Unlikely con women, a loveable bookseller, a canine drama queen, and a coffee shop of curiosities make up the characters you’ll meet in the books I read this month.
I hope you find a few titles on this list that you will want to welcome into your personal book collection.
The Housekeepers
Alex Hay
Hailed as Downton Abbey meets Oceans 8, The Housekeepers are not to be underestimated. When Mrs. King is let go from the household staff at one of the grandest homes in Mayfair, she turns to her friends on the ‘other side of the tracks’ to get retribution on the night of one of the grandest balls of the season.
It isn’t until she’s assembled her ‘team’ of housekeepers, that we find out the secret that she’s been keeping for the rest of the group… and that’s not the only secret to be revealed.
Mrs. King is no ordinary housekeeper. Born into a world of con artists and thieves, she’s made herself respectable, running the grandest home in Mayfair. The place is packed with treasures, a glittering symbol of wealth and power, but dark secrets lurk in the shadows.
When Mrs. King is suddenly dismissed from her position, she recruits an eclectic group of women to join her in revenge: A black market queen out to settle her scores. An actress desperate for a magnificent part. A seamstress dreaming of a better life. And Mrs. King’s predecessor, with her own desire for vengeance.
Their plan? On the night of the house’s highly anticipated costume ball—set to be the most illustrious of the year—they will rob it of its every possession, right under the noses of the distinguished guests and their elusive heiress host. But there’s one thing Mrs. King wants even more than money: the truth. And she’ll run any risk to get it…
After all, one should never underestimate the women downstairs.
The Door-to-Door Bookstore
Carsten Henn
This is a book to savor. The endearing cast of characters from German bookseller Carl Kollhoff and Schascha to the clients he visits each day with a new book and a new story to fit the literary character names he’s given them, the latest book by International Bestseller Carsten Henn is a must-read. Set in Germany, this story takes its readers through the narrow streets and into the unique homes of each of the stops Carl (aka Mr. Book Walker ) makes during his evening walks through the city. A charming story from beginning to end.
The charming international bestseller about an unlikely friendship between an elderly door-to-door bookseller and a nine-year-old girl that changes his life.
Small-town German bookseller Carl Kollhoff delivers his books to special customers in the evening hours after closing time, walking through the picturesque alleys of the city. These people are almost like friends to him, and he is their most important connection to the world.
When Kollhoff unexpectedly loses his job, it takes the power of books and a nine-year-old girl to make them all find the courage to rebuild their bonds with each other.
A bestselling phenomenon internationally, Carsten Henn’s The Door-to-Door Bookstore is a feel-good novel about books and friendship.
Confessions of a Canine Drama Queen
Stefanie London
If you’re looking for a fun read, with a side of romance and the inevitable drama that comes with it, Confessions of a Canine Drama Queen could be what you’re looking for. Our heroine who owns a successful dog grooming business for celebrity clientele, finds herself agreeing to go to away to a canine talent competition for the weekend. Her human companion is the man she’s had a crush on since high school, the only problem is he’s emotionally unavailable.
Can you ever really forget the one who got away?
August Merriweather has always been good with animals. In fact, she’s known as Manhattan’s Dog Whisperer. Men, on the other hand? Not so much. She’s been falling for the wrong guys ever since her regrettable crush on Keaton Sax, older brother of her best friend, Leah, and the biggest jerkface this side of the Hudson.
Now an emotionally closed off widower, Keaton has become one of the most formidable men on Wall Street, but August knows his secret. He’s not driven by sales targets and bonus checks—Keaton just wants to give his family the security they never had. So when Leah asks Keaton to wrangle her over-the-top, dramatic husky at a weekend talent competition, Keaton says yes…and begs August to help him win the event for Leah.
Between obstacle courses, Molly’s husky temper tantrums and a cabin with just one bed, August is having a blast. Away from the pressure to have a “perfect life” with the “right guy,” she finds herself relaxing and getting to see the softer side of the man she once loved. Is this just a temporary truce? Or could Keaton finally be the right guy at the right time?
At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities
Heather Webber
At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities is one of the most enchanting, magical, and endearing novels that you will ever read. Set along the coast of Alabama in a town called Driftwood, Ava is just looking for an escape to a more normal way of life. What she finds is the community that she’s always needed.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Heather a few years ago, and I have to say her latest novel is my absolute favorite. A must-read for those of love small towns and quirky characters that will snare your heart.
A mysterious letter. An offer taken. And the chance to move forward.
When Ava Harrison receives a letter containing an unusual job listing one month after the sudden death of her ex-boyfriend, she thinks she’s being haunted. The listing―a job as a live-in caretaker for a peculiar old man and his cranky cat in Driftwood, Alabama―is the perfect chance to start a new life. A normal life. Ava has always been too fearful to even travel, so no one’s more surprised than she is when she throws caution to the wind and drives to the distant beachside town.
On the surface, Maggie Mae Brightwell is a bundle of energy as she runs Magpie’s, Driftwood’s coffee and curiosity shop, where there’s magic to be found in pairing the old with the new. But lurking under her cheerful exterior is a painful truth―keeping busy is the best way to distract herself from the lingering loss of her mama and her worries about her aging father. No one knows better than she does that you can’t pour from an empty cup, but holding on to the past is the only thing keeping the hope alive that her mama will return home one day.
Ava and Maggie soon find they’re kindred spirits, as they’re both haunted―not by spirits, but by regret. Both must learn to let go of the past to move on―because sometimes the waves of change bring you to the place where you most belong.
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