Two Winters by Lauren Emily Whalen ~ Cover Reveal

Two Winters by Lauren Emily Whalen ~ Cover Reveal

Two Winters by Emily Whalen

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About Two Winters by Lauren Emily Whalen

Title: Two Winters
Author: Lauren Emily Whalen
Genre: Young Adult, LGBTQ+ Contemporary Fiction

Two Winters by Lauren Emily Whalen

The winter of 1997 is a tragedy waiting to happen. Small-town life isn’t easy for seventeen-year-old, bisexual and closeted Paulina, especially when her best friend Mia becomes pregnant. A devout Catholic, Mia doesn’t want to tell her parents, see a doctor, or even tell the baby’s father, Paulina’s other best friend, Tesla. Meanwhile, Paulina’s secret relationship with volleyball star, Ani, is about to go public in the worst way. It all comes to a head one fateful night, and everything changes forever.

Fast forward to the winter of 2014, where Perdita, bi and proud in Chicago, is weeks away from turning seventeen. Her life is perfect–well, almost. She loves her two moms, but why do they refuse to tell her anything about her adoption? When Perdita meets Fenton, her handsome improv coach who’s taking a gap year before college, she discovers both a kindred soul and a willing accomplice in her search for the truth. Will Perdita find what she’s looking for? And if not, can time really heal all wounds? 

TWO WINTERS is a contemporary queer YA retelling of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, about birth, death, Catholic school, improv comedy and the healing nature of time.

About Lauren Emily Whalen

Lauren Emily Whalen is the author of the YA novels SATELLITE (2017) and TWO WINTERS (2021), and the YA nonfiction book DEALING WITH DRAMA (2020). Her short story “I Saw Her Again” appears in LINK BY LINK: A SPIRITED HOLIDAY ANTHOLOGY (2020). Lauren is also an actor and very amateur aerialist, and lives in Chicago with her cat, Versace, and an apartment full of books. Follow her on Instagram at laurenemilywrites.

Lauren Emily Whalen

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Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey ~ Review

Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey ~ Review

Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey

As an affiliate at retail sites, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. See my disclaimer for more details.

Three reasons you should read this Contemporary Fiction:

  • Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey is a great mix of historical mystery with a dash of contemporary romance. 
  • Watching Cat unravel the mysteries of the past kept me fully engaged in the mystery for every single page.
  • The romance is done in a lighter, more natural hand, that fits incredibly well with the atmosphere of timelessness.

About Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey

Title: Paris Time Capsule
Author: Ella Carey
Series: Secrets of Paris #1
Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey

The parcel arrived on an ordinary morning in the mailbox of her New York apartment, postmarked Paris. It was wrapped in brown paper and tied with a silk ribbon. Little did she know that the old brass key and letter it contained were about to turn her life upside down…

1940, Paris. Life is getting desperate for young Isabelle de Florian. Alone with her best friend in her Paris apartment, Isabelle knows that they must seek safety or die. For months she has been playing a dangerous game of secrets with the Nazis, trying to keep the people she loves safe. At last, she secures passage out of the city, packs her best jewels into a small suitcase and steps into the treacherous night…

New York, 2015. Photographer Cat Jordan is shocked when she receives a letter informing her that she is the sole heir of the estate of Isabelle de Florian. She was a friend of Cat’s enigmatic grandmother, who both lived in France until the Nazi occupation forced them to flee. The letter offers few details but is clear on one point: Cat must come to Paris in person.

When she arrives, Cat is enchanted by Isabelle’s beautiful apartment. But why did she leave it to a stranger? Determined to find the truth, Cat investigates her grandmother and Isabelle’s escape from Paris, and discovers that Isabelle was hunted by the Nazis in 1940. But as Cat searches through the dusty letters in the apartment, will the secret she finds change everything she knows about Isabelle and herself?

My Review of Paris Time Capsule:

Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey was beautifully written. Cat’s unexpected inheritance takes her on a journey deep into her family’s past and exposes secrets hidden away for a lifetime.

It all begins with a letter. Although I wonder if anyone today would jump on a plane to Paris to claim an estate from someone they didn’t know existed, it played to my imagination of long-lost heirs. Cat has inherited a lavish apartment that seems to have been untouched since 1940. Full of antiques and treasures, and covered in dust and dirt, Cat falls deeper into the mystery.

But there’s always more than we first expect. Isabelle has a family – and she never told them about the apartment. No one understands why – and I didn’t understand why they were so set on not claiming it once they found out about it. While I found it nice they wanted to follow Isabelle’s last wishes, I don’t quite understand why they didn’t take the estate when Cat said she didn’t want it. But I guess then we wouldn’t have had a story.
Cat digs deep into history, uncovering more and more strange information on Isabelle and her past. She was a fascinating woman that lived through a lot during the war. Fleeing from the Nazi occupation, there isn’t much of a paper trail to follow.

I was quite surprised when Cat found the last clue and solved the mystery. All the loose ends were tied up nicely in a way that was a little larger than life, but still very believable. It maintained the slight fairy tale atmosphere without going too far. And the bit of a love story along the way sure didn’t hurt.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Pick up your copy today!

The Endless Beach by Jenny Colgan: Audiobook Review

The Endless Beach by Jenny Colgan: Audiobook Review

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The Summer Seaside Kitchen series is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. The small island of Mure is anything but dull, and the people of the island, both generational residents and new, make the community a very interesting one.

The book continues its primary focus on Flora as she navigates her new-found love for her old home, but with new troubles brewing. Her former boss and current boyfriend, Joel, is away on business, and this starts a downward spiral for them. He refuses to open up to her, and she constantly wonders if she’s really enough for the hot-shot city lawyer. 

But I was also introduced to two new storylines. Coltan, Flora’s brother’s boyfriend, has a secret – and it’s an awful one. He drags Joel into it, and it’s such a big secret that Joel can’t really handle it all. This mystery hovers over the story like a fog bank. It’s there, but most people don’t realize how thick it is. It plays out throughout the story, and when it’s all revealed, there’s a lot to take in. Jenny Colgan handles it all beautifully, showing that her characters have a depth and feeling that really brings them to life.

I was also introduced to Saif, the refugee that has found somewhat of a home as the island’s doctor. His story is another sad one, having been separated from his wife and two children in the war. He walks the beach just waiting for that miraculous moment when a boat shows up to reunite them. But after waiting for so long, he’s having a hard time hanging on to the hope.

Not all of these intricate storylines are entirely wrapped up at the end of the book. But they do seem to reach a natural position of concluded for now, but with more to tell. As I get to know more of the island’s residents, I fall in love all over again. 



Title: The Endless Beach (Summer Seaside Kitchen #2)
Author: Jenny Colgan
Genre:​ Contemporary Fiction


When Flora MacKenzie traded her glum career in London for the remote Scottish island of Mure, she never dreamed that Joel—her difficult, adorable boss—would follow. Yet now, not only has Flora been reunited with her family and opened a charming café by the sea, but she and Joel are taking their first faltering steps into romance.

With Joel away on business in New York, Flora is preparing for the next stage in her life. And that would be…? Love? She’s feeling it. Security? In Joel’s arms, sure. Marriage? Not open to discussion.

In the meanwhile, Flora is finding pleasure in a magnificent sight: whales breaking waves off the beaches of Mure. But it also signals something less joyful. According to local superstition, it’s an omen—and a warning that Flora’s future could be as fleeting as the sea-spray…

A bracing season on the shore sets the stage for Jenny Colgan’s delightful novel that’s as funny, heartwarming, and unpredictable as love itself.