Book Link

From Amazon:

Cosy in with the first book in Susan Buchanan’s Christmas Spirit series – a small-town, feel-good festive romance with lashings of community and goodwill – not to mention Christmas Spirit!

For fans of Sarah Morgan, Philippa Ashley, Jenny Colgan and Milly Johnson.

ESCAPE TO THE SUGAR AND SPICE CAFE THIS CHRISTMAS! 🎄💖🍰🎄💖🍰

When eternally optimistic Natalie Hope takes over at the Sugar and Spice bakery café could it be just the injection of Christmas spirit her regulars need?

Newly dumped Rebecca is stuck in a job with no prospects, has lost her home and is struggling to see a way forward. To make matters worse, her ex-boyfriend is trying to take her to the cleaners.

Pensioner Stanley is dreading his first Christmas alone without his beloved wife, who passed away earlier this year. How can he celebrate Christmas without her and will he ever feel whole again?

Graduate Jacob is still out of work despite applying for hundreds of jobs. Will he be forced to go against his instincts and ask his rich but unsympathetic parents for help? And will he regain the confidence he has lost with women and find love?

Spiky workaholic Meredith hates the jollity of family gatherings and would rather stay home with a box set and a posh ready meal. Will she finally realise what’s important in life and start appreciating those around her?

Natalie sprinkles a little magic to try to spread some festive cheer, restore Christmas spirit, and bring those in need together, but will she succeed?

My Review:

This was a very sweet read of the holiday season and main character was sweet as could be. She helped out many during her time in a small town in winter. I found myself wanting a taste of each cake she’d baked in the bakery. People have problems and issues and helping those people is touching. I’d like to name her Angel, if I could. Things maybe be represented differently in this story’s setting, but the 12 days of Christmas does not start on December 12th. For most, it starts on Christmas day and through epiphany in January.

Book Link

Mary L. Schmidt’s Earth’s Last Hope is an apocalyptic survival novel that starts with a frighteningly simple problem: Yellowstone is about to erupt, and humanity has almost no time to prepare. When scientists realize the supervolcano is behaving far more aggressively than expected, President Joyce Zimmerman and government leaders move quickly to protect as many people as possible. Much of the story follows retired General James Tilson and his extended family as they take shelter in a massive underground complex beneath the Denver Federal Center. Schmidt spends a lot of time showing how bunker life actually functions, from hydroponic food production and medical care to schooling, security, recreation, and daily chores. That practical detail gives the novel the feel of both a disaster story and a survival manual, while the worsening eruption, ash-filled atmosphere, extreme cold, and collapse of normal society keep reminding everyone that the world above them is changing permanently.

What gives the book its personality, though, is its focus on family and community. James may be dealing with presidents, generals, secret facilities, riots, evacuations, and classified missions, but he’s also Grandpa James, a husband and the emotional center of a sprawling family. The quieter scenes matter just as much as the disaster scenes. People cook together, work in the hydroponic gardens, teach children, fall in love, get married, play games, paint, pray, deal with injuries, and eventually welcome new babies. Those moments create an unusual rhythm for an apocalypse novel because Schmidt is interested in more than simply surviving the next catastrophe. She’s interested in what people would do with ordinary life once ordinary life has been forced underground. Faith is also central to that vision. Prayer, gratitude, marriage, childbirth, and the belief that humanity has a future become recurring parts of the characters’ response to enormous loss.

About halfway through, Earth’s Last Hope expands from disaster fiction into science fiction when the Nyard, an advanced extraterrestrial race secretly connected to humanity since the Roswell era, become crucial to Earth’s survival. Their technology changes the scale of the novel dramatically. Instead of concentrating only on how long people can endure underground, the story begins asking whether the planet itself can be repaired. Yellowstone is permanently neutralized, new technology removes volcanic ash from the atmosphere, nanobots assist with cleanup, and a new source of clean energy helps humanity rebuild. In that sense, the book reminded me somewhat of Andy Weir’s The Martian. Both stories enjoy explaining solutions instead of simply announcing that a problem has been solved. Weir tends to build those solutions through tightly constrained engineering and scientific problem-solving, while Schmidt blends scientific explanation with speculative technology, government coordination, faith, and family life. Her canvas is also much larger. Instead of one person trying to stay alive, she follows an entire society trying to figure out what living should look like after almost losing the planet.

The result is a hopeful kind of apocalypse story. There’s tremendous destruction here, including mass death, ruined cities, toxic ash, starvation, psychological trauma, and the near extinction of humanity, but the novel keeps returning to rebuilding. By the final chapters, survivors are confronting what remains of Denver, salvaging materials, restoring communities, welcoming new life, and imagining a society built differently from the one that disappeared. The birth of Georgy near the end works especially well as a symbol of that direction, arriving just as the characters finally face the physical remains of their former homes. The epilogue carries that idea forward three years into reconstruction, with salvaged stone, granite, new infrastructure, and green energy becoming the foundations of another civilization. Earth’s Last Hope is ultimately a story about catastrophe as a test of cooperation. Its biggest interest is the question of what people preserve when nearly everything familiar is taken away, and its answer is remarkably consistent: family, knowledge, faith, useful work, community, and the determination to build something that can last.

Book Title: Fraying Skeins

Series: Silver Sampler Series – Book 3

Author Name: Nancy Jardine

Publication Date: 29 August 2026

Publisher: Nancy Jardine with Ocelot Press

Pages: 153

Genre: Historical Saga / Women’s Fiction / Historical Fiction / Scottish Saga

Any Triggers: n/a

Twitter / X Handle: @nansjar @cathiedunn @maryanneyarde @AuthorMichael57

Instagram Handle: @nansjar2023 @thecoffeepotbookclub @yardereviews

Hashtags: #HistoricalFiction #ScottishSaga #WomensFiction #Victorian #Scotland #BlogTour #ReaderReach #TheCoffeePotBookClub #YardeBookPromotions

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2026/08/blog-tour-fraying-skeins-by-nancy-jardine.html

Book Title and Author Name:

Fraying Skeins

by Nancy Jardine

Blurb:

Escape  In Paradise  Evasion

1870 Scotland

Fleeing from Peterhead, Margaret Law makes Aberdeen her refuge. Menial jobs keep her and her toddler son fed– till an unusual tutoring task boosts her finances, and self-worth. Letters to best friend Jessie contain the absolute truth, especially when Johnny Fraser re-enters her life. Is he the man for Margaret to grow old with? When better employment emerges in St. Andrews, Margaret is torn. Will the move mean losing Johnny?

When Johnny follows Margaret to St. Andrews, their life together is idyllic. But when menacing secrets unfold, will Johnny’s past indiscretions be their undoing? Will he lose the cherished family he is establishing with Margaret?

Praise for Fraying Skeins:

“Jardine has once again brought nineteenth-century Scotland vividly to life while keeping Margaret and the people around her firmly at the heart of the story. Watching the determined little girl I first met in Novice Threads grow into this resourceful and courageous woman has been immensely rewarding, and there are more than enough intriguing threads left to make me eager to continue Margaret’s journey in the next instalment.“

~ The Coffee Pot Book Club 5* Editorial Review

Fraying Skeins – A Dramatic Novelty For Johnny Fraser

“I read in yesterday’s paper that there’s a play called Hamlet being performed, next Friday, at the Theatre Royal.” Before Johnny could say more Margaret’s face lit up.

“Oh, I read one of Shakespeare’s plays when I was tutoring down in Liverpool years ago, but I’ve never seen a production of his work on stage.”

Johnny had never seen a play by the renowned Shakespeare, either, having only ever seen a comedy farce on stage. However, if something more serious was likely to make Margaret glow the way she currently was doing, then he’d get tickets. Though, he’d also seen another option advertised in the newspaper.

“Or, on Saturday, there’s a variety show at the same venue, I mean the Theatre Royal, which includes singers, comedians, and musical entertainment, including a fiddler of Scottish reels.”

He noted that she looked interested in a variety performance though not nearly as much as with the Shakespeare. “I’m guessing you’d rather see the play?”

“I would, even though we have to work on Saturday.” Her attempt to curb her excitement wasn’t lost on him. “But I don’t mind if you’d prefer the Variety Show.”

On the following Friday evening, Johnny was more fascinated by Margaret’s enthrallment in watching Hamlet than by what was happening on the stage. Before the first interval, her focus was intent on what, to him, was a complicated story that had layers to it that he didn’t understand.

“Oh, wasn’t that marvellous!” Margaret enthused when the curtains finally closed and the gas lighting brightened the theatre. “Thank you for bringing me, Johnny.”

He escorted her out of their seats and into the foyer, his smile genuine. He’d taken different women to theatre productions during the last couple of years but he was sure that none of them would have been so appreciative of the gloomy tragedy they’d just watched. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“You didn’t?” she asked.

“Well, some of it was very dramatic! Though, I might have enjoyed it more if I had read the play first and knew what was to be expected. It was tragedy, indeed.” He grinned at her expression. “All those dead bodies.”

“I feel very spoiled, Johnny. I’ve only ever read of Shakespeare being performed in Glasgow and Edinburgh. To think, if you’d not seen that newspaper advertisement, we’d have missed seeing it here in Aberdeen.”

Tumbling out of the Theatre Royal onto Marischal Street, he suggested going into one of the local pubs for a quick drink.

“Well, why not?” Margaret didn’t even sound hesitant which pleased him greatly. “I don’t have to rush back for Jamie. Maisie is keeping him till tomorrow for me. But are we not too late?”

The pubs on Marischal Street were filling up rapidly with people just like them who had spilled out of the theatre, but Johnny managed to find them a space in one of the hostelries on King Street. Placing a tankard of ale in front of Margaret, he sat down opposite her.

“Would you rather have gone to the Variety Show that’s on tomorrow?” she asked, her expression quite serious.

“Not at all. I’d have missed seeing you so transfixed.”

“Going to a theatre always creates an excitement. It hasn’t happened all that often,” Margaret stopped to take a sip of ale. “And it’s been a very long time since it last happened.”

“Tonight was my first time at an Aberdeen theatre.” Johnny sipped his ale, wiped his lips with the back of his hand and continued. “I’ve been to various venues in Dundee, Music Halls and the like, but that’s it for me. There isn’t a proper theatre in Kirriemuir. What about you?”

“Ah, well, in past years I’ve been very lucky,” Margaret’s quirky smile made him curious. “When I was a lady’s maid – did Sandy ever tell you that was one of my jobs?”

When he shook his head, she continued.

“Sometimes, I was more of a chaperon for Miss Marianne and if she went to soirees in private houses, or to the theatre, or a music hall, then I accompanied her.”

“Time’s up, folks! Finish your drinks.” The raucous sounds coming from the proprietor intruded, pulling Johnny’s focus away from Margaret’s fascinating stories.

She was definitely not a run-of-the-mill girl. She’d had so many experiences that most women he knew of could only dream about. It was with great reluctance he escorted her back to her lodgings, because he wanted to know so much more about her.

(749)

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: mybook.to/FSSSS

This title / series is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Author Bio:

Nancy Jardine writes historical adventure fiction, historical saga, time travel historical adventure and contemporary mysteries. Research gobbles up lots of time but it’s a delight, and never a chore. Her garden wouldn’t win any prizes but tending it is a great way to unwind and gives her some lovely plants to post on Instagram!

When not creating her novels, or promoting her writing, she loves to interact with readers at Book and Craft Fairs where she signs/sells paperback versions of her novels. Recently she’s taken part in author panels at Book Festivals.

Memberships include: Historical Novel Society; Society of Authors; Scottish Association of Writers; Federation of Writers Scotland; Romantic Novelists’ Association; and Alliance of Independent Authors. She’s self-published with Ocelot Press.

Author Links:

Website: https://www.nancyjardine.com/

Twitter / X: https://x.com/nansjar

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyJardinewrites

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nansjar2023/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/nansjar23.bsky.social

Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/nanjar/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/nancy-jardine

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@nansjar2023

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Nancy-Jardine/author/B005IDBIYG/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5139590.Nancy_Jardine

Earth’s Last Hope took Pinnacle Gold Environmental Summer 2026

Thanks to all those who believe in me. Book Link

Book Title: Time Enough 

Series:  n/a

Author Name: Lise Mayne  

Publication Date: December 2024 

Publisher: Oprelle Publications  

Pages: 507 

Genre: Historical Fiction  

Any Triggers: n/a 

Twitter / X Handles: @cathiedunn @maryanneyarde @AuthorMichael57

Instagram Handles: @maynelise_author @thecoffeepotbookclub @yardereviews

Hashtags: #HistoricalFiction #FamilySaga #ImmigrationSaga #WestwardExpansion #IsleofMan #ReaderReach #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub #YardeBookPromotions

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2026/08/blog-tour-time-enough-audiobook-by-lise-mayne.html

Book Title and Author Name:
Time Enough

By Lise Mayne

Audiobook Narrator: Keena Herman  

Blurb: 

A determined mother. A loyal son. An unforgettable journey.

When Euphemia and her family leave the rugged Isle of Man in search of a better life, they carry little more than hope, determination, and an unbreakable bond with one another. Their journey takes them across continents—from the windswept shores of Britain to the forests of Ontario and the vast prairie landscapes of Saskatchewan—where every new beginning demands sacrifice.

Through hardship, heartbreak, unexpected love, and the relentless challenges of frontier life, generations of one family discover that courage is often quiet, and home is something built one day at a time.

Richly researched and inspired by true family history, Time Enough is an unforgettable historical novel celebrating resilience, tradition, and the enduring strength of ordinary people who accomplished extraordinary things.

Perfect for listeners who enjoy emotionally rich historical fiction, multigenerational family sagas, and stories that linger long after the final chapter.

Spanning continents and generations, Time Enough follows a courageous woman and her eldest son as they leave the Isle of Man behind, chasing a future across the Atlantic. From bustling Michigan to the rugged beauty of Manitoulin Island and the vast plains of Saskatchewan, they battle loss, betrayal, and the hard truths of survival in an unforgiving new world. As their past clings tight and the future demands sacrifice, one question endures: What does it take to finally feel at home?

Lise Mayne delivers a sweeping, emotionally charged novel for fans of The Nightingale, The Book of Negroes, and The Giver of Stars — a story of grit, heart, and the enduring power of family.

Buy Links: 

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/mqxLQ6

Audible link: https://www.audible.ca/pd/Time-Enough-Audiobook/B0HCRMDLVC

Author Bio:

Lise Mayne (aka LG Pomerleau) writes poetry and prose from her home in Alberta, Canada.

Becoming Sand, 2012, presented a fictional Canadian-Francophone family’s history. Time Enough, Oprelle Publications, 2024, is the saga of a family migrating from Isle of Man to Canada, via Michigan, in the early 1900’s. Time Enough won Bronze in the Coffee Pot Book Club Book of the Year award, 2025, Historical Fiction, Westward Expansion. Lise’s award-winning poetry appears in several international literary publications.

Lise volunteers as a bluebird monitor, plays the harp and cherishes her family.

Author Links: 

Website: https://www.lisemayne.ca

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisemayneauthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maynelise_author  

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/lisemayneauthor.bsky.social

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@maynelise_author  

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/timeenough

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222241608-time-enough

Book Link

From Amazon:

A move to a new city was supposed to be a fresh start—until strange symbols, missing recipes, and whispers of a secret guild pull Ivy Meadows into a mystery that begins inside an old church-turned-restaurant.

With courage, curiosity, and quiet faith, Ivy must uncover secrets hidden beneath Seattle’s end-of-summer, rain-soaked streets before time runs out.

Each book features a different real city, capturing its atmosphere and local character while blending real-world inspiration with fictional places.

My Review:

This is the perfect book to help all young readers advance their minds trying to figure out what each clue found or spoken of meant. Danger awaits, but never anyone hurt, and the clues do piece together. The length is right for older children ages eight to eleven.

Book Link

From Amazon:

DON’T GET MAD – GET FLIPPING MAD! Worn out and lonely after eight years, Allison McKinley decides to hang up her project manager hat and returns home. While her family and friends are thrilled to have her back, they slowly reveal their many idiosyncrasies. She gets reacquainted with her eternally-optimistic father, her outspoken and strongly-opinionated grandmother, and her mud-slinging girlfriends who are wildly jealous of each other. Everyone takes turns raising the drama up a notch with their outrageous behavior. In the middle of all this chaos, Allison meets Tim Mueller, a hunky handyman who flips houses on the side. That plants the seed of change in her mind. Intrigued, Allison wants house-flipping to be the next chapter in her life, believing she can succeed at it. Allison soon finds herself way in over her head, lacking the technical skills required. Desperate for some real help, she strikes a deal with Tim, who agrees to do the rehab work on her place if she will handle the sale of his flip. Although scoring victories on the project front, Allison hasn’t been as lucky finding romance. When it comes to men, things never go right. While aiming to prove herself as a viable business partner, she fights a losing battle with her attraction to Tim. He has his own share of fumbled relationships. Eventually she learns that he’s much more complicated that she ever dreamed. FLIPPING MAD is a romantic comedy full of quirky characters and zany situations about starting over, taking chances and finding real love under the craziest circumstances!

My Review:

I found this romance to be a wonderful and heart warming novel mixed with quirks and of people who are the opposite of who they want to be. It can be a good thing to leave the rat race of New York City for smaller town life. Breaking points are met and the flipping of houses is great to read about.

Yesterday, I had two very large postal cardboard items in my snail mail. I looked at the first one to see who sent it, and I knew what it contained, so I went to the second one, and I found this certificate above!

Winners list on Pencraft Website

Thank you so very much! “I was especially fascinated by the underground bunker system and the ingenuity behind its design. The interconnected technologies, from underground fisheries and thermal energy systems to innovative methods of managing volcanic magma, create a world that feels both meticulously planned and entirely believable.”

https://www.amazon.com/Earths-Last-Hope-Mary-Schmidt-ebook/dp/B0GX36GXN2/

#Yellowstone #Denver #NORAD #scifi #BooksWorthReading #PsychologicalThriller #Suspense #BookBoost

Book Link

From Amazon:

A Christmas novella about love, loss, and new beginnings

When Ann Cramer’s mother has a stroke and is placed in a nursing home to recover, Ann leaves her job and her fiancé in New York to return to Dillford, California, where she grew up. Reconnecting with old friends, Ann decides to restore her mother’s bakery, desperately aiming to bring her mother home by Christmas Eve so they can celebrate as a family.

Restoring the bakery is not a simple task, and things go from bad to worse when Ann learns her sister is missing. She frantically sets out to find her, along with her former boyfriend, Sean Phillips. Will Ann fulfill her dream of having her mother home for the holidays? Will she find her sister before it’s too late? And does her heart still belong to Dillford?

My Review:

Mary Schmidt

5 out of 5 stars

Romance and Christmas

Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2026

Format: Kindle

Verified Purchase

Who doesn’t love a good romance and Christmas? Look at all the movies made featuring those two elements. But heartbreaking moments also happen in the movies just like this novel. Great book!

Book Link

From Amazon:

Police Officer April Masters has one final job to do. And if she can pull it off, she’ll have the funds to send her son abroad for the treatment he so desperately needs to help him walk.

Working undercover on a plan developed by the Force and the insurance company, all she has to do is link wealthy gallery owner Dylan Rider to the theft of a stolen painting; her remit, posing as an ex-con, is to work as a cleaner at the gallery.

However, totally unprepared for Dylan Rider’s charm and charisma, April puts her integrity on hold and embarks upon an affair – only to bring him down in the end, she tells herself.

But someone is watching her.
Someone who knows who she really is . . . someone that could blow her cover.

The plan has to change.
She needs to become more resourceful.
Her son’s future depends on it.

My Review:

• 
• Mary Schmidt
• 5 out of 5 stars
• Fools they are
• Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2026
• Format: Kindle
• Verified Purchase
• This story made for a great read. The masterpiece of masterminding others superb. I never suspected how the ending would go. I did come to realize who she’d been seeing but the story came together nice and. Only a mastermind could write this.