This Perfectly Imperfect Life

(partner) @shereadswithfriends Co-founder Marybeth Mayhew Whalen is fabulous at what I like to call 'slow burn writing' - character driven plot-lines that build tension and suspense set in small town America - and her latest novel #OnlyEverHer due out 5/7 doesn't disappoint!   "A bride-to-be goes missing just four days before her wedding and a community is left reeling. As the days pass, the list of suspects grows and her loved ones are left to confront their own secrets."   This. Book. Y'all. Marybeth's engaging writing style brings you right into Annie Taft's life and drops you into the middle of Southern small town living in Ludlow, South Carolina. (But you don't have to live in the South to relate to just how small a world small town living can be).   I was hooked right from the get-go! Annie, along with Laurel, Kenny, Carry and Faye's points-of-view weave a story full of tragedy & heartbreak, secrets &...

(click here ) (click here ) (click here ) (click here ) (check my stories under "bookish" - unable to link) Here's a wrap up of my recent #bookstagram posts over on Instagram since the end of March. For the down-low on these books (and others!), head on over to my Instagram at bloomin.chick or click here .

(partner) Thank You to Meg Walker of Tandem Literary Publicity & Marketing for this gorgeous book mail package of Mary Kay Andrew's upcoming novel Sunset Beach due out May 7th!  "Summer doesn't truly begin without a Mary Kay Andrews book in your beach bag." What are your most anticipated SummerReads?

I'm behind with my #reading and reviews (when am I not really?!) thanks to round one of the crud. So before round two takes me out, I wanted to share my thoughts on this 5 Star read, #LostRoses by @marthahallkelly (author of #LilacGirls also a 5 Star read). Synopsis from NetGalley: "The million-copy bestseller Lilac Girls introduced the real-life heroine Caroline Ferriday. Now Lost Roses, set a generation earlier and also inspired by true events, features Caroline’s mother, Eliza, and follows three equally indomitable women from St. Petersburg to Paris under the shadow of World War I. It is 1914, and the world has been on the brink of war so often, many New Yorkers treat the subject with only passing interest. Eliza Ferriday is thrilled to be traveling to St. Petersburg with Sofya Streshnayva, a cousin of the Romanovs. The two met years ago one summer in Paris and became close confidantes. Now Eliza embarks on the trip of a lifetime, home with Sofya to see the...

A cheerful red and pink #bookstack to brighten your day whatever you celebrate today ☺️   Happy #ValentinesDay or #GalentinesDay or a #HappyThursday to you!  ❤️ 💖 ❤️ 💖 ❤️

(top photo) #ThankYou to @randomhouse #ballantinebooks and #NetGalley for this #advancedreaderscopy of #LostRoses by @marthahallkelly due out in April. I can't wait to get started! Is this one on your TBR yet?  Brief synopsis: "The million-copy bestseller Lilac Girls introduced the real-life heroine Caroline Ferriday. Now Lost Roses, set a generation earlier and also inspired by true events, features Caroline's mother, Eliza, and follows three equally indomitable women from St. Petersburg to Paris under the shadow of World War I."  (bottom photo) #bookmail! #ThankYou @detemeserve for this signed copy of #TheSpaceBetween which I won from her via @lakeunionauthors on Facebook during the holidays! Another #book I can't wait to dig into. Have you read Dete's #books? Brief synopsis: "After presenting a major scientific breakthrough... Sarah Mayfield returns home to find her husband has disappeared... The only answers their son Zack can offer? The last wo...

I've been quiet here for the last month into December because our hearts are broken and I've had no words 💔  The Marine lost two of his brothers in November, one at the beginning of November, and one last week at the end of November, both to very different circumstances.  We are changed. That thing called "normal" may not be found again for a very long time. For now it's one day at a time, and hour at a time or one moment at a time when a day is too much.