weeks before the funeral, she cancels her wedding plans and breaks her engagement. When she makes the trip back to her childhood hometown she feels the weight of being alone and untethered to anyone and any place. She never dreamed she would be back at Moonberry Lake where she spent carefree days living in her grandparents’ lakeside lodge. A lodge she and her mother left decades ago due to a family dispute that remained unanswered all the years they lived away. Cora learns at the funeral that she has inherited the lodge. It’s a structure that suffers from neglect, but can be a temporary home for Cora while she starts to find a new path forward.

Cora indeed finds a full life lakeside made up of quirky but loyal new friends. She and two other characters work hard to repair the lodge and bring it back to life. The characters, Cora meets while carrying out her daily tasks can only be described as one-of-a-kind. Trust me when I say, you’ll be hard pressed to pick a favorite. From the bossy checkout clerk at the local store to the math genius who suffers from agoraphobia, each one is revealed to be a beautiful soul. There’s romance in the story too and what a love story it is. Finally Cora is able to invest in someone and build connections with her new community. She is naturally apprehensive but she listens to the wise counsel of her new neighbor Kitty when she says, “Happiness is yours for the taking. Sometimes you just have to do things scared and see how they work out.”

On Moonberry Lake is pure book joy. Pick up a copy and enjoy this delightful story. I received a complimentary copy from the publisher Revell in exchange for my honest review. #OnMoonberryLake!

Sparkle of Silver

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A Sparkle of Silver #1

By Liz Johnson

A Sparkle of Silver delivers as expected. Author Liz Johnson gives us Book #1 in the Georgia Coast Romance series. You’ll be drawn into a dual timeline romance complete with mystery, laugh out loud fun, and characters that prove to be overcomers through clever reasoning and persistence. Added to all this is a fantastic setting for both plotlines. The Chateau Dawkins, a Gilded Age Mansion, boasts lavish interiors, rooms galore, manicured gardens, and secret passageways. You will follow the rich and famous through social engagements and clandestine rendezvous. At first, the present day characters seem very dissimilar. Ben Thornton is an adjunct history professor, on his own, with no memories of a stable family network. Then there’s Milly Sullivan, who is devoted to the grandparents who raised her on their Georgia farm. Her current goal in life is to provide for her aging Grandma Joy, who suffers from dementia. The Chateau and a treasure hunt bring them together. Ben and Milly push on, knowing the treasure’s discovery would reverse their dismal financial situations and solve a family mystery. At one key point in the story, Ben’s internal dialogue reveals one truth Christians ought to ask themselves. He asks, “Why hadn’t he spent every day since he’d met Milly asking God for direction and clarity and wisdom?” He regrets that he went headlong down the road on a unconventional endeavor without consulting God first. Instead, he did it his own way and hoped God would look favorably on his actions after the fact.

Liz Johnson’s prose is crisp and the dialogue has great momentum. Along the way you’ll meet a cast of endearing supporting characters, some helpful and others villainous.
I was supplied with a complimentary copy of this book from Baker House Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review. Readers of Liz Johnson are likely to also enjoy books by Melissa Tagg and Denise Hunter.