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.
An abduction in Beverly Hills reveals a dark underbelly of wealth, privilege, and secrets in a propulsive and twisting novel of suspense by New York Times bestselling author A. R. Torre.In the mansions of Beverly Hills, perfection is a full-time job. But on one Sunday afternoon, at the most-anticipated birthday party of the year, four children are taken—and for their four families, perfection begins to fall apart.
As the hours tick by and the investigation deepens, polished exteriors start to crack. Marriages fracture under pressure. Secrets buried deep crawl into the light. Each family responds differently to the unthinkable—some with grief, some with rage, and some with a desperation that raises more questions than it answers. Because when your child is missing, there is nowhere left to hide.
Not from the detectives. Not from the cameras. And not from each other.
But the families aren’t the only ones with something to conceal. The nannies—with their pasts, their loyalties, and their quiet desperation—are just as fractured as the families they serve. And as the detectives dig deeper, it becomes clear that understanding what happened means understanding the women everyone else chose to overlook.
Thanks to Yvo @ It’s All About Books for featuring this in her Stacking the Shelves post. Scheduled for release in February, it’s an audio review hopeful.
She only meant to drop off a letter. She found a family instead.
Gabby Donaldson’s late mother left her with one final deliver a letter to her estranged mother. Once Gabby fulfills her mom’s deathbed promise, she’ll leave behind the grandmother she never knew and return to her carefully constructed life in the city. With a fulfilling career as a jewelry designer, she’s convinced she doesn’t need roots to feel whole.
But locating Rosemary proves more complicated than expected. And when journalist–and single dad–Mason Morrison offers help in exchange for telling her story, Gabby agrees. The arrangement seems simple he gets the human-interest piece that could be his big break, and she gets to fulfill her mother’s final wish.
What neither anticipates is how quickly professional boundaries blur. As Gabby is drawn into Mason’s world–and the life he’s built with his precocious twelve-year-old daughter–Gibson begins to feel less like a stopover and more like home.
Yet the past has a way of complicating the present. If Gabby uncovers the truth about her family, will it free her to move forward–or make leaving impossible? And when the story is finally written, will she return to the life she planned . . . or risk falling into one she never saw coming?
I received this for audio review.
A juicy, high-stakes thriller about a dysfunctional family vying for money and power aboard a luxury yacht in the Mediterranean—until a dead body is found.The Amalfi Coast is a dazzling backdrop for the day Rebecca Turner marries Preston Wexley, a groom who isn’t just handsome but also the heir apparent to the Wexley billion-dollar empire. Though the wealth and glamour are seductive, Rebecca is bracing herself for the sharp edges of Preston’s relatives—especially when their honeymoon, meant to be a romantic respite, turns into a full-blown family affair aboard a mega yacht, where the Wexleys gather in all their dysfunctional glory.
• Savannah, the steely matriarch, rules the family with an iron will, orchestrating the corporate succession while keeping her ex-husband and his pregnant trophy wife at arm’s length.
• Preston, the golden child, is desperate to secure his birthright, while his emotionally stunted older brother Brad scrambles for attention alongside his influencer girlfriend, who’s busy documenting the drama.
• Jacqueline, Preston’s ex-fiancée and a top executive at the Wexley enterprise, stirs the pot further as she plots her own rise.
• And then there’s Rebecca, the poised outsider, whose enigmatic past threatens to unravel the moment an unexpected guest arrives.
When a deckhand discovers a dead body, all the passengers are trapped on board the yacht as the Italian police launch an investigation. With everyone harboring secrets and selfish motivations, ambition and betrayal strain the fragile binds holding the group together revealing that when power and privilege collide, even family isn’t safe.
Thanks to Stephanie @ Stephanie Likes Books for featuring this in her book mail post. Scheduled for release in March, it’s an audio review hopeful.
To stop the corruption in her small town and avenge the victims, a therapist turns vigilante in a shocking novel of psychological suspense by the bestselling author of Jane Doe.
Melody Stanford prides herself on being a good person. She’s a loving wife and mother, a school volunteer, a faithful friend, and a trusted therapist with a sympathetic ear. But underneath her calm and collected veneer, Melody is raging.
The vulnerable women she counsels are breaking down and telling their secrets, exposing a prominent attorney and other influential men in Melody’s small North Carolina town for the predators they are—their heinous crimes protected by power, money, and connections. They’re not going to get away with it anymore. If the system won’t make these men pay, Melody will. One by one.
What starts out as small acts of vengeance soon descends into something far more satisfying, dark, and just. But when her own personal life begins to unravel, Melody wonders what she’s ready to risk, and what line she’s willing to cross in the name of justice. Because once she does, there’s no going back.
I accepted this for audio review.
From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Women comes a powerful novel of contemporary America. Set in our own deeply divided time, The Fire is an exploration of the bonds between women and the transformative power of finding one’s voice.Merritt Locke is a woman you’ve seen before. A faithful wife, a devoted mother, a generous daughter. But every woman has a line that once crossed, changes her forever.
Betrayed by those she trusts and thrust into the pitiless glare of the public spotlight, Merritt will break the one rule everyone in her life is counting on her to uphold. In the aftermath, she embarks on an impulsive cross-country journey to reconnect with her estranged daughter, and along the way, meets—and joins forces—with women who are as familiar as they are unforgettable.
An epic novel that reckons with the history we are all living through, The Fire is an anthem to those who feel invisible and forgotten and a rallying cry for women of every age to stand together to be seen…and heard.
I learned about this from the publisher’s newsletter. Scheduled for release in May, it’s an audio review hopeful.
A small-town Christmas romance filled with second chances, enemies-to-lovers tension, and a billionaire who’s about to meet his match.
He broke her heart once. Now he’s back to destroy her hometown.Holly Winter has one goal, and it’s not falling for the billionaire who ghosted her. Winterville – the Christmas town her grandmother dreamed into life – is the only piece of her family she has left, and she’ll do whatever it takes to save it from being bulldozed into a luxury ski resort.
Even if that means going head-to-head with the man who still haunts her dreams.
Josh Gerber doesn’t believe in small towns, fairy lights, or second chances. But when his company buys the failing Winterville estate, he’s forced to face the one woman who makes him question everything.
The night they shared years ago changed him. Seeing her again might ruin him.
She’s stubborn, steady, and full of heart.
He’s power suits and control. But under the falling snow and twinkling lights, lines blur fast, and the enemies-to-lovers tension turns hotter than either of them expected.
He might own the town, but she’s the one thing he never stopped wanting…
Welcome to Winterville, where the snow is falling, the lights are glowing, and love might be the greatest Christmas miracle of all.
Blue Mood Café 
I was very excited to see Hannah’s 2027 book too this week Jonetta. I also received an ARC for Hunter’s book. I hope we enjoy both of these books. Have a great weekend.
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