Showing posts with label Women. Show all posts

Friday, August 9, 2024

The Women of Wynton's: A Classy 1950s Mystery by Donna Mumma

What a great story to get wrapped up in. I love the 1950s setting. 3d characters, women who work at the store, each with different backgrounds, who see each other's gifts and strengths and come together to solve a mystery that has impact on them all. Murder and subterfuge surround them, yet they are all grateful for the store and the support they receive from each other. So hard to put down. The mystery snowballs until you just have to know what happens next, all while rooting for these girls. Another fave story!

I received this book free from the author, publisher and CelebrateLit book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#TheWomenOfWyntons #DonnaMumma #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #CelebrateLit #ChristianMystery&Suspense #BarbourFiction

About the Book

Book: The Women of Wynton’s

Author: Donna Mumma

Genre: Mystery/Christian Fiction

Release date: July, 2024

Mid-Century Glam Meets Murder Mayhem

Get swept away to the glamor of a 1950’s department store where four women’s loyalties, vanity, friendship, and detective skills are put to the test.

Audrey Penault once led a glamorous life as a model but now works as devoted secretary to Mr. Wynton. To her fellow employees, she is too vain and uppity.

Mary Jo Johnson, a wife and mother, longs to find her worth in the cosmetics department, but it may take a while for the shy housewife to discover her voice.

Vivian Sheffield owns and runs the bridal salon within Wynton’s. She is proud of her accomplishments and won’t let anyone take them away.

Gigi Woodard dislikes her job as waitress in the store’s lunchroom, but she is determined not to let her secret shortcomings cause her to lose the position.

These four women have much to dislike about each other, but they unanimously agree that Mr. Wynton is the best of employers and must be protected at all costs from someone who seems determined to see him gone for good. When other employee deaths occur, can the women band together to solve the murders, or will they discover it is one of their own bent on destroying Wynton’s from within?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Donna Mumma perfected storytelling in her first grade classroom, spinning tales exciting enough to settle a roomful of antsy six-year-olds. She is an award winning author who loves to blend history, mystery, and a dash of hope in stories that explore ordinary people who learn extraordinary life lessons. Donna is an active member of Word Weavers International, serving as president for the Tampa chapter as well as a mentor for chapters around the country. She was recognized as the Word Weavers traditional groups president and mentor of the year in 2022. She also serves as a line editor and contributor for Inskpirationsonline.com, a site featuring devotions written for writers by writers. An avid believer in education, Donna earned her M. Ed in elementary education and writes educational blogs and articles to assist teachers overseas for the International School Project. A native Floridian, she loves sharing life with her husband and her energetic collie, Duke.

More from Donna

Two models posed in red, flowy iconic 50’s dresses, white gloves, and classy hats. Perfect makeup and hair. Years ago, this picture hung in the dressing rooms of my favorite clothing store.

I was hooked.

Every time I entered the store, I’d walk to the dressing rooms to stare at the picture whether I had something to try on or not. There was something about that image that drew me in.

A few years later, I happened upon the same picture from the store on a social media page I’d joined featuring fashions from the 1950’s. I discovered my beloved photo came from a cover of Vogue magazine issued in 1955.

Then my imagination started churning. Every movie I’d watched with Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and Kim Novak came to mind. I pictured four women, wearing the classy, tailored suits, full-skirted dresses, and the beautiful gowns from the 50’s. They were going to work in a department store because I grew up on a dairy farm, way out in the country of central Florida, and the big department stores like Burdines, Maas Brothers, and Robinsons were the most glamourous, luxurious places I’d ever seen.

These women were going to have to deal with a few murders. And the fact they don’t care much for each other.

As I researched, departments stores, history, fashion, and life in Florida in the 1950’s these characters came alive. First was Audrey, a former fashion model and the personal secretary to the owner of Wynton’s Department Store who may be the most hated woman around town. Miss Vivien, the owner and designer for Wynton’s bridal salon, who fights being set aside because she’s growing older. Mary Jo, a young wife and mother who longs to be at home but must take a job at Wynton’s to save her family. Lastly, Gigi, a girl who’s tired of the tough breaks in her life and hopes a new job at Wynton’s will bring her better fortune.

I wanted their experiences in the story to be true-to-life for that period and drew from stories and memories my own mother shared with me when I was growing up. I had so much fun writing about The Women of Wynton’s as they worked their way through mayhem, murders, and a Christmas parade, but also learned much about the women in this period of history. It is my hope my readers will too.

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, August 2
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, August 2
Stories By Gina, August 3 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 3
Pause for Tales, August 4
Texas Book-aholic, August 4
Inspired by fiction, August 5
Locks, Hooks and Books, August 6
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 7
Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, August 7
Happily Managing a Household of Boys , August 8
Books You Can Feel Good About, August 9
Simple Harvest Reads, August 10 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)
Paperbacks and Throwbacks, August 10
Book Looks by Lisa, August 11
Cover Lover Book Review, August 12
For Him and My Family, August 13
Lights in a Dark World, August 14
Jeanette’s Thoughts, August 14
Labor Not in Vain, August 15

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Donna is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon e-Gift card and a print copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2d090/the-women-of-wynton-s-celebration-tour-giveaway

My reviews

Friday, April 21, 2023

The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan

Excellent story about a group of friends, how they support and help each other by joining forces. Working together they can achieve great things. Focusing on one main family and the father and daughter from the Vicarage, it's the story of a small village and town where the people came together during the war. One woman comes back from London where she was a famous and successful fashion designer, lending her skills to the local sewing group. When the vicar's daughter is engaged to be married, she gets out her mother's wedding dress from the attic, bringing it to the group for intense mending, and learning more of its history as the story goes along. She then decides to lend it to anyone in the group to wear for their wedding and the idea expands from there until they have many donations of wedding dresses and brides waiting to borrow them. The lack of fabric makes it necessary to make clothes with less or mend and rework existing clothes. The English government had very strict guidelines for it.

My Grandmother was a master at reworking clothes. She worked at church rummage sales, bringing home clothes and remaking them into what she liked. She had a great eye for it and did beautiful work. I inherited many of her creative talents, but never remade clothes. I find it fascinating and am thinking about trying it out now that I'm retired and on a budget.

I really got lost in this and hated to see it end. Romance, warm hearts, misunderstandings and people reflecting on their lives and who they are as a person. Because of the war women stepped up to fill jobs that they never would have had otherwise. They learned new skills and excelled in ways that would not have been allowed before. Loved this story, it's beautifully told.

I received this book free from the author, publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#NetGalley #TheWeddingDressSewingCircle #JenniferRyan #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #FiveStarNovel #RandomHouse

My reviews

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Line by Line by Jennifer Delamere

London, England 1881

The Telegraph was an important tool of business, opening up lines of communication that were impossible before. Businesses quickly took advantage of it to give them a competitive edge. Morse code was easy as long as you could memorize, listen and combine it correctly. Since Morse code was widely becoming known, they had to develop their own code words so that anyone who intercepted and listened in wouldn't know the message. Women were as good as men with this and entered the workplaces as telegraphers, alongside men. We all know what happens when you put men and women together in the same place all day. Lots of possibilities. Love issues and theft of information among them. When Alice comes into the office, she has a lot of experience, intelligence, and is highly efficient at her job. The guy who was already there was a slump but was related by marriage. Douglas was an intelligent and hard-working guy who had advanced himself from a poor life, becoming invaluable to the owner. Into this mix comes jealousy, social snubbing, social climbing, subterfuge moral code of the day and love. Mixed with a little humor to make it interesting. This is one of those fabulous authors who makes you forget the people aren't real. I found myself praying for them more than once. Excellent read that you don't want to see end.

I received this book free from the author, publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#NetGalley #LineByLine #JenniferDelamere #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #ChristianHistoricalFiction #FiveStarNovel #BethanyHouse

My reviews:

Thursday, February 16, 2023

The Weight of Air by Kimberly Duffy

1891. Christian Historical. Fabulous story, very hard to put down. I felt engaged with the characters right away. A mother and daughter who are both in the circus, started out as a family, in Europe. A lot of problems are wrestled with, women who pursue traditionally male-dominated careers, couples who flip gender expectations (for instance, a heroine who towers over the hero), how completely exhausting and crushing postpartum depression and OCD are. Women were quite covered up with their clothing in those days, but these girls wore very skimpy costumes and were very exposed, ogled in their acts yet belittled outside the circus. Three generations of women go through similar feelings at some points in their lives. You can feel the excitement and tension of the circus acts. Love and fear bundled into their stories. Complicated relationships with their husbands. Excellent read.

I received this book free from the author, publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#NetGalley #TheWeightOfAir #KimberlyDuffy #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #ChristianHistoricalFiction

My reviews

Wednesday, November 23, 2022

The Call of the Wrens by Jenni L Walsh

Marion's story spanned both WW1 and WW2. Evelyn's story was in WW2. Both served as motorcycle dispatch riders for the British Women’s Royal Naval Service or Wrens. Their stories go deep for each. Marion wants to fit in, Evelyn wants to prove herself. Each is handicapped in their own way. Marion grew up in orphanages, Evelyn was brought up in a wealthy family and sheltered. They each had wonderful men in their lives. It's easy to get attached to these characters and find yourself rooting for them, holding your breath and at the edge of your seat at times for each. I found it interesting that lives of real Wrens had influenced the writing, real life situations during war. The excellent writing kept me engaged to the very end. Inspirational.

I received this book free from the publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#TheCalloftheWrens #NetGalley #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #JenniLWalsh #WW2 #WW1

My reviews

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

To Disguise the Truth by Jen Turano

Inspirational Christian historical romance where you'll laugh till you cry and get very attached to these people. Eunice owns the Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency in New York City and is the woman hiding under widows' weeds in previous books. Now we get to learn her story. Their agency takes on cases that no one else will take on, mostly women.

Arthur comes in knowing that this agency, celebrated for solving unusual and complicated cases, can find the woman he had been searching for since the day her grandfather was killed in Montana. Eunice knew she could solve the case immediately but refused to take it on. Each of the "agents" are capable of doing deep research and very persistent. There are mysteries to be solved and facts to be uncovered to find out who killed the girl's grandfather seven years before - and was probably out to murder her as well. When the girl learns that she's about to be declared dead to steal her inheritance, she has to come out of hiding.

These girls are members of wealthy families yet devoted to helping those without and making their lives better. Eunice even goes undercover in an insane asylum, shining light on the horrible conditions there, as Nellie Bly also had done and later wrote about. Very interesting people, some hilarious situations and scenes that will tug on your heart strings. Great read for the romantic who wants strong women and a bit of slapstick in their stories. Jen Turano never disappoints!

I received this book free from the publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#ToDisguisetheTruth #NetGalley.

My Reviews

Barnes and Noble

Friday, October 1, 2021

A Picture of Hope by Liz Tolsma

Riveting. Heart wrenching. Nellie is a photographer/reporter from America, anxious to make a difference and get the message to Americans about what was happening in the war Hitler had brought. The story starts as D-Day takes place. They didn't give permission to women to go into France, so she blended in and got herself there. The things she found once there were unthinkable, including a village where the Germans forced the women and children into a church and set them on fire. But she also found a little girl hiding, a girl with Down Syndrome. One that the Germans considered imperfect and needed extermination. She was able to get a perfect photo of her in front of the burned out church after the village was deserted again.

There she ran into Jean Paul, a member of the French resistance fresh out of prison. His father was a German officer who was angered that he stayed with his French mother and fought against him. Together they get to a convent where they housed a few other children with Down Syndrome and they all worked to get the small group out of France and across the border into Switzerland. Not an uneventful process. Constant danger and tension.

Both Nellie and Jean Paul are also fighting an internal battle from things in their own lives that motivate them to make a difference and not accept the way things were, not just stand by even though they risked their lives.

Excellent read of love and sacrifice with a Christian message throughout. Showing true beauty where others rejected, hope and love, innocence shining through. Often I didn't like Nellie because of stupid, headstrong choices that she made, but Jean Paul liked her (wink), and the end results turned out well.

I received this book free from the publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
#APictureofHope #NetGalley

My Reviews: