Saturdays at the Café

Saturdays at the Café is a weekly feature hosted here to talk about and discuss the books I’ve discovered during the past week, added to my shelf and am excited about reading. They may be new/scheduled releases I’ve seen on NetGalley, at the library, or from publishers or they may be older titles my friends have reviewed and shared on Goodreads or blogs.

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One woman is forced to finally forgive herself–with the help of a winsome eight-year-old sidekick–for not being able to save her sister from her life-long substance abuse.
The impact of a person’s addiction on family is traumatic and all consuming. Lorna learned at an early age she would always play second fiddle to her older sister Kristen’s addiction and her problems. It has made Lorna hard and untrusting–everyone she should have been able to trust has betrayed her in some way. As an adult, she has retreated into what she thinks of as her internal bomb shelter–always waiting for the other shoe to drop. She keeps to herself, her dog her only companion, until an eight-year-old boy from across the hall befriends her dog and then her.

Bean is the only person who doesn’t seem to mind Lorna’s gruff awkwardness, and at times, he speaks truth and wisdom beyond his years. When an opportunity to buy her grandmother’s house comes up–the only place she has ever felt happy–Lorna is faced with the terms of a trust her mother left She must address the things in her life that have left her so bitter and make amends for them.

As she embarks on this journey through her life with Bean, her small Greek chorus, Lorna begins to realize that events that seemed ruined by her sister’s addiction may not have happened as she remembers. And even if they did, her chance to make amends for them is freeing her from the guilt she has felt for her sister’s troubles. She begins to accept that there is nothing she could have done to change the course of Kristen’s life, but she can change the course of her own. And maybe, her grandmother’s house is not the home she thinks it is.

Thanks to Jodie @ That Happy Reader for featuring it in her Can’t Wait Wednesday post. Scheduled for release in August, it’s a library audiobook hopeful.

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Falling into bed with my best friend’s brother was an accident.
What happened right after… not so much.
With abs more defined than the Texas Hill Country and a killer smirk I can’t ignore, the “boy next door” is all grown up and too hot for his own good.

My heart races for a man who’s forbidden.
My breath catches each time his hand brushes against mine.
His heated glances melt me, leading me closer to temptation.

One night together has us desperate for more. But we have no desire to give this small town something to talk about—or worse, upset his sister.

But when a new tyrant of a landlord threatens my family’s business, I need a miracle.

Call it a marriage of convenience or a friendly favor, but he comes through for me. The diamond ring on my finger gets me out of a jam but also has us confronting our feelings.

Did I just make a deal with the devil? Or am I actually falling in love with my fake husband?

I was thrilled to get this second book in the Peachtree Pass series for audio review.

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An emotionally scarred Navy SEAL.
Jaxon Thorne doesn’t believe in second chances. Not for someone like him. He screwed up too many times, burned too many bridges, and paid the price in prison. Now he’s at Valor Ridge, a remote Montana ranch for broken veterans, trying to keep his head down and his past buried. His only plan is to train dogs, stay sober, and survive the silence. Then he meets her–the café owner with wary eyes and a kid who looks at Jax like he’s a hero.

A single mom on the run.

Vanessa “Nessie” Harmon is doing everything she can to stay invisible. New name. New town. New life. She clawed her way out of hell for the sake of her son, and Solace, Montana, is supposed to be safe. Quiet. A place where no one asks too many questions. But when her past catches up to her, there’s only one man dangerous enough to protect them.

A second chance at redemption… if they survive long enough to take it.

Jax is not sure he’s built for this kind of fight anymore, but for Nessie, he’ll try. Because while Valor Ridge may have started as penance, he’s starting to believe it could become something more—a place to belong, a family he never knew he wanted, and a brotherhood he thought he’d never have again.

Finding His Redemption is the first book in the gritty, emotional Valor Ridge series. With protective heroes, loyal K9s, and a fierce sense of found family, this small-town romantic suspense will grab your heart and never let go.

It’s the first in a new series by one of my favorite Indie authors and a one-click buy.

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For readers of Girl A and Notes on an Execution comes a whip-smart and suspenseful story of a woman on trial for murder, as told through the eyes of the most important men in her own life.

Daughter, client, lover. Monster. Victim.

You were a sweet girl.

You were the prettiest girl I’d ever seen.

You were a bomb going off in my life.

You were a challenge.

You were the story of a lifetime.

When four wealthy and influential members are poisoned at London’s most exclusive private club, a young waitress is arrested. As her personal life and upbringing are picked over, her obsession with online conspiracy theories is exposed.

After the murder accusation, five men begin to question how well they really knew her. To each of them—her father, a reporter, her former lover, her friend, and her lawyer—she is someone entirely different. But which is the true face of Katherine Cole? And is she a killer?

The truth about who Katherine is, and what exactly she has done, lies somewhere between these five male perspectives. The searing laser of the male gaze has never been more dangerous, as Katherine’s trial grips the nation and theories and perceptions about her spiral out of control.

What follows is a chilling kaleidoscope of a thriller, both a smart courtroom drama and a frightening examination of how one woman can be so ruthlessly deconstructed by the men who know her best—and just what happens when she decides to speak out at last.

Thanks to a Bookouture email alert, I got the ebook for $.99 and added the audio edition to my Audible wishlist.

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When Walter Nash is recruited by the FBI to help bring down a global crime network his life is turned completely upside down in this thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci.
Walter Nash is a sensitive, intelligent and kindhearted man. He has a wife and a daughter and a very high-level position at Sybaritic Investments, where his innate skills and dogged tenacity have carried him to the top of the pyramid in his business career. Despite never going on grand adventures, and always working too many hours, he has a happy and upscale life with his family.

However, following his estranged Vietnam-veteran father’s funeral, Nash is unexpectedly approached by the FBI in the middle of the night. They have an important request: become their inside man to expose an enterprise that is laundering large sums of money through Sybaritic. At the top of this illegal operation is Victoria Steers, an international criminal mastermind that the FBI has been trying to bring down for years.

Nash has little choice but to accept the FBI’s demands and try to bring Steers and her partners to justice. But when Steers discovers that Nash is working with the FBI, she turns the tables on him in a way he never could have contemplated. And that forces Nash to take the ultimate step both to survive and to take his revenge: He must become the exact opposite of who he has always been.

And even that may not be enough.

I learned about this upcoming book from the author’s newsletter. Scheduled for release in November, it’s a library audiobook hopeful.

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The author of the “master class in suspense” (Shari Lapena,New York Timesbestselling author)The Chamber returns with a high-tension thriller about a family’s descent into darkness that is perfect for fans of Dennis Lehane and Lisa Jewell.
Peggy and Drew, both aspiring writers, move to an isolated canal boat with their fourteen-year-old son. Peggy is the glue that holds their family together, even as their son is bullied relentlessly for his physique and his family’s lack of money. But when Drew becomes frustrated by his wife’s sudden writing success, he moves their boat further and further from civilization.

With their increasing isolation, personal challenges become harder to ignore, even as they desperately try to break toxic generational patterns. But when Drew’s gaslighting becomes too much for Peggy to take, it sets off a catastrophic series of events.

With Will Dean’s signature “well-drawn characters and excellent prose” (Sarah Pearse, New York Times bestselling author), Adrift is gripping exploration of the ties that bind when everything spirals out of control.

Thanks to Stephanie @ Stephanie Likes Books for her review. Scheduled for release in February, it’s an audio review hopeful.

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Under the cover of turbulence, a killer strikes. With nowhere to land and nowhere to hide, who will save the passengers from this nightmare at 30,000 feet?
It’s a ticket to paradise. Flight 868 with nonstop service to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Over a dozen tipsy passengers are off to a destination wedding. A team of high school baseball players are headed to a tournament. The plane is packed with people eager to escape their lives, and others who can’t wait to return to their beloved home.

But sweet anticipation turns to terror when a lightning strike short-circuits the avionics and plunges the plane into darkness. When the lights come back on, a passenger is found brutally murdered, with only a bewildered air marshal to solve the crime. He soon realizes that several passengers are harboring dark secrets, but the identity of the murderer eludes him. There’s only one certainty: the killer is on the plane.

Thousands of feet above the earth with thunderstorms closing in, the danger outside is as grave as the mounting threat within. Can the captain outrun the storm? Or will the murderer among them bring the plane down first?

Passion, betrayal, and murder collide in this high-stakes, locked-room mystery. A must-listen for fans of T.J. Newman and Jeneva Rose.

I love these kind of stories so thanks again to Stephanie @ Stephanie Likes to Read for featuring it in her First Look post. Scheduled for release in February, it’s an audio review hopeful.

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What books did YOU add to your shelves this week?