April was a busy month with my parents visiting, so I didn’t read as much as last month, but was still able to hit my goal of four books a month. All my books this month flipped between current day and the past within the story. I enjoy this format and think it really helps with the character development. Are you a fan of dual timelines within a book?

Also be sure to check out all my past reads in my new Bookshelf page.

** Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org where your purchases support local bookstores. I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase on any of the links below. **

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

This was a great book that had me guessing until the end. Evie Porter has it all - a wonderful boyfriend, a house with a garden and picket fence, a good group of friends… it all seems perfect. Except Evie doesn’t exist. She’s a made up identity for a job she’s working. Evie works for Mr. Smith. She doesn’t know who he is, but he pays her extremely well for all her jobs. She becomes a person, gets to know the mark, and then obtains whatever information Mr. Smith requires. Then she moves on. But this one is different. She’s falling for Ryan, her current Mark. All seems to be going fine until a girl shows up in town pretending to be Evie’s real identity. This can’t be a coincidence and Evie realizes she’s being tested and watched. Can Evie get our from under Mr. Smith? Will she find out who he really is? Can she get her happy ending? “The first lie has to be the strongest. The most important. The one that has to be told”, but can she ever recover from that lie?

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

If you read The Lost Apothecary and loved it as much as I did, add this one to your list. I adored this book and it’s characters. Set in Dublin, the three characters of the book are impacted by a mysterious, magical bookshop. Martha has left her abusive husband and taken a room and job working for an eccentric old woman. She’s starting over and trying to find her way and purpose. Henry, a scholar, is searching for a lost manuscript and a book store he knows exists even though he can’t find it. And Opaline is the bookshop’s owner from 100 years earlier who was running from a life she didn’t want to one that follows her dreams. Flipping between present day and 100 years earlier, we learn each of their stories and see how they are intertwined. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the warm hearted book.

The Mystery Guest (A Maid Novel) by Nita Prose

The second book from the author of The Maid, Molly is back and this time she’s helping solve the murder of a guest at the hotel that she has ties to from her childhood. If you read the first book and liked it, definitely read this one (and if you haven’t read The Maid yet, I recommend reading that first to give you more background). Molly has been promoted to Head Maid at the five star hotel she’s worked at for years. Her attention to detail and ability to see the smallest of things is what really makes her such a fun character. What she lacks in social cues she makes up for in seeing the things no one else does. When a murder takes place at the hotel and all of Molly’s coworkers are suspects, it’s up to Molly to help solve it. While Molly helps her foe, the Detective (from the first book), we jump back through her memories that take place in the victim’s home where Molly’s grandma was the maid. It’s a light mystery with a lot of heart.

The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza

Part thriller, part drama/historical fiction, I had a hard time putting this book down. Sara Marsala is a chef whose business and marriage have failed. Her dearest aunt Rosie has passed away and has one last request for her - go to sicily and claim their families land and spread her ashes there. So begins Sara’s adventure. What she thinks will be a quick and easy trip turns out to be so much more. She learns her great grandmother (Serafina,who she grew up hearing stories about) may not have been what she was lead to believe. And, the land she’s come to claim is wanted by others and they doubt it belongs to Sara. As Sara races to uncover the truth, we learn who Serafina was and what really happened with a dual timeline. It’s a page turner for sure and I learned a bit about Sicily to boot!