The Comfort of Lies

Title: The Comfort of Lies

Author: Randy Susan Meyers. She is the author of a previous novel, The Murderer’s Daughters.

Genre: Commercial Fiction, Chick Lit (but more on the serious side)

Readers: Prosecutor Rochelle, consultant Alila, project manager Andrea,  and stay-at-home Mom Megan V.

Summary: Five years ago, Tia fell into obsessive love with a man she could never have. Married, and the father of two boys, Nathan was unavailable in every way. When she became pregnant, he disappeared, and she gave up her baby for adoption.

Five years ago, Caroline, a dedicated pathologist, reluctantly adopted a baby to please her husband. She prayed her misgivings would disappear; instead, she’s questioning whether she’s cut out for the role of wife and mother.

Five years ago, Juliette considered her life ideal: she had a solid marriage, two beautiful young sons, and a thriving business. Then she discovered Nathan’s affair. He promised he’d never stray again, and she trusted him.

Riveting and arresting, The Comfort of Lies explores the collateral damage of infidelity and the dark, private struggles many of us experience but rarely reveal.

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Eighty Days

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Eighty Days Book

Eighty Days by Matthew Goodman

Title: Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland’s History-Making Race Around the World

Author: Matthew Goodman

Genre: Nonfiction

Readers: Consultant Alila, publishing professional Gigi, stay-at-home mom Megan V. and homemaker-slash-writer Nan.

Summary: On November 14, 1889, Nellie Bly, the crusading young female reporter for Joseph Pulitzer’s World newspaper, left New York City by steamship on a quest to break the record for the fastest trip around the world. Also departing from New York that day—and heading in the opposite direction by train—was a young journalist from The Cosmopolitan magazine, Elizabeth Bisland. Each woman was determined to outdo Jules Verne’s fictional hero Phileas Fogg and circle the globe in less than eighty days. The dramatic race that ensued would span twenty-eight thousand miles, captivate the nation, and change both competitors’ lives forever.

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Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker

Title: Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker

Author: Jennifer Chiaverini. She is the author of the 10-book Elm Creek Quilts series.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Readers: Professor Michal, consultant Alila, teacher Julie S., daycare teacher EMarie and prosecutor Rochelle.

Summary: A stunning account of the friendship that blossomed between Mary Todd Lincoln and her seamstress, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Keckley, a former slave who gained her professional reputation in Washington, D.C. by outfitting the city’s elite. Keckley made history by sewing for First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln within the White House, a trusted witness to many private moments between the President and his wife, two of the most compelling figures in American history.

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Crossing the Paris

Book: Crossing on the Paris

Author: Dana Gynther, this is her first novel.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Reviewers: Consultant Alila, student Selina, lawyer Abby R. and stay-at-home-moms A Military Mommy and Megan V.  Want to know more about our readers? Just click their names to see their bios and get links to their reviews.

Publisher Summary: In 1921,the SS Paris leaves Le Havre on her maiden voyage. Aboard, passengers dine in glittering grandeur on French cuisine, served by hundreds of unnoticed servants and chefs. Below the waterline, the modern oil-fired engines throb day and night. And for three women, this voyage will profoundly change their lives.

Traveling first class, elderly Vera Sinclair is reluctantly moving back to Manhattan after thirty wonderful years abroad. In cozy second class, reveling in her brief freedom from family life, Constance Stone is returning after a failed mission to bring her errant sister home from France. And in the stifling servants’ quarters, young Le Havre native Julie Vernet is testing her wings in her first job as she sets out to forge her own future. For all three, in different ways, this transatlantic voyage will be a life-changing journey of the heart.

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