How come you haven’t met Mr. Right yet? The quintessential question asked by well meaning relatives during the holidays. And the answer is usually the same, he hasn’t been struck in the bum by Cupid’s arrow. Either that or he is hiding. Rosemary, weary of searching, has called it quits. She refuses to participate in any holiday celebrations. At least that was her plan, her best friend, Kaye, had other plans. She dragged her protesting friend to her annual Christmas party at Emmett’s house. Rosemary stomped her way through the seasonally decorated yard like a humbugging Grinch, mumbling about wanting to be home in her comfy chair and attempting to finagle her way out of the party. She grumbled up until their eye catching host, Emmett, stood in the doorway. There were no sparks. Not even a hint of blossoming love. But next thing she knew, she was scarfing down the holiday meal, and being roped into the twelve dates of Christmas … the eye narrowing handsome host was chosen to be her holiday partner. We’re talking about living out the famous Twelve Days of Christmas Carol, including partridges, three French hens, and seven lords a leaping dating… and all before the big day. Can you imagine? The absolute choas that ensued. But lonely people do crazy things when they’re challenged. So, Rosemary, never one to back down from a challenge made one big … HUGE mistake. She accidentally fell for the unapproachable Emmett Robert.
I loved this book by a new-ish author. Out of all the different people involved, all adults, each one changed for the better as they worked as couple and a group towards completing a goal to have 12 different dates before Christmas tied to each part of the 12 days of Christmas in that holiday song. People change. They grown into themselves more, they take chances on love, and lots of griping initially. How do each couple work out the issues? Read and find out.
Inspired by the groundbreaking discoveries of ether and chloroform anesthesia, William Stewart Halsted pursues a surgical career with ruthless ambition, daring to perform operations deemed impossible by his peers. His reputations skyrockets with each bold success—until his quest for an effective local anesthetic leads him to inject himself with cocaine.
Caroline, the niece of Confederate General Wade Hampton, seeks to escape the constraints of post-war South Carolina by training as a nurse. When she takes a position at the prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital, she finds herself captivated by the brilliant yet troubled chief of surgery, Dr. Halsted.
Till Taught by Pain is a poignant exploration of love and sacrifice, as Caroline grapples with the difficult choice between enabling her husband’s addiction and supporting his pioneering career. As their lives intertwine, both must confront the consequences of ambition, the nature of love, and the toll of personal demons on their shared dreams.
Susan Coventry is a retired physician with a lifelong historical fiction obsession. Her first novel, The Queen’s Daughter, was a YA historical set in the Middle Ages. For Till Taught by Pain, she switched from YA to adult novels and moved on from Medieval Europe to turn-of-the-20th century U.S.
She lives in Louisville, KY with her historian husband, Brad Asher.
Inspired by Gerrit van Honthorst’s masterpiece, The Adoration of the Child, and the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.
Italy, 1620.
Angelo is an orphan, lonely and forgotten. Having been passed on from one family to the next, he ends up as a common thief, subject to and under the thumb of a ruthless robber called Tozzo.
Angelo knows no other life and has lost hope that any chance of providence will ever replace his lonely, misfortunate existence. When he loses his master, his livelihood is shaken. Tozzo’s plunder is hidden in a safe place, but what will happen if someone comes after Angelo to get their hands on the stolen relics? More than that, he feels threatened by words he’s heard too many times; that he’ll always remain unforgiven and doomed.
One day, a priest invites Angelo to help with chores around the church and rectory and, in exchange, offers him room and board. Padre Benedetto’s kindness and respect are unfamiliar and confusing, but Angelo’s safety is still a grave concern. Two older robbers have heard rumors about the hidden treasures and will stop at nothing to attain them.
With literary depictions and imagery, Angelo’s story is a gripping and emotional journey of faint hope and truth in seventeenth-century Italy—an artistic and audacious tale that crosses paths with art collector Vincenzo Giustiniani and the powerful Medici family.
Using invisible threads, Heidi Eljarbo weaves together her fictional stories with historical figures and real events.
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
Author Bio:
HEIDI ELJARBO grew up in a home full of books, artwork, and happy creativity. She is the author of historical novels filled with courage, hope, mystery, adventure, and sweet romance during challenging times. She’s been named a master of dual timelines and often writes about strong-willed women of past centuries.
After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She lives with her husband on a charming island and enjoys walking in any kind of weather, hugging her grandchildren, and has a passion for art and history.
Her family’s chosen retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summer and ski the vast white terrain during winter.
Heidi’s favorites are her family, God’s beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.
Odele Gardia . . . married to wealthy businessman Howard, is the hard-nosed matriarch of the family and will stop at nothing to achieve her goals. She’s ruthless in the boardroom and not afraid to lean on adversaries.
Sebastian Gardia . . . Odele’s brother and business partner. His wife, Freya, reveals that she is pregnant with their first child.
Elliot . . . the prodigal son, is returning from America with his girlfriend, intending to propose to her.
Business is booming, her brother is going to become a father, and her son is coming home – it’s surely a time to celebrate. But Odele is hiding a huge secret and is constantly looking over her shoulder. If the secret came out, it would destroy the family.
Jimmy Alder . . . booted out of the police force, has been paid to spy on the family. The discovery he makes could have catastrophic consequences for them all.
A dysfunctional family, protectors of their power, wealth and each other, have no warning of the revelations about to erupt and the cost to their dynasty.
This story is so tangled up with some who do anything for money, some who have very selfish wants rather than needs, and evildoers mixed in with those who actually love humanity. Passionate love permeates the soul. The story ties up almost perfectly, except for one man whose daughter fought cancer, and a son with the true love of his life. Maybe this book has a book two coming?
New! My new giveaway is for When Angels Fly. 10 softcovers to be won on Goodreads.
They say there is no greater loss than that of a child; I say losing a child is the king of loss. A journey of hope and strength. Multi Award Winner Book, When Angels Fly, by Mary L. Schmidt aka S. Jackson. After surviving the cruel rage of tyranny from her mother and ex-husband, Sarah Jackson traveled a new path; a journey of loss, heartbreak, and ultimately strength. How do we survive the unthinkable, our child suffering from a terminal illness? They say there is no greater loss than that of a child; I say losing a child is the king of loss. Sometimes the thing that helps us survive it, is knowing we are not alone. Bestselling author, Sarah Jackson, will take you on her journey of hope and strength as she provides an intimate raw look at her life.
This is two weeks, so sign up between January 7th and January 14th.
Poinsettia Girl is based on the story of Agata de la Pieta, an orphan musician of the Ospedale de la Pieta.
Ten-year-old Agata’s world is shaken at the sudden death of her mother. Left only with her egregious father, a working musician in Venice, her ailing grandmother sends her to the well-known orphanage, hidden from everything she’s ever known.
Agata auditions for the conservatory style music school where music is both salvation and spectacle. Hidden behind ornate metal grates, adorned with poinsettias in their hair, the singers are veiled in mystery, their ethereal music drawing noble audiences, including gilded young men who see them as treasures-not only for their sound but as coveted marriage prizes.
Just as she reaches the height of her musical journey, a marriage proposal from someone outside the audience tempts her with the promise of a new life-a return to the old neighborhood she’s longed for and a home she barely remembers.
Torn between the music that has defined her and the hope of belonging to a family, Agata must confront the most profound question of her life: is her purpose rooted in the music that shaped her, or in the love that might free her?
Excerpt 5:
Some might have considered her earlier days slightly more illustrious than her current stage. She had once been a contralto, something special and different for composers to write for and crowds to be awed by. She pictured herself standing at the front of the balcony behind the metal cutout, remembering what it felt like to be seen. She ran her hands over her hips, feeling the smoothness of the deep red skirt over her narrow hips, and then moved them up to touch the heavy drape of her lace collar, forcing her shoulders back.
Her thick raven hair was brushed back in a woven bun, and the poinsettia behind her ear was striking in contrast. And now, she was a spry (well, she thought so) sixty-two-year-old, young enough that her widened hips still moved nimbly, and old enough that when her gray hair was unwound from its head covering, she could find not one of her former black strands left. She was known as the old woman in the hall, called by the name Discrete, which meant separate. That little skip flipped in her heart like it did occasionally, and she moved her hand from her gray hair to her chest.
I just pushmyself on some days. I can take it easier tomorrow.
Portrait by Valentina Photography at Macardi Images
Author Bio:
Jennifer Wizbowski spent her childhood days lost among the spines of her favorite books. Inspired by the daffodil fields of Wordsworth and the babbling brooks of Shakespeare, she earned her bachelor’s in English literature, a minor in music, and a secondary teaching credential, then wrote freelance for local business journals, taught in classrooms, and authored a Teen and Tween column for a parent magazine—all while raising her family.
As those years ended, she knew it was the right time to pursue her lifelong aspiration of bringing her own books to life. She now devotes herself to illuminating everyday women’s stories often lost in the shadows of history, revealing how they became heroines of their own time and place.
Fracturing Time (Stealing Time Series, Book 4)—A Time Travel Thriller Packed with Suspense and Nonstop Action
A hurricane is brewing, a deadly plague is spreading, and time isn’t what we think it is.
Ronnie Andrews knows he’s here. Jeffrey Brennan, the ex-boyfriend who has haunted her past, is lurking somewhere in the Puerto Rican hospital, waiting for his moment to strike. As bubonic plague fears sweep the island, the hospital descends into chaos—staff flee, Homeland Security locks down the facility, and a bioterror threat escalates. But Ronnie fears something even worse: that Jeffrey will use this moment of turmoil to send her hurtling through time once again.
The damage to her brain from previous time-travel events is already severe—one more jump could destroy her. But Jeffrey needs Ronnie and Mike gone before they expose his time travel device to the government.
Meanwhile, Mike—barely clinging to consciousness after a devastating mudslide crash—is about to be put into a medically induced coma. But he knows one thing: if he falls asleep, he may never wake up again. With time slipping through their fingers, can Ronnie and Mike stop Jeffrey before it’s too late?
Fracturing Time is the adrenaline-pumping fourth book in the Stealing Time series, packed with high-stakes suspense, time travel twists, and heart-pounding action.
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2025
Format: Kindle
Now that I’ve read this book, the conclusion to all of the time travel and craziness with a bad ex-boyfriend, and more has come to tuition. I love that Ronniw finds true love, and Jeffrey will rot behind bars for life. The horrors of time travel, and splintering off shoots to start a new, and separate, timeline, what makes one truly fractured, the list is endless. Reality changes in the blink of an eye. Don’t miss this novel.
Hello Mary, Congratulations! Your book Her Alibi has been awarded the GOLD medal in the category Family Relationships at the Global Book Awards. In the coming days, we’ll send you details on how to get hold of your digital certificate and medal, but just wanted to pass on the good news first. Announcing this year’s award winners!
Congratulations to all the following authors on winning the following awards. To view all medal winners, please visit our Global Book Awards Winners Page
The awards are grouped by category (or genre) and divided into Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Award Finalists. To help you find the categories you are interested in, use the drop-down list box near the top left – or simply use the “search” option to find any book title, author, or category.
Please feel free to share the news with others on social media or by email.Congratulations once more, The Global Book Awards Team. https://www.globalbookawards.com
Life on Molly is a travel and lifestyle blog. I am a normal girl with many passions. I am an explorer of new places, a learner of new languages, creator of my ambitions, blogger, and a good pal. This blog is my little corner of the world where I am able to share my adventures with you and inspire you to live a life full of purpose.
When Angels Fly 