January 2023 Reads

4 books for January. What’s Yours?

• The Charm Bracelet by Viola Shipman – 4⭐️

Through an heirloom charm bracelet, three women will rediscover the importance of family and a passion for living as each charm changes their lives. On her birthday each year, Lolly’s mother gave her a charm, along with the advice that there is nothing more important than keeping family memories alive, and so Lolly’s charm bracelet would be a constant reminder of that love.

Now seventy and starting to forget things, Lolly knows time is running out to reconnect with a daughter and granddaughter whose lives have become too busy for Lolly or her family stories. But when Arden, Lolly’s daughter, receives an unexpected phone call about her mother, she and granddaughter Lauren rush home. Over the course of their visit, Lolly reveals the story behind each charm on her bracelet, and one by one the family stories help Lolly, Arden, and Lauren reconnect in a way that brings each woman closer to finding joy, love, and faith. (GOODREADS)

• Been In Love With You by Tina Martin – 4⭐️

New Orleans police officer, Elias (Eli) Leaumont, is secretly in love with the woman who saved his life. The woman who has been his best friend ever since that life-changing day. Four years in, their friendship is stronger than ever, bonded by an event that neither of them will ever forget.

Natalie thinks the world of Eli. She loves him dearly – as a friend – and made it clear to him years ago that she would never date a cop. However, they spend so much time together, most people already think they are a couple.

Then there’s the way Eli looks at her…

What Natalie doesn’t know is, Elias considers her much more than just a friend. Jealousy consumes him when he thinks Natalie is more interested in his brother, Solomon. His behavior becomes obsessive. And then there’s the emotional and physical damage he sustained from being shot while on duty, four years ago. (SOURCE)

• Eric (The Kingsbrier Quintuplets) by Jody Kaye – 4⭐️

Did you hear the rumor about the girl from the wrong side of the tracks who intentionally got pregnant with her wealthy boyfriend’s baby?

The one thing that made perfect sense in Ginny Adair’s eighteen years was falling for level-headed Eric Cavanaugh. Growing up wasn’t exactly the same kind of party for her that it was for her boyfriend. While Eric and the other quintuplets ran roughshod over their family’s Texas ranch, Ginny hid from a cruel stepfather with a compulsive gambling habit.

Uncertain if leaving for college means losing the one person she’s come to count on, all it takes is a single misstep for Ginny to unravel both of their lives. Now the entire small town is convinced Ginny always intended on cashing in on the notoriety of snagging herself a Kingsbrier Quintuplet.

Eric Cavanaugh’s infamously misbehaved siblings count on his dependability. Stable grades. Stable relationship with a girlfriend the rest of the quints agree is the most trustworthy person they know. But when Ginny’s actions prove deceitful, it leaves Eric’s solid plan to take over the family business on shaky ground and leaves him questioning if his brothers and sisters have misplaced their confidence in him.

To make matters worse, Ginny’s stepfather won’t stop until he gets his hands on Eric’s trust fund. While Ginny seems willing to prove she’ll do anything to earn Eric’s forgiveness, a baby is a mistake you can’t take back. (GOODREADS)

• Outfox by Sandra Brown – 5⭐️

FBI agent Drex Easton is relentlessly driven by a single goal: to outmaneuver the conman once known as Weston Graham. Over the past thirty years, Weston has assumed many names and countless disguises, enabling him to lure eight wealthy women out of their fortunes before they disappeared without a trace, their families left without answers and the authorities without clues. The only common trait among the victims: a new man in their life who also vanished, leaving behind no evidence of his existence . . . except for one signature custom.

Drex is convinced that these women have been murdered, and that the man he knows as Weston Graham is the sociopath responsible. But each time Drex gets close to catching him, Weston trades one persona for another and disappears again. Now, for the first time in their long game of cat and mouse, Drex has a suspect in sight.

Attractive and charming, Jasper Ford is recently married to a successful businesswoman many years his junior, Talia Shafer. Drex insinuates himself into their lives, posing as a new neighbor and setting up surveillance on their house. The closer he gets to the couple, the more convinced he becomes that Jasper is the clever, merciless predator he’s sought–and that his own attraction to Talia threatens to compromise his purpose and integrity. (GOODREADS)