Review: A Magical New York Christmas by Anita Hughes

A Magical New York Christmas

by Anita Hughes

Publisher: St Martin's Griffin

Pages: 304

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  It’s Christmas week when 26-year-old Sabrina Post knocks on the door of the Vanderbilt suite at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, ready to accept the ghostwriting position for the memoir of Grayson Westcott—a famous art dealer.

A struggling journalist, Sabrina can't believe her luck: a paycheck and six nights in her own suite at the Plaza. She feels like Eloise, the heroine from her favorite children’s books. To make the job even more exciting, Grayson recounts how he worked as a butler at the Plaza sixty years ago for none other than the author of the Eloise books, Kay Thompson.

What promises to be a perfect week is complicated when Sabrina meets Ian Wentworth, a handsome British visitor, at the hotel bar. When Ian assumes Sabrina is another wealthy guest at the hotel, she doesn’t correct him —a decision she doesn’t regret after learning that Ian is a member of the British aristocracy. But, things are not what they seem. The truth is: Ian is not a wealthy lord; he’s actually the personal secretary of Lord Spencer Braxton.

As the week unfolds, will Sabrina and Ian learn the truth about one another?

Kritters Thoughts:  Sabrina Post is an aspiring writer.  She enters the Plaza Hotel to be a ghost writer for Grayson Westcott who is a famous art dealer, but there is more to him than his current job description.  While at the hotel, she runs into this guy who intrigues her, but the reader of the book knows the truth behind this guy that she is spending her time with.  Ian is at the Plaza hotel with a college friend who has also become weirdly his employer as he works for a foundation that is in the name of his friend's last name as he is an European Lord.  

Both Ian and Sabrina don't know the truth about each other and this goes on throughout the whole book and while that got a bit old for me, it was entertaining.  Their story had great ups and downs and was quite the journey throughout the book.  While there may have been a moment or two where I sweetly rolled my eyes as I knew the truth that neither of them did, it never made me want to put the book down. 

There is another storyline going on as Sabrina is meeting with Grayson and hearing his stories, so she can write his memoir.  I loved how seamlessly the book moves into his stories and of course, I loved that they were labeled, so the reader knows when we are headed into the past.  Grayson's stories were so great to go back in time in the Plaza hotel as he tells his story and I loved reading his origin story.  

While I loved this romance book, for me it honestly could have taken place at any time of the year and I didn't see as much holiday seasonal spirit as I would have hoped.  There was some chatter about the holidays and some activities, but when I read a holiday romance, I like the holiday cheer packed in every page!  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 148 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from HarperCollins.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Meet Me in London by Georgia Toffolo

Meet Me in London

by Georgia Toffolo

Publisher: HQN

Pages: 336

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  What do you do when your fake engagement starts to feel too real…

Aspiring clothes designer Victoria Scott spends her days working in a bar in Chelsea and her evenings designing vintage clothes, dreaming of one day opening her own boutique. But these aspirations are under threat from the new department store opening at the end of her road. She needs a Christmas miracle, but one is not forthcoming.

Oliver Russell’s Christmas is not looking very festive right now. His family’s new London department store opening is behind schedule, and on top of that his interfering, if well-meaning, mother is pressing him to introduce his girlfriend to her over the holidays—a girlfriend who does not exist. He needs a diversion…something to keep his mother from meddling while he focuses on the business.

When Oliver meets Victoria, he offers a proposition: pretend to be his girlfriend at the opening of his store and he will provide an opportunity for Victoria to showcase her designs. But what starts as a business arrangement soon becomes something more tempting as the fake relationship starts to feel very real. But when secrets in Victoria’s past are exposed, will Oliver walk away, or will they both follow their hearts and find what neither knew they were looking for…?

Kritters Thoughts:  Another holiday romance that was great to get me in the holiday spirit.  Victoria Scott is working in a bar, but this isn't the career she dreams of for the long term.  Victoria wants to be a clothing designer, but that isn't paying any bills at the moment.  An encounter at the bar she works at and then a literal run in on the streets, she meets Oliver Russell who is the heir to a large store brand who is opening a new store in her neighbor - ala You've Got Mail with Tom Hanks.  

What I loved about this book compared to the Tom Hanks movie is that Oliver's identity comes out early in the book, so you don't have to stress about this secret being kept from our main character, Victoria.  She finds out early, so this isn't a big part of the plot and instead they get to work together for the good of the community that this large store is invading and bettering the community at the same time.  

This is the first in a series and while the rest of the series moves to other potential couples, I wouldn't mind another book that focuses solely on this couple as I loved their journey in this book and would love to see what happened after this book ended. 

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 147 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from HarperCollins.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

A week off in between jobs and a holiday week made from some great reading time.


A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

The Christmas Wedding Guest by Susan Mallery

Keep Me Warm at Christmas by Brenda Novak

Meet Me in London by Georgia Toffolo

A Magical New York Christmas by Anita Hughes

The Island We Left Behind by Kate Hewitt

Currently Reading:

The Christmas Wish by Melinda Curtis

Next on the TBR pile:

The Christmas Escape by Sarah Morgan

Review: Keep Me Warm at Christmas by Brenda Novak

Keep Me Warm at Christmas

by Brenda Novak

Publisher: MIRA

Pages: 416

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Maybe this Christmas can thaw his frozen heart--and heal hers.

Hollywood starlet Tia Beckett knows one moment can change your life. Her career had been on the fast track before a near-fatal accident left her with a debilitating facial scar. Certain her A-lister dreams are over, she agrees to house-sit at her producer's secluded estate in Silver Springs. It's the escape from the limelight Tia's been craving, until she discovers she's not the only houseguest for the holidays. And her handsome new roomie is impossible to ignore.

Artist Seth Turner has good reason to keep his distance. Losing his wife after only a few years of marriage has left a deep scar, even if he is still happy to spend a semester teaching art classes at the New Horizons Boys Ranch for troubled teens. Despite nursing her own wounds, Tia finds her curiosity piqued by enigmatic Seth, whom she recognizes as something of a kindred soul. Maybe spending Christmas together could be another game changer for both of them--this time, for good.

Kritters Thoughts:  A Hollywood starlet is still recovering from a major car accident that scarred her face, Tia Beckett is secluding herself from everyone in the home of a producer while he is away for the holidays.  She will be helping take care of his parrot and is hoping for a quiet holiday season as she decides what she wants to do next, but it may be not be as quiet as she hoped.  As artist Seth Turner is also hoping to take up residence during the holidays in this producer's home and create some art and prep to help his adoptive mother with art lessons at her school.  

This book was a different behind the scenes of Hollywood life.  I appreciated the raw realness of Tia as she was dealing with the affects of her accident and how that would impact her career and her life.  I love a good behind the scenes book and I appreciated reading about how she was hiding in a home and the pursuit of a picture by a paparazzi.  Seth Turner was also a great character, an artist with a complicated past of his own and still dealing with the death of his wife and a rough relationship with the former in-laws.  Their love story had great ups and downs and I enjoyed the journey in this one.    

Now this is defined as a holiday romance, but for me this one didn't have enough of the Christmas cheer.  There were a few scenes with some holidays in them, but I like my holiday romances to be stock full of holiday cheer from beginning to end!  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 146 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from HarperCollins.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Happy Thanksgiving!

source


Happy Thanksgiving! 
I hope this day is a reminder to give thanks for the people that surround you. 
And of course for those books that enter our lives and make an impact!

And a special Happy Birthday to my dad who sometimes
shares his birthday with this holiday.

Review: The Christmas Wedding Guest by Susan Mallery

The Christmas Wedding Guest

by Susan Mallery

Publisher: HQN

Pages: 432

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  The Somerville sisters believe in love, but they’ve lost faith it will happen for them. Reggie hasn’t been home since the end of the world’s shortest engagement. When her parents decide to renew their vows, she buffs up her twinkle to help with the Christmas wedding. Unexpectedly, Toby, her first love, is back too, and the spark between them shines as brightly as ever. In the spirit of the season, will they let go of past hurts and greet the New Year together?

Done waiting for the one, Dena is pregnant and on her own—on purpose. But then a gorgeous, sad-eyed songwriter checks in to a room at her inn. Micah, unable to write since he lost his wife, finds inspiration in Dena’s determination to be a mom. One snowflake-speckled kiss and he’s a goner. But Dena is afraid to believe that a rock star could fall for a cookie-cutter small-town girl like her.

As the Christmas wedding draws closer, these two sisters just might unwrap the most treasured gift of all—love.

Kritters Thoughts:  Two sisters are back home in a small town in the state of New York as their parents want to plan the wedding that they never had.  One sister, Dena, is in the early stage of a pregnancy that she conceived while single via IUI and is ready to enter parenthood even though the right man hadn't come along.  The other sister, Reggie, is returning to this small town for the first time after a horrible ending to an engagement and was avoiding the small town gossip, but wants to be near her family during the holiday season.    

I have said this before but the addition of the Christmas season to a romance book, just fills my heart!  In this book, there are two romances for the price of one.  Each sister has the chance to fall in love and of course there are ups and downs, but we all know how a romance will end!  While I had to remind myself that I was reading fiction as you have suspend belief a bit, it is all for the sake of a great read.  

I loved that the author included both love stories in this one book.  They were so different, but complimented each other so well.  Both the sisters and their stories were different, there was a rekindled romance and a new romance, but both were sweet and slow burns.  If I am correct, this one didn't have the sexy times, so it is safe to read if you tend to avoid books with the extra physical scenes.  

I read this book as the Thanksgiving season was coming to an end and loved that it was sort of a kick off to my holiday decorating and holiday season.  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 145 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from HarperCollins.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Nanny Dearest by Flora Collins

Nanny Dearest

by Flora Collins

Publisher: MIRA

Pages: 336

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Sue Keller is lost. When her father dies suddenly, she's orphaned in her mid-twenties, her mother already long gone. Then Sue meets Annie. It’s been twenty years, but Annie could never forget that face. She was Sue’s live-in nanny at their big house upstate, and she loved Sue like she was her own.

Craving connection and mothering, Sue is only too eager to welcome Annie back into her life; but as they become inseparable once again, Sue starts to uncover the truth about Annie's unsettling time in the Keller house all those years ago, particularly the manner of her departure—or dismissal. At the same time, she begins to grow increasingly alarmed for the safety of the two new charges currently in Annie's care.

Kritters Thoughts:  Sue Keller has recently lost her father and is now parentless and unsure of the world around her.  With a meeting in a park from a nanny from her past, her world gets flipped upside down and she must decide what she wants next.  

With alternating chapters from the past to the present, this book gave me the eerie feelings from beginning to end.  With an inability to trust either woman, I had no clue where this book was going to go.  I enjoyed how this author put together the story and it was very easy to jump back and forth with chapters labeled and narrator's voices being distinct, it was easy to read, but I was just second guessing myself and my thoughts on the future of the book the whole time!

I don't always have the patience when it comes to unreliable narrators, but the story itself was so captivating that I just kept reading and reading.  I wanted to know how it was all going to come together, but I am not sure I would want another book with these two main characters.  

A solid debut book and I would be intrigued to see what comes next from this author.  

Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 144 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from HarperCollins.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

Another crazy week, but next week will be a week full of relaxing and reading before life changes again!

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

Forever Home by Elysia Whisler

Nanny Dearest by Flora Collins

Currently Reading:

The Christmas Wedding Guest by Susan Mallery

Next on the TBR pile:

Keep Me Warm at Christmas by Brenda Novak

Review: Forever Home by Elysia Whisler

Forever Home

by Elysia Whisler

Publisher: MIRA

Pages: 400

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  If home is where the heart is, Dogwood County may have just what Delaney Monroe needs

Newly retired from the Marine Corps, Delaney is looking for somewhere to start over. It’s not going to be easy, but when she finds the perfect place to open her dream motorcycle shop, she goes for it. What she doesn’t expect is an abandoned pit bull to come with the building. The shy pup is slow to trust, but Delaney is determined to win it over.

Detective Sean Callahan is smitten from the moment he sees Delaney, but her cool demeanor throws him off his game. When her late father's vintage motorcycle is stolen from Delaney's shop, Sean gets to turn up in his element: chasing the bad guy and showing his best self to a woman who’s gotten under his skin in a bad way.

Delaney isn't used to lasting relationships, but letting love in—both human and canine—helps her see that she may have found a place she belongs, forever.

Kritters Thoughts:  The second in a series and like many romance series this book has a self contained romance that centers around different characters than book one, BUT the character from book one are in this story and it is more enjoyable to experience those characters knowing what happened in book one.

With that said.  This book centers around a former marine Delaney as she is trying to find the next chapter of her life and Sean Callahan who is a Detective in this town in Virginia.  Delaney wants to set up a motorcycle shop and one of her prized possessions is a motorcycle that has been passed down from generation to generation and it is now hers and she wants to make a home with it.  Of course, as soon as she is settled, one night due to a series of events, this motorcycle is stolen and the detective steps in to solve the crime and he may put more effort than most because a beautiful lady needs his help!

I love romance books where the characters can build their story and that was the case in this book.  Nothing was instant or quick and there were some great mountains and valleys to the story.  I appreciated how the author put together the story.  And of course a little mystery with a stolen motorcycle was fun to follow within the bigger romance picture.

I can't wait to continue in this story and hope that there are more to come in this town in Virginia.  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 143 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from HarperCollins.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Her Silent Husband by Sam Vickery

Her Silent Husband

by Sam Vickery

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 304

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  When we got married all those years ago you said you’d protect me. We built a family and a happy, stable home. You said we were a team. But now I’m holding my daughter’s hand all alone as you lie still in your hospital bed. You’ve left me to look after our children all by myself. I will never understand why.

The moment Beth finds out that her husband Drew is in a coma her entire world comes crashing down. With four children to care for, and her six-year-old daughter Ceci still recovering from heart surgery, she can’t imagine how she’ll be able to manage on her own.

But then she finds out that Drew tried to end his own life. And as she desperately waits to find out if he’ll wake up, she must grapple with the devastating idea that he may not want to.

Beth has no idea why Drew would do this, but when his sister Gemma arrives at hospital she seems less surprised – there were terrible secrets that Drew had been keeping from Beth. Lies about his past and the person he really is. Lies that will change everything Beth thought she knew about her husband and could tear her perfect family life apart…

Kritters Thoughts:  A woman is barely holding it together with four kids and her youngest who has Down syndrome and has recently had heart surgery - has her plate full until she gets the call that her husband is in a coma at the hospital and it is of his own doing as to how he got to the hospital.  She must make major changes to their family's rhythms to be able to barely take care of everyone.  

This book was a hard reading, mostly due to the subject matter.  With drugs, depression and suicide as factors for a few characters, it was hard to see the light at the end of the book until the bitter end.  The book changed perspectives mostly between Beth the mother and wife at the center of the story and her sister in law Gemma who has been dealing with her own demons and her brother's brush with death really shook her to the core.  

A great read that showed me a life that I could never imagine with a full house and a family dealing with a lot of tough issues.  One of my favorite things about reading the family dramas is imagining a life that is so far from mine and experiencing it for the length of a book.  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 141 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Bookouture.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: From the Dark We Rise by Marion Kummerow

From the Dark We Rise

by Marion Kummerow

Publisher: Bookouture

Pages: 

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  “Please, let me help. I won’t tell anyone.” It was madness to help an escaped prisoner in Nazi Germany, but how could she not? If it weren’t for a lucky strike of fate, she might be the woman on the ground shivering with fear. A light of hope entered the prisoner’s eyes and she knew what she had to do…

1942, Germany: When a young woman calling herself Annegret Huber unexpectedly inherits a huge fortune, including a house and factory just outside Berlin, her first thought is to try to see out the war quietly, avoiding the Gestapo and SS as best she can.

No one needs to know her dark secret. She must focus on staying hidden. Because she can’t risk being exposed for who she truly is. Not really Annegret. But a girl living a secret life. A girl who was once called Margarete.

But then an encounter with an escaped prisoner changes everything, as Margarete discovers what is happening at the factory and its attached labor camp. Witnessing first-hand the suffering of prisoners—shivering, with faces gaunt from hunger, as they work in brutal and cruel conditions—she realises she must act.

If she can save just one life, she knows she has to. Because the truth is that Margarete resembles the prisoners in the camp in ways she daren’t admit. And on the other side of the fence, she has seen a face that is achingly familiar…

Kritters Thoughts:  The second in a series and this is one of those series where I highly suggest you start at book one and therefore the review below may have some spoilers that could spoil some plot points in book one.  

So we are in book two and Margarete is still impersonating her former employer's daughter to escape the potential wrath of the Nazi regime and now she is headed to a country home in Germany since she is now the sole heir to the family's wealth.  She must really present herself correctly around people who knew Annegret as a child and had strong opinions formed about her.  Can Margarete play the charade and fool these people?

I loved that this book picked up not long after book one and it was so easy to dive back into this character and follow her on this adventure.  It was refreshing to see Margarete try to impersonate Annegret in this new setting and see how she dealt with new challenges; i.e. working with staff, interacting with people from Annegret's past and so on.  Watching Margarete struggle with her inner truth, while surrounded by a world that wouldn't accept her as she is was enjoyable to read.  

I hope there are more to come from Margarete as Annegret.  I want to see how she handles those who know the truth and what is going in the world with the war.  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 142 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Bookouture.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Missing Piece by John Lescroart

The Missing Piece

by John Lescroart

Publisher: Atria Books

Pages: 304

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  No one mourned when San Francisco DA Wes Farrell put Paul Riley in prison eleven years ago for the rape and murder of his girlfriend. And no one is particularly happy to see him again when he’s released after The Exoneration Initiative uncovered evidence that pinned the crime on someone else. In fact, Riley soon turns up murdered, surrounded by the loot from his latest scam. But if Riley was really innocent all along, who would want him dead?

To the cops, it’s straightforward: the still-grieving father of Riley’s dead girlfriend killed the former prisoner. Farrell, now out of politics and practicing law with master attorney Dismas Hardy, agrees to represent the defendant, Doug Rush—and is left in the dust when Rush suddenly vanishes. At a loss, Farrell and Hardy ask PI Abe Glitsky to track down the potentially lethal defendant. The search takes Glitsky through an investigative hall of mirrors populated by wounded parents, crooked cops, cheating spouses, and single-minded vigilantes. As Glitsky embraces and then discards one enticing theory of the crime after another, the truth seems to recede ever farther. So far that he begins to question his own moral compass, allowing author John Lescroart to explore what The Washington Post calls “the genuine humanism that [is] central to his writing.”

Kritters Thoughts:  Paul Riley is just out of prison after being accused of the rape and murder of his girlfriend and her father will never forget what happened to his only daughter.  So he is the first to be accused when Paul Riley is shot point blank entering his apartment one night.  And so begins the mystery in this book.  

While in typical mystery series, the mystery itself is contained within the pages of each book, but with this one there was a lot of character development that with this book being the 19th in the series, I felt as though I was missing a lot.  There were many moments in this book where I felt like I should have known more and it hindered my reading experience.  

I did enjoy the mystery itself which made me want to possibly go back to the very beginning and get to know these characters from the beginning and watch them tackle mystery after mystery!

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 140 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Atria Books.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

Another busy week on the personal and professional front, so only a few hours to curl up with a book or two!

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

The Missing Piece by John Lescroart

Her Silent Husband by Sam Vickery

From the Dark We Rise by Marion Kummerow

Currently Reading:

Forever Home by Elysia Whisler

Next on the TBR pile:

Nanny Dearest by Flora Collins

Review: Celebration at Christmas Cove by Carrie Jansen

Celebration at Christmas Cove

by Carrie Jansen

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 320

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Travel magazine writer Celeste Bell is in a terrible mood. Not only was her flight to the Caribbean diverted to a Massachusetts island, now it looks like she'll have to spend Christmas there. Single and still mourning the loss of her mother a year earlier, Celeste is desperate to avoid any emotional entanglements and all holiday festivities. She just doesn't feel like celebrating.

But that's exactly what community center director Nathan White and his young daughter, Abigail, want to do. Nathan is entirely focused on making sure that his daughter has a happy Christmas, especially with the knowledge that if he can't raise money for the community center soon, it will close and they'll have to leave the island. When he meets Celeste, Nathan begins to feel a connection and wonders if he's brave enough to risk his heart once more.

Thawing their frozen hearts and saving the community center will require a Christmas miracle. But 'tis the season....

Kritters Thoughts:  Celeste Bell is still the mourning the loss of her mother who died a year earlier and is not ready to confront the holiday season, so she takes an assignment that will give her a few days of vacation in the Caribbean, but this trip is interrupted by flights and weather and all sorts of things!  She lands on an island off Massachusetts and is enveloped in this small town and the Christmas season is far different from what she could have predicted.  Nathan White lives on this island and runs the community center that really is the center of this island and hosts a number of activities both during the holiday season and throughout the year.  He lost a big funding opportunity and is worried about the future of the center and of him and his daughter when Celeste blows into his life.  

One of my favorite things about the cooler weather is being able to dive into the many Christmas holiday books, especially the romance ones!  I love the sweet journey these books take you on while also adding in the perfect amount of Christmas cheer.  Nathan and Celeste were the perfect characters to play opposite each other in this small town that was a character in and of itself.  It felt as though they each had something the other needed in order to heal and get through the things that they were each going through during the holiday season.  

From what I can find this is a debut from this author, but I sure hope she has more books to come and maybe even more that take place on this sweet island.  I wouldn't mind reading a book that takes place during the summer months and see how different this island can be when the summer months create different activity.  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 139 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.