This is Halloween: A Review 🎃 🌲

Hello Reader,

I am so happy you are here! Today I want to share with you about:

🎃 This is Halloween--a review

🌲 Family is Family--an excerpt

☘️ A Match Made in Ireland-- an audio deal

Before I start, I first wanted to say hi. 👋 This weekend my first-born turns 18, and I'm feeling all the feels. Sad that he's now officially an adult, old because I remember the day I brought him home like it was yesterday, and excited for his future. I was looking back at our journey as a family and how many mothering hardships I faced. He was not an easy baby, but thankfully I was a brand-new mom who thought our journey was everyone's journey.

Didn't every child need their food ice cold before they would eat it? Didn't every child take cold baths? Didn't every two-year-old need a first-then visual in their kitchen just to get through the day? Looking back, and knowing what I know now, all the signs were there that we needed strategies, but back then, I thought it was typical development.

And now I look at him, and he's an amazing young man. He's kind, talented (you should hear that kid play guitar), hilarious (I don't know where he got his wit from, but it certainly wasn't from me!), and a deep thinker. I know he walks to the beat of a different drummer, but I ALSO know he will be fine.

All I want is for him to be happy (cue happy tears 😢).

Okay! Now to get to my news!

Drumroll please!

This is Halloween by Sarah Branson is now LIVE! And that means the women of Blue Spruce Hills are also alive. You will find cameos, conversations, and layers of all the women in all the stories. I have read all the books, and although I cannot leave a review anywhere, I wanted to share mine here. If you love cozy stories that wrap you in a hug, you will LOVE the Blue Spruce Hills Novella series.

Edy's Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Jules Lockwood is new to Blue Spruce Hills, a small town in the Poconos Mountains. A quick stop to pay off her student loan bills and fill in as the town's midwife, Jules has her sights set on Australia. Two months, and then she's gone. But her plan goes awry when she meets a handsome historian, a friendly ghost, and a medical emergency on Halloween night. Will Jules stay or will Blue Spruce Hills remain in her rearview mirror?

Sarah Branson's writing is warm and cozy, creating characters that feel like friends. She brings Blue Spruce Hills to life, making the reader wish they lived in a tight-knit community where everyone knows everyone's name. This is a great story for those who are or have searched for a home away from home, love a good ghost, and enjoy the friends-to-lovers trope.

Imagine yourself sitting on your couch with a steaming cup of tea and a blanket over your lap. The leaves are falling, and the wind is blowing, and you have This is Halloween on your lap. It's a quick read that will leave you wanting for more.

Family is Family is coming out in two weeks! Here is an excerpt about Violet McFadden.

Until Reid announced his unhappiness three years ago, Violet Reads had been our dream. Well, kind of. I had wanted to be the supportive wife who thirsted for personality beyond motherhood, so I’d let his dream morph into our married identity.

The small bookstore had been brewing in Reid’s mind since our honeymoon in Paris. An English professor by day but a writer at heart, he wanted to give back to the community of Blue Spruce Hills, Pennsylvania, by creating a place where people could dive into knowledge, escape from their busy lives, and be present in literary magic. At the time, it had sounded so romantic.

But that was years ago, before Covid and our divorce changed everything. Before the courts decided that I had to alternate his dream and our family every other week. He couldn’t buy me out, and I certainly wasn’t going to give my share away. Plus, it allowed me to keep tabs on the four girls when I was living in the studio above the shop; another court concession.

Violet Reads was a constant reminder of what could have been: a lost dream of a classroom with fourteen six-year-olds eager to learn.

Just like our marriage, we split the business like a custody agreement. If we weren’t with the kids, we were managing the bookstore or Reid was working part-time at the college, and Friday was switch day. That was the only day Reid and I crossed physical paths. A quick run-down of the week resembled a board meeting rather than two people who once loved one another and shared the same bed.

We both knew the store wasn’t thriving. It was another notch, reminding me of our imploding lives.

And last but not least, don't forget to grab A Match Made in Ireland in audio for less than a dollar! It's 8 hours of entertainment and will bring you to the rolling hills of Ireland.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and a wonderful rest of your September. Grab a book, enjoy, and tell me what you think!

--edy.

P.S.-If you have any fun, halloweeny-vibe reads, send them my way! I'd love to grab a few to get into the holiday spirit.

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