Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 10 is just a suggestion to aim for if you can hit it. You can do a list of 3 or 5 or 20, whatever you decide. And you can put a spin on the topic if you need to. Each week there is a new list to create. This week's topic is:

Most Anticipated Releases for the Second Half of 2020

So these are the books I'm looking forward to in the upcoming months.

The Switch by Beth O'Leary

This has already been released in print format but the
audiobook release is: August 8, 2020
I listened to The Flatshare on audio and absolutely loved it.

The Deadly Hours

Publication: September 1, 2020
Susanna Kearsley is one of my favorite authors and I've read several books by Cristine Trent so this one should be great.

The Night Portrait by Laura Morelli

Publication: September 8, 2020
One of my favorite authors and it's Italian history too.

A Knock at Midnight by Brittany K. Barnett

Publication: September 8, 2020
This one promises to be very compelling. Perfect reading for the times we live in.

The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline

Publication: September 15, 2020
I love the premise of this book and it's one of my favorite genres: historical fiction

When We Were Young and Brave by Hazel Gaynor

Publication: October 6, 2020
I like that this is a WWII story set in China and inspired by true events 

Gentleman Jim by Mimi Matthews

Publication: November 3, 2020
Mimi Matthews writes very good romances

The Chanel Sisters by Judithe Little

Publication: December 29, 2020
Chanel and Paris. Win-win combination

License for Murder by Lauren Carr

Publication: Fall 2020
One of my favorite authors. And it's a new series!


Are you looking forward to any of these new releases?

Sunday Salon hosted by Readerbuzz is simply a place for us to link up and to share what we have been doing during the week. Sunday Salon is a great way to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

My Review:

Kate Morton is a master storyteller. Every character has its time, place, and setting in the novel with detailed descriptions that may seem at times excessive or superfluous but that come full circle by the end of the novel. And just when you think you knew all there was to know about the secret, there's a twist at the end you didn't see coming.

Sixteen-year-old Laurel witnesses a shocking scene one hot summer day. As a reader, that one scene makes us wonder why the character did what she did, and the whole story is based on Laurel trying to uncover the mystery, the reason for that one violent act. The story moves back and forth between the 60s, 30s, and present day. The author takes her time to build each scene, revolving mainly around two women, Dorothy (Laurel's mother) and Vivien, her friend from the past.

Although it's Laurel who is trying to uncover the mystery of her family's past, I did question why she never did so before. We don't really get the emotional understanding of what witnessing that act did to Laurel's psyche. She went on to become a successful actress as she had dreamed of doing, but besides that, we don't really get to know Laurel very well. For this reason, the timeline of the 30s was more interesting to me than that of the present-day. Sometimes I felt like the scenes with Laurel dragged a little.

But this is a minor criticism because reading this book was such a pleasure. Well-written with vivid characters and a secret that pulls the reader through the whole story, The Secret Keeper is one of those books to be savored as it comes to its stunning conclusion.

I read The House at Riverton which I thoroughly enjoyed and I have The Forgotten Garden on my bookshelf which I hope to read too. If you love gorgeous historical fiction and digging into a good story, The Secret Keeper is sure to please.


Disclosure: I received a Netgalley copy. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.

Buy The Book:

Amazon.ca ~ Audible.ca

Add to Goodreads

Alternate Book Covers:

This is the original one I remember when I first saw this title.

This is the UK cover.

Heart Like Mine was a great read. It pulled on my heartstrings, and I felt a rollercoaster of emotions.

Reviewed by Laura Fabiani

Heart Like Mine was a great read. It pulled on my heartstrings, and I felt a rollercoaster of emotions. It's a book about loss, grief, family love, and second chances. I could relate to the characters both when it came to the emotions of depression and that of motherhood.

Grace has a successful career and has found a man she feels she can spend the rest of her life with. She's content that Victor is not looking to have more children and that his two children live with their mother. But just after they get engaged, Victor's ex-wife dies suddenly leaving the children shocked and grieving... they now become a full-time part of their lives. This is when Grace and Victor's relationship takes a different turn and they must learn to navigate their new roles or risk losing what they've built as a couple.

The story is told alternately from the first-person point-of-view of both Grace and Ava, and flashbacks of Kelli. So the story moves back and forth in time. This was well done as the author peels back layers of the past of all the characters to give us an in-depth look at what brought them to where they are in the present. I thought Grace was a strong character, and I could understand her dilemmas throughout the story. I really felt the anguish of what Kelli went through and of the great loss Ava experienced with the sudden loss of her mother. I thought Victor was a great dad but a little oblivious of the strain the whole situation was on Grace.

If you like contemporary women's fiction that deals with family issues with strong female characters, you will enjoy Heart Like Mine.

This summer I'm determined to clean out my Netgalley list and read those books I've had my eye on for quite some time, so here goes:

This is the first book in a time travel murder mystery series. Right up my alley.

Described as a tender, inspirational, and thought-provoking novel. 

Part of the Netgalley list I'm going through.

Mystery with a main character who has amnesia. This plot element always intrigued me. 

Part of the Netgalley list I'm going through.

Sunday Salon hosted by Readerbuzz is simply a place for us to link up and to share what we have been doing during the week. Sunday Salon is a great way to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there.