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.

A searing new novel from the USA Today bestselling author of Such a Bad Influence , about a young woman whose life is upended when a journalist uncovers her hidden past as the daughter of an insidious cult leader.

From the outside, Catharine West’s childhood sounds idyllic—balmy days spent running barefoot through the gardens, plucking ripe tomatoes straight from the vine as sunlight warmed her skin. Her parents built a life that was simple and community-focused, an ethos that soon attracted others in need of a change. For a time, Catharine’s magnetic father was enough to keep the farm thriving, and temptation outside its gates. But as she grew older, the farm and family she was raised to love faded into something darker, forcing Catharine to evolve with it.

​It’s now been a decade since Catharine abandoned the farm and has done her best to reinvent her life, until an email from a charismatic journalist interrupts her peace. Her first instinct is to ignore the stranger’s prying questions—whether she knew about a mysterious “cult” in central Florida, whether she is the same “Catharine-with-an-A” who lived there for a time. But when she realizes the journalist knows far more than he’s letting on, she reconsiders. If Catharine can stay one step ahead of him, she may be able to find the one thing she never wanted to leave behind—her sister, Linna—and make sure her own secrets remain buried too.

Sharp-eyed and sweltering, Little One masterfully captures the dread of facing your deepest desires, when the hunger to become your best self threatens to drown out everything else. An achingly astute look at modern womanhood and wellness culture, it tackles the enduring How far would you go to be good?

Thanks to Larry @ Get Booked With Larry for his wonderful review. I accepted this for audio review.

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Dear Reader, My name is Isabelle Louisa Edgewood—Izzy, for short. I live by blue-tinted mountains, where I find contentment in fresh air and books. Oh, and coffee and tea, of course. And occasionally in being accosted by the love of my family. (You’ll understand my verb choice in the phrase later.) I dream of opening my own bookstore, but my life, particularly my romantic history, has not been the stuff of fairy tales. Which is probably why my pregnant, misled, matchmaking cousin—who, really, is more like my sister—signed me up for an online dating community.

The trouble is . . . it worked. I’ve met my book-quoting Mr. Right, and our correspondence has been almost too good to be true. But Brodie lives across an ocean. And just the other day, a perfectly nice author and professor named Eli came into the library where I work and asked me out for a coffee. I feel a rom-com movie with a foreboding disaster nipping at my heels.

But I’ve played it safe for a long time. Maybe it’s time for me to be as brave as my favorite literary heroines. Maybe it’s time to take the adventures from the page to real life. Wish me luck.

Authentically,

Izzy

I added this thanks to the great review by Carla @ Carla Loves to Read. It was on sale at Libro.fm for less than $3. 

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A fast-paced psychological thriller with several twists

A best-selling author. A mother. A murderer…

Mackenzie Casper is a brilliant student. But she is best known for her mother, a best-selling author whose dark, twisted thrillers have a dedicated worldwide fanbase.

When her mother dies in an accident, fans across the world are left grieving, and the investigators are Was that really an accident?

The day of the memorial service, Mackenzie gets the first mysterious envelope, signed,
From #1 fan. XOXO.

Inside are the pages of her mother’s diary that start with the
Want to know a secret?
Love, Mom.

What Mackenzie reads leaves her in shock.
Then comes the second letter.
And the third…

Mackenzie starts her own investigation and stumbles upon secrets that her family has lived with for years.
Quickly, she realizes that her mother’s path to stardom was etched with sinister lies that might have caught up with her.

Sometimes fame is worth a murder. Or worse.
Soon, Mackenzie will come to find out that there are worse things than murder…

Several friends strongly recommended this some time ago so when I got the kindle book for $.99, I added the Audible edition for less than $5.

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From the international bestselling author of PACK UP THE MOON and OUT OF THE CLEAR BLUE SKY…

Winnie Smith was never supposed to be that woman. She’s the responsible sister, the behind-the-scenes event planner, the one who avoids drama at all costs. So how did she end up publicly branded as the other woman—and promptly canceled by the Mommy Mafia of Cape Cod? One disastrous relationship, a missing background detail, and suddenly Winnie’s quiet life is in shambles.

Enter Lorenzo Santini, the world-renowned surgeon, feared and revered by colleagues, with zero patience for incompetence and life’s ordinary tasks. Known to hospital staff as Dr. Satan, Lorenzo needs a personal assistant—and Winnie needs a fresh start. It’s strictly business…until it isn’t.

As Winnie manages Lorenzo’s demanding schedule and carefully guarded life, she discovers there’s more beneath his intimidating exterior than arrogance and ambition. And Lorenzo begins to see that Winnie is anything but invisible.

Once in a blue moon, two people who seem to have nothing in common could turn out to be perfect for each other after all.

I learned of this from an email alert from Fantastic Fiction. It’s an audio review hopeful.

He’s the last man she ever wanted to see again—or get snowed in with. It’s going to be a rocky reunion in this bittersweet romantic comedy by a New York Times bestselling author.

For Lily, falling in love with her childhood friend Walker was the easiest thing to do back in high school. His sudden rejection was unforgettably crushing. Seven years later, their families have conspired to bring them back together at a cabin in the Rockies when a sudden snowstorm traps them overnight with no power. Thanks to a cozy fire, a prowling bear, and a little forced time in an open-air gondola, they confront their unresolved feelings—and a past more complicated than Lily knows.

What a surprise! I accepted this for audio review.

What books did YOU add to your shelves this week?