Blogging Through the Book: Twice in a Lifetime

Twice in a Lifetime

I've gotten bored with my book review format so I'm trying something new.  Rather than reading a book and then commenting on it when done, I'm going to write a little at several points during my reading--questions in my mind, phrases that struck me, thoughts about the characters.  What do you think of my new format?

About the Book:

Isla has fled the city for small-town Missouri in the wake of a painful and exhausting year. With her chronic anxiety at a fever pitch, the last thing she expects is to meet a genuine romantic prospect. And she doesn’t. But she does get a text from a man who seems to think he’s her husband. Obviously, a wrong number—except when she points this out, the mystery texter sends back a picture. Of them—on their wedding day.

 

Isla cautiously starts up a texting relationship with her maybe-hoax, maybe-husband Ewan, who claims to be reaching out from a few years into the future. Ewan knows Isla incredibly well, and seems to love her exactly as she is, which she can hardly fathom. But he’s also grieving, because in the future, he and Isla are no longer together.

 

Ewan is texting back through time to save her from a fate he is unwilling to share—and all she can do to prevent that fate is to learn to be happy, now, in the body she has, with the mind she has. The only trouble is the steps she takes in that direction might be steps away from a future with Ewan.

 

Melissa Baron’s time-crossed romance features a quintessentially endearing and brave protagonist, and an engrossing plot that will keep you turning pages until its breathtaking finish.

My Comments:

In the Beginning...

In the first couple of chapters, readers learn that Isla, the main character, is an artist who suffers from anxiety.  She recently moved to a new city.  She is an introvert.  She gets a text message from a man who claims to be her husband and who knows enough details about her life that he can't just be dismissed as a crackpot.  Talk about a hook!

Who is this guy?  Isla recently lost her mom and it is mentioned that she suffered a nervous breakdown.  Is he a husband she has forgotten?  Is he a figment of her imagination?  Is someone playing games with her?  Is it a time travel novel?  Yup, I'm ready to read on.  

A Little Further In....

He gave Isla the answer to the "Who is this guy?" question I asked, but I'm not sure I believe him.  

Ila is an interesting character.  She clearly suffers from mental illness.  She was close to her now-dead mother but is not close to her Dad-she didn't even tell him she was moving to St. Louis but he heard about it through the grapevine.  People give her anxiety but she has best friend, Willow, who is always there for her, and at work she has made friends with two young single women.  However, for all her anxiety (or because of it?) she was eager to move away from all that was familiar and start over in life.  

I've never suffered from the debilitating anxiety that plagues Isla, but I chose to leave my hometown for the big city in part because I never felt like I belonged.  

Another Night's Reading

Now something has happened that makes me wonder even more if I was right not to trust what the husband, Ewan, said about how he fit in the story.  I'm also getting a real view of how strong Isla is, despite her mental illness.  And I LOVE her best friend. 

75% of the Way Through

The romance is progressing, and we've gotten a chance to meet Isla's dad (no mystery why she suffers from anxiety now).  I could just hug Ewan for how he handled Isla's dad, and on the other hand I can SO relate to her request to Ewan not to speak for her.  Loved a section on silence and conversation.  The last chapter of this reading session ends with what sounds like a throw-away detail--but if it isn't meaningful, why is it there?   I wonder if it relates to the set-up for the book/their relationship?  

Some Words That Struck Me

"They rarely spoke...preferring instead the silence of shared grief.  It weighed as much as wet summer air in New Orleans."  I live in New Orleans, how an I not love that sentence?  

"When there was too much noise, too much stimulation, her thoughts scattered to the four corners of the earth, and she found it hard to participate in conversations were too many people were talking.  It became harder to express her opinion because, if no one asked for it, they clearly didn't want it."  My in-laws (a boisterous loving Italian family) thought me stand-offish because I could never get a word in edgewise.  

What Worked...and What Didn't

What worked was the characters.  Isla had me in her corner from the start. She puts up a strong front and the collapses in private.  Life is hard, but she keeps on living.   Ewan is a sweetheart and his two gay friends were shown as people, not caricatures or simply walking sex lives.  Isla's dad manages to make quite an impression during his short time on stage.  

What didn't was the whole resolution to the time line thing.  It just felt forced and unsatisfying.   

Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley.  Grade:  B. 

How Important Are The Details?

 

Closer to Okay

About the Book:

Kyle Davies is doing fine. She has her routine, after all, ingrained in her from years of working as a baker: wake up, make breakfast, prep the dough, make lunch, work the dough, make dinner, bake dessert, go to bed. Wash, rinse, repeat. It's a good routine. Comforting. Almost enough to help her forget the scars on her wrist, still healing from when she slit it a few weeks ago; that she lost her job at the bakery when she checked herself in as an inpatient at Hope House; then signed away all decisions about her life, medical care, and wellbeing to Dr. Booth (who may or may not be a hack). So, yeah, Kyle's doing just fine.

Except that a new item's been added to her daily to-do list recently: stare out her window at the coffee shop (named, well...The Coffee Shop) across the street, and its hot owner, Jackson. It's healthy to have eye candy when you're locked in the psych ward, right? Something low risk to keep yourself distracted. So when Dr. Booth allows Kyle to leave the facility--two hours a day to go wherever she wants--she decides to up the stakes a little more. Why not visit? Why not see what Jackson's like in person?

Turns out that Jackson's a jerk with a heart of gold, a deadly combination that Kyle finds herself drawn to more than she should be. (Aren't we all?) At a time when Dr. Booth delivers near-constant warnings about the dangers of romantic entanglements, Kyle is pulled further and further into Jackson's orbit. At first, the feeling of being truly taken care of is bliss, like floating on a wave. But at a time when Kyle is barely managing her own problems, she finds herself suddenly thrown into the deep end of someone else's. Dr. Booth may have been right after all: falling in love may be the thing that sends Kyle into a backslide she might never be able to crawl out of. Is Jackson too much for her to handle? Does love come at the cost of sanity?

My Comments:

I'm officially tired of writing book reviews. Bet you couldn't guess that if you look on my sidebar and see how many I published back in the day vs recently.  Still I'm not ready to give up this space or my NetGalley account so...

I enjoyed this book.  Its strength was the two main characters, particularly Kyle.  The story is told through her eyes, but we also know she recently tried to commit suicide, so her observations were always a little suspect.  Still I enjoyed watching her interact, grow and change throughout the book.  Grade: B.

Let's Talk About Details:

Does it aggravate you when authors get details wrong?  I realize that no one can be an expert in everything and that authors are experts in, well....writing.  I get that given my age and my profession (paralegal) I have a lot of knowledge of particular fields that may not be common knowledge to average people.  But still, it seems to me that if you are going to include a detail in your work, you ought to get it right.

Kyle spends most of this book living at Hope House which seems to be a sort of step down from a mental hospital.  She cannot come and go at will.  Nurses check on her regularly around the clock. The other people living there are mental patients as well. There is a security guard at the door who can be summoned if there is a problem.  A psychiatrist, Dr. Booth, is in charge.  He does regular counselling with the patients but also prescribes medications. 

However, it is Kyle who cooks for the residents, not once in a while, but every meal.  She plans the meals, orders the ingredients and cooks. That's fine, she's a culinary school trained pastry chef, but what about when she leaves, or who did it before she got there?  True, the number of patients in the house is small, so it is like cooking for a family rather than an institution-sized crowd but that did not ring true. Still, I'm not an expert on treating mental illness, maybe that is a normal part of treatment.  

However, I do know enough about mental health treatment to know that psychiatrists don't do talk therapy these days.  Their job is medication managment.  Dr. Booth did that job and the job that would be done by a social worker or therapist of some sort. On the other hand, I'm sure it worked better for the plot to have one person as the authority/treatment figure, as opposed to the team that would be more realistic. 

At one point in the book Kyle is baking goods for sale to restaurants.  Great--except that she is doing it from her apartment kitchen which I'm sure would not pass any of the requirements for a commercial kitchen.  

I'm not trying to pick on Amy Watson in particular, I see a lot of things in books and on other media that are just plain wrong.  Have you every seen a movie or TV show set in New Orleans where everyone speaks with a Scarlett O'Hara drawl?  Well, fyi, that drawl would instantly label you as "not from here" in New Orleans.  We sound a lot like the people from Brooklyn or Savannah (yes, people from Savannah GA sound more like they are from New York or New Orleans they like they are from Atlanta--its a port city accent.  

As a paralegal I have great insight into how the court system works, and I can tell you it is a lot more exciting on TV than in real life--and I get that no TV audience is going to sit there while a judge reads jury charges (most judges in real life lock the doors when they are being read to keep the jury paying attention to them), but it still annoys me when an author has the characters attending a deposition in a criminal case (there have to be very extraordinary circumstances for one to be held in a criminal case but they are a normal part of civil cases) or when lawsuits are filed and then tried a couple of months later (chances are good that the defendant is just getting around to filing an answer at that point). 

How often do you read books where you find the author got details wrong, whether those details were geographic, dealt with your area of expertise or were things you thought were common knowledge?  Does it affect your enjoyment of the book?  

Review: The Forever Farmhouse

 

The Forever Farmhouse

About the Book:

When Ryan Hastings first came to Teaberry Island, he was a troubled teen on his last chance. He’s returning as a renowned scientist, checking in on his widowed foster mother. But one thing hasn’t changed—Ryan’s feelings for the girl next door who he loved…and left. Mellie Anderson has a son now, and a good life that Ryan believes he’s still too damaged to share. But he knows he can help young Alfie, who’s getting picked on at his new school.

Mellie is grateful her gifted son is getting extra support, and torn about where it’s coming from. Ryan has no idea he’s Alfie’s father. No matter how valid her reasons were, could Ryan ever understand why she didn’t tell him? But in this close-knit community, friendship and forgiveness are always near at hand, and forever love might be waiting just next door.

My Comments:

There are some books that people familiar with the author could attribute to the author almost without looking at the cover.  This is one of those.  Like most Lee Tobin McLain books, this one is set in a small Chesapeake Bay town and features a close-knit group of family and friends, along with a delightful canine companion.  

I loved the way Ryan was able to help is overly-intelligent son find his way in the world--takes one to know one and all that.  

The Forever Farmhouse is the first in a series and I'm ready to read the rest.  Grade:  B

Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley. 

The House Guests: My Review

 

The House Guests

About the Book

In the wake of her husband’s sudden death, Cassie Costas finds her relationship with her teenage stepdaughter unraveling. After their move to historic Tarpon Springs, Florida, Savannah hates her new town, her school and most of all her stepmom, whom she blames for her father’s death. Cassie has enough to contend with as she searches for answers about the man she shared a life with, including why all their savings have disappeared.

When Savannah’s rebellion culminates in an act that leaves single mother Amber Blair and her sixteen-year-old son homeless, Cassie empathizes with the woman’s predicament and invites the strangers to move in. As their lives intertwine, Cassie realizes that Amber is hiding something. She’s evasive about her past, but the fear in her eyes tells a darker story. Cassie wonders what the woman living under her roof is running from…and what will happen if it finally catches up to her.

My Comments:

Emilie Richards is one of  the authors whose books I read when I find them, and there is a good reason for that--for the most part I've enjoyed them and found them to be my type of books.  When The House Guests came across NetGalley I missed it because the cover didn't look like the kind of book I usually read and I didn't notice the author's name.  Then I saw people starting to talk about it, so I went and grabbed it. 

On the one hand, I don't usually read suspense or mystery books, so I don't really know what normal expectations are, but this story had two major plot lines and I found the resolution of one to be unrealistic.  As noted above, the reader learns early in the story that Amber is running from something--we just do  not know what.  When we learn and when that whole plotline resolves, I just didn't find it believable.  Maybe that's because this isn't my usual genre.  

The other plotline is Cassie learning that her late husband cleaned out their retirement accounts not long before he died and trying to find out why.  I found the resolution of this plotline to be very believable.

 

Emilie Richards' strength as a writer is her characters, and that holds true in this book too.  Cassie's grandmother was my favorite.  

A lot of Richards' books have strong romantic subplots.  The romance is there in this book but it isn't a major factor  and in the end, it isn't HEA, but rather, the suggestion that HEA will happen eventually.  

 

I'd like to thank the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley.  Grade: B 

Wildflower Season: My Review

Wildflower Season 

About the Book:

When Emma Cantrell’s marriage imploded, she learned a fast and painful lesson about trusting her heart. Then, on a visit to Magnolia, North Carolina, to see her brother, an elegant, if dilapidated, mansion for sale presents the opportunity to start over. Risking everything on her dream of opening the Wildflower Inn, Emma buys the house…just as the storm of the century hits, severely damaging the structure. But a chance meeting with Holly, a bride-to-be in desperate need of a new venue, gives her hope…and the name of a contractor who’ll work fast and cheap, allowing Emma to repair the inn in time to host the wedding and save her investment.

A furniture builder who hasn’t picked up a tool in the five years since his wife died, Cameron Mitchell has no intention of agreeing to help this beautiful—and, he’d guess, entitled—woman insisting that he fix her inn. Until he learns that Emma was sent by Holly, the little sister of his late wife. Grudgingly, Cameron agrees to do the work, with one condition: that he be left completely alone. But the more time they spend together, the more Emma touches a part of his heart he was sure died long ago, forcing him to try making peace with his past.

My Comments: 

Like many series romances, Wildflower Season is a return to a comfortable familiar environment.  Emma is the sister-in-law of Meredith, one of the sisters in the Carolina Sister series.  She buys the sisters' father's house and plans to renovate it into a bed and breakfast.  In doing so she meets Cameron who is still mourning the loss of his wife.  They are trying to finish the renovations in time for the wedding of Cameron's sister-in-law and by working together, guess what happens?

While no literary classic, this book was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon and the HEA left me smiling.  Grade:  B. 

Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley. 

 

Review: Confessions from the Quilting Circle

 Confessions from the Quilting Circle

About the Book:

When Lark Ashwood’s beloved grandmother dies, she and her sisters discover an unfinished quilt. Finishing it could be the reason Lark’s been looking for to stop running from the past, but is she ever going to be brave enough to share her biggest secret with the people she ought to be closest to?

Hannah can’t believe she’s back in Bear Creek, the tiny town she sacrificed everything to escape from. The plan? Help her sisters renovate her grandmother’s house and leave as fast as humanly possible. Until she comes face-to-face with a man from her past. But getting close to him again might mean confessing what really drove her away...

Stay-at-home mom Avery has built a perfect life, but at a cost. She’ll need all her family around her, and all her strength, to decide if the price of perfection is one she can afford to keep paying.

This summer, the Ashwood women must lean on each other like never before, if they are to stitch their family back together, one truth at a time...

My Comments:

There was a lot to like in this book, which is why I stayed up to 1:00 a.m. on a work  night reading it.  Three sisters and their mother are working together to close out their grandmother/mother's estate. While cleaning out the house they find fabric for a quilt that Grandma never got around to making and through journals found with the fabric, learn about women in their family's past, including Grandma.  Each of the four women was working with a different piece of fabric and of course they all end up with the one that they really needed to see, the ancestress who had a story that for whatever reason, came close to hers.  

Lark and Hannah both left town with secrets, and Avery has now acquired one.  As they sit and sew and as they live their lives that summer, they share their secrets and gain the strength to move beyond them.  Unfortunately to me, it seemed there were just too many secrets that were just too serious to believe they all belonged to one family.  Also the book had two romantic subplots and except for the fact that the men had different names and one man had a child and the other didn't, I really couldn't tell them apart.  Either of the romance subplots was believable on its own, but having two so similar just didn't ring true to me.

 

One thing I liked about the book was that the girls' mother was a strong secondary character.  While the sisters were in their 30's, their mom was about my age and she was a doer, like me.  Like me she wanted to be closer to her grown kids but didn't quite know how to reach out.  Like I hope I'd be, she was there for her girls when the chips were down and she knew they needed her. 

 

The book has a couple of bedroom scenes--too much to make it a "clean" romance but nothing anywhere near an instruction manual.  

 

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade: B 

Review: Bookstore on the Beach

 

Bookstore on the Beach

About the Book:

Eighteen months ago, Autumn Divac’s husband went missing. Her desperate search has yielded no answers, and she can’t imagine moving forward without him. But for the sake of their two teenage children, she has to try.

Autumn takes her kids home for the summer to the charming beachside town where she was raised. She seeks comfort working alongside her mother and aunt at their bookshop, only to learn that her daughter is facing a huge life change and her mother has been hiding a terrible secret for years. And when she runs into the boy who stole her heart in high school, old feelings start to bubble up again. Is she free to love him, or should she hold out hope for her husband’s return? She can only trust her heart…and hope it won’t lead her astray.

My Comments:

With a cover like this I didn't expect anything to emotionally taxing.  I was wrong. Honestly, I don't know how I would react if I was in Autumn's place.  So much of what she thought she knew about her family turned out to be wrong.  She made decisions based on information she had at the time and then that information turned out to be wrong.  Should she stick to old promises, or do what feels right today?  Those are the kinds of decisions none of us can make for others.  Honestly I disagreed with the choices of many of the characters but have to admit that I don't know what I would really do in a similar circumstance.  

Overall I enjoyed the book, but my disagreement with the choices did affect my enjoyment of the story.  

Thanks to the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B. 

Children's Book Review: Teensy Weensy Virus

 

Teensy Weensy Virus

About the Book:

COVID-19 is a big deal—but with all that adults have to worry about, it’s easy to overlook the pandemic’s impact on children. This book provides a great way for parents and caregivers to introduce and reinforce the importance of safety measures to children, while giving kids the opportunity to ask questions and share their feelings. Embracing the latest science, The Teensy Weensy Virus pairs simple, kid-friendly explanations with bright, colorful illustrations, while offering additional resources for adults and an informative song to help lighten the mood as families engage with this serious topic.

My Comments:

If this book was new a year ago, or even as the kids went back to school in the fall, I'd say it would fill a real need to simply explain what "the virus" was and what we need to do to keep each other safe--yep, masks, handwashing and social distance.  It has a nice cadence for reading aloud and the illustrations feature people of various ages, ethnicities and even someone on crutches, making it a very inclusive book.  The only problem I have with the book is that it just repeats (but in a very engaging way) the same message that has been sent out in so many ways for so many months.  On the other hand, repetition is a key item in teachers' toolboxes, so this may be great for some.  

Thanks to the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade: B

Review: Before I Saw You

 

Before I Saw You

About the Book:

Alice Gunnersley and Alfie Mack sleep just a few feet apart from one another. They talk for hours every day. And they’ve never seen each other face-to-face.

After being in terrible accidents, the two now share the same ward as long-term residents of St. Francis’s Hospital. Although they don’t get off to the best start, the close quarters (and Alfie’s persistence to befriend everyone he meets) brings them closer together. Pretty soon no one can make Alice laugh as hard as Alfie does, and Alfie feels like he’s finally found a true confidante in Alice. Between their late night talks and inside jokes, something more than friendship begins to slowly blossom between them.

But as their conditions improve and the end of their stay draws closer, Alfie and Alice are forced to decide whether it’s worth continuing a relationship with someone who’s seen all of the worst parts of you, but never seen your actual face.

A tender novel of healing and hope, Before I Saw You reminds us that connections can be found even in the most unexpected of places—and that love is almost always blind.

My Comments:

In the acknowledgements section, the author, Emily Houghton, thanked some medical consultants and then said that she took some literary license with the information they gave her, for the sake of the story.  While I loved the story, and am by no means a medical expert, I found some of the details to be wrong enough (or different enough from my experience) to be distracting.  However, I have to admit that I can't come up with a quick different way to accomplish the story.

Alfie and Alice are both long-term patients on a rehabilitation ward in a London Hospital.  They share a room with at least two other people (I never quite figured out if there were other people there other than the cast or if it was just the four of them). Alfie was in a car accident that killed his two best friends, and which cost him a leg.  Alice was caught in a fire in her office building and sustained burns over 40% of her body, including half of her face.  When Alice is moved to the rehab ward, it is noted that she did not speak the whole time she was in ICU.  Alfie is the class clown.  Their beds are next to each other, separated by curtains.  Alice refuses to let anyone inside her curtain and when she is taken weekly to PT down the hall, all the other patients in the ward are required to be in their beds with the curtains closed so they don't see her (her request).  

Alfie takes on the challenge of getting her to speak, but what causes her to do so is reaching out to him when he is having flashback dreams.  Nevertheless, she remains hidden behind those curtains all day every day.  Did she have a bedside commode in there or was she using a bedpan for weeks on end?  Her bed is close enough to Alfies that they can hold hands through the curtain, but there is enough room within the curtain for her to walk back and forth?  And the nurses let her just lie there for weeks on end?  PT once a week on a rehab floor?  

As I said, the medical details didn't work, but I loved Alfie and Alice.  Alfie was a teacher who always took a special interest in the kids who had problems.  On the ward, he used his humor to encourage his fellow patients, including Alice, and to hide his own pain.  Alice has spent her adult life building walls between herself and others so that they can't hurt her, will she let Alfie in?  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B. 

Review: The Path to Sunshine Cove

 

The Path to Sunshine Cove

About the Book:

She knows what’s best for everyone but herself…

With a past like hers, Jessica Clayton feels safer in a life spent on the road. She’s made a career out of helping others downsize—because she’s learned the hard way that the less “stuff,” the better, a policy she applies equally to her relationships. But a new client is taking Jess back to Cape Sanctuary, a town she once called home…and that her little sister, Rachel, still does. The years apart haven’t made a dent in the guilt Jess still carries after a handgun took the lives of both their parents and changed everything between them.

While Jess couldn’t wait to put the miles between her and Cape Sanctuary, Rachel put down roots, content for the world—and her sister—to think she has a picture-perfect life. But with the demands of her youngest child’s disability, Rachel’s marriage has begun to fray at the seams. She needs her sister now more than ever, yet she’s learned from painful experience that Jessica doesn’t do family, and she shouldn’t count on her now.

Against her judgment, Jess finds herself becoming attached—to her sister and her family, even to her client’s interfering son, Nate—and it’s time to put everything on the line. Does she continue running from her painful past, or stay put and make room for the love and joy that come along with it?

My Comments:

According to NetGalley, this is part of the same series as The Sea Glass Cottage. , however, unlike many of Thayne's series romances, this one does not come with a huge cast of characters who seem to have little connection to the story at hand. 

Jessica is in town partly because she was hired to help a widow clean out her house and partly because she wanted an excuse to be close to her sister for a while.  The widow has a son who becomes the romantic interest in the story.

Its funny the pictures you get in your mind about characters.  This story starts as Jess pulls her Airstream onto her client's property.  For some reason, I pictured a short-haired frumpy but pleasant woman about my age.  As the story developed I realized that like most romance heroines, Jess was much younger than me.  

Rachel is an interesting character.  She's a stay-at-home mom, a young woman who married her high school sweetheart.  She has an autistic son.  She's also a blogger and posts regularly to other social media.  She has crafted an image and trying to live up to it is crushing her.  

Back when I started this blog my big kids were beyond the uber-cute stage and I never felt comfortable telling stories of their foibles here because though I've never hit the big time as a blogger, I'm well aware that erasing a digital footprint is difficult to impossible and what teen wants to find stories his/her mom wrote about him/her shared on social media?  While paying attention to what I write over time will probably tell  you a lot about me, if you choose to put it all together, you'll have to at least run a Google search to find my name and you'd really have to hunt for my kids' names.  I've always kind of wondered how much of what we read from professional mommy bloggers is real, how much is made up, and to what extent the authors are able to tell the difference.  

I enjoyed the book and the fact that other relationships were as important to the story as the Jess/Nate relationship.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B.

After the Crash: My Review

 

After the Crash

About the Book:

Since the sudden death of her husband in a car accident, writer Louisa Adams has done her best to hold herself together. But every morning that she wakes to find his side of the bed cold is more painful than the last, and she’s struggling to make ends meet. She must admit defeat and move into the crumbling seaside hotel her daughter just bought. Perhaps it might help put what’s left of their broken family back together…

Her career falling apart around her, Louisa is offered a final chance – to write an article on a local sand artist, Isaac. Except, when he turns to greet her – tall, handsome, weather-worn and wearing the same dusty pink shirt her husband once owned – her heart skips a beat. Why, when he looks into her eyes, does she feel like he knows exactly who she is and everything she’s been through?

As they explore the rugged coastline’s hidden coves together – laughing and living like she never thought she could again – Louisa finds herself drawn to the way Isaac celebrates the little moments in life. Why create beautiful sculptures in the sand every day only to see them washed away with the tide the next morning?

But with her deadline fast approaching, the discovery of a charcoal scribble in one of Isaac’s sketchbooks linking him to the crash that killed her husband exposes a secret that could tear her family and her heart apart all over again…

My Comments:

I enjoyed reading this story about a woman more or less my own age, as so many of the books I read are about women my daughter's age.  

The story is set in an English coastal town where Louisa is a newcomer.  We follow her through the streets and onto the beach, and we meet other people in the town as she does.  Of course one of those people is Isaac and through her interactions with him, Louisa starts to come back to life.  I think Emma Davies did a good job painting a word picture of the town.  

Louisa is a freelance writer who almost exclusively writes for one magazine and the editor has heard about Isaac's sand sculptures and wants an article.  Isaac does not want people to know about him.  For the first time Louisa is forced to think about how her articles affect those she writes about--she's mostly an investigative journalist.  I enjoyed reading about her writing process and difficulties.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade: B 

Review: Moments Like This

 

Moments Like This

About the Book:

After Andrea “Andie” Matthews chooses her career over a marriage proposal and then loses a promotion she worked so hard for, she jumps at the chance to take a break and help run a friend’s coffee shop.

Alone in Hawaii, Andie befriends the staff and quickly grows to care for them, making her determined to revive the company.

As luck would have it, she meets the mysterious Warren Yates on Christmas Eve. They share a cup of coffee, some conversation, and even a moment, which leads to many more in the coming weeks.

But when Andie learns who Warren really is—and what he actually wants—she is torn between her feelings and his deception.

Will Warren be able to win her heart back?

My Comments:

What is the proper balance between work and personal life?  I'd say most middle-income Americans have it about right--we work to live, hopefully enjoy our jobs at least to some degree and generally take about two days off per week.  We take vacations that do not include regular contact with the office.  If they can arrange it, I'd say most families have at least one parent whose job permits a certain amount of flexibility to deal with child rearing.  However, people on the higher end of the income scale often pay for those higher incomes by dedicating their life to their job.  If the surgeon's kid throws up at school he or she is not going to leave in the middle of an operation to get the child from school.  The international deal maker isn't going to be able to fly home from Paris tonight for a band concert and tomorrow for a football game.  

Andie has a high-powered career, along with the perks and pitfalls.  She loves her job which affords her a luxury apartment and designer clothes.  It is also the most important thing in her life, and when she has to choose between it and marriage, she chooses it.  Unfortunately, the company did not show her the same loyalty and when she finds out that a co-worker got the promotion she wanted, Andie has a nervous breakdown. 

Thereafter, a college friend who has remained one of the only real friends in her life asks her to take over running the coffee shop she recently inherited while the friend goes on a long-term honeymoon.  The coffee shop is in Hawaii so Andie heads over there for some R&R and low-key work, and given who she is, she turns that sleepy coffee shop around quickly.  She also gets to know her friend's employees and a very special man.  Warren won't tell her much about who he is, but I enjoyed traveling with them to various spots in Hawaii.  

Of course the book ends with Andi realizing that she doesn't want to go back to living the way she did before, but what changes will she make?

In a lot of ways it was a pretty basic romance novel, but I loved the setting, and enjoyed seeing Andi and Warren both figure out what they wanted in life,  not just in love.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley  Grade: B.  

Review: The Vineyard at Painted Moon

The Vineyard at Painted Moon

About the Book

Mackenzie Dienes seems to have it all—a beautiful home, close friends and a successful career as an elite winemaker with the family winery. There’s just one problem—it’s not her family, it’s her husband’s. In fact, everything in her life is tied to him—his mother is the closest thing to a mom that she’s ever had, their home is on the family compound, his sister is her best friend. So when she and her husband admit their marriage is over, her pain goes beyond heartbreak. She’s on the brink of losing everything. Her job, her home, her friends and, worst of all, her family.

Staying is an option. She can continue to work at the winery, be friends with her mother-in-law, hug her nieces and nephews—but as an employee, nothing more. Or she can surrender every piece of her heart in order to build a legacy of her own. If she can dare to let go of the life she thought she wanted, she might discover something even more beautiful waiting for her beneath a painted moon.

My Comments

This is a starting over story and while it includes romance, the real story is Mackenzie choosing to leave the safe but unsatisfying world of her ex-husband's family business and striking out on her own.  She has it a lot better than a lot of divorcees--her husband is wealthy and writes a generous settlement check, much to her mother-in-law's chagrin--but she has spent her adult life living in their family compound and her sisters-in-law are her best friends.  The story explores how much life changes after even the most amicable of divorces, and how divorce not only affects the couple but the extended family as well in some cases.  

I enjoyed the book and thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade B. 

 

Review: California Girls

 California Girls 

About the Book:

 Finola, a popular LA morning-show host, is famously upbeat until she’s blindsided on live TV by the news that her husband is sleeping with a young pop sensation who has set their affair to music. While avoiding the tabloids and pretending she’s just fine, she’s crumbling inside, desperate for him to come to his senses and for life to go back to normal.

Zennie’s breakup is no big loss. Although the world insists she pair up, she’d rather be surfing. So agreeing to be the surrogate for her best friend is a no-brainer—after all, she has an available womb and no other attachments to worry about. Except…when everyone else, including her big sister, thinks she’s making a huge mistake, being pregnant is a lot lonelier—and more complicated—than she imagined.

Never the tallest, thinnest or prettiest sister, Ali is used to being overlooked, but when her fiancé sends his disapproving brother to call off the wedding, it’s a new low. And yet Daniel continues to turn up “for support,” making Ali wonder if maybe—for once—someone sees her in a way no one ever has.

But side by side by side, these sisters will start over and rebuild their lives with all the affection, charm and laugh-out-loud humor that is classic Susan Mallery.

 

My Comments:

When couples break up it is easy to blame the other partner. Either the other partner did something to cause you to want out, or the partner initiated the breakup.  In this story, three sisters had break-ups with the course of a week, and we follow them as they move from blaming the other person to accepting their part in it, and moving on.  

I like the way Mallery not only looked at the couples' relationships but also the relationships each of the women had with people in general and how those relationship traits affected not only their romantic relationships but also the rest of their lives.  

I don't think I was every surprised about how things happened, but this was a light interesting read.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Somehow this didn't make it to the top of my list near publication time.  Grade: B.

 

The Woman I Was Before: My Review

 

The Woman I Was Before

About the Book

Of all the emotions single mother Kate Jones expects to feel as she walks into her brand-new house on Parkview Road, hope is the most surprising. She has changed her and her daughter's names and moved across the country to escape the single mistake that destroyed their lives.

But Kate isn't the only woman on the street starting afresh. Warm, whirlwind Gisela, with her busy life and confident children, and sharp, composed Sally, with her spontaneous marriage and high-flying career, are the first new friends Kate has allowed herself in years. While part of her envies their seemingly perfect lives, their friendship helps Kate to leave her guilt behind.

Until one day, everything changes. Kate is called to the scene of a devastating car accident, the consequences of which will test everything the women thought they knew about each other and themselves.

My Comments

Who are you?  If I checked your social media feeds, how accurate (or perhaps it would be better to say how complete) is the picture they paint?  Putting your best self forward is nothing new--its why we dress one way to go to a ball, another way to go to the office and yet another to clean house.  This is the story of three women who learn who the others are, even though each tries to portray an image that isn't quite true.

Kate and her neighbors have just moved into a new subdivision.  We quickly learn that Kate has a secret, a secret that has caused her to move, to change her name, and to forbid her daughter to use social media.  Kate has no friends and resists the overtures of her new neighbors but finally lets them in a little at her daughter's demand.  By the end of the book we learn her secret and to me, that whole part of the story fell flat.  

Gisela is very active on social media showing off her perfect life, but then it all comes crashing down.  Even she didn't realize what an illusion it all was.  

Sally also has a social media perfect life, sort of, but then she too finds that things aren't what they seem to be.  

By the end of the book all three women have started new chapters in their lives and while they may not be #perfect, they have #growth.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade B. 

On the Horizon by Lois Lowry: My Review

 

On the Horizon

About the Book:

Lois Lowry looks back at history through a personal lens as she draws from her own memories as a child in Hawaii and Japan, as well as from historical research, in this stunning work in verse for young readers.

On the Horizon tells the story of people whose lives were lost or forever altered by the twin tragedies of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima.  Based on the lives of soldiers at Pearl Harbor and civilians in Hiroshima, On the Horizon contemplates humanity and war through verse that sings with pain, truth, and the importance of bridging cultural divides. This masterful work emphasizes empathy and understanding in search of commonality and friendship, vital lessons for students as well as citizens of today’s world. Kenard Pak’s stunning illustrations depict real-life people, places, and events, making for an incredibly vivid return to our collective past.

 

In turns haunting, heartbreaking, and uplifting, On the Horizon will remind readers of the horrors and heroism in our past, as well as offer hope for our future.

My Comments:

Maybe I don't give fifth through seventh graders enough credit but I can't see most of them liking this book, and they are the age it is aimed at, according to Amazon.  The reading level is right, for the most part, but I don't see the interest being there.  

The book starts in Hawaii with a young Lois Lowry at the beach with her nanny, and seeing the Arizona in the distance.  It then gives some  personal details about the men who lost their lives that day, and some who survived.  It has photos of some artifacts like a survivor's watch.  

It then moves to Japan, to Hiroshima as the bomb was dropped.  Again, it profiles the ordinary people like a four year old boy who died on his red tricycle.  

The prose in haunting, almost poetic at times, but I personally don't see it holding kids' interest.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available.  Grade B. 

Christmas Delights: Cookbook Review

Christmas Delights

About the Book:

Savor the Delights of the Season with More than 250 Delicious Recipes!

This festive new compilation of family favorite holiday recipes is full of fantastic flavors of the season that will delight the young and the young at heart! Illustrated in full-color photographs, more than 250 recipes will inspire families with delicacies perfect for every Christmas occasion:

• Christmas Eve Celebrations
• Bountiful Breakfasts and Brunches
• Christmas Dinner (including main dishes and sides)
• Merrymaking (crowd-pleasers for parties)
• Cookies and Candy
• Giftable Treats (jar mixes, etc.)

My Comments

 One thing that comes to just about everyone's mind when you say "Christmas" is food. 

Review: The Merriest Magnolia

 

The Merriest Magnolia

About the Book:

Carrie Reed has always been known as her hometown Good Girl, yet she still loves Magnolia, North Carolina—after all, this is where her newly discovered sisters, Avery and Meredith, live. But Christmas is on its way and with it, her first love. Dylan Scott is back in town and planning on changing everything she’s ever loved about Magnolia with his real estate development project…but not without a fight.

Returning to Magnolia was never in Dylan’s plans—it holds too many reminders that he would never be good enough, and memories of the girl he left behind. But when a tragedy leaves him guardian of a grieving teenager, Dylan returns, ready to remake the town into something only money can buy, small-town traditions be damned. But with Carrie determined to stop him, he finds himself wondering if redeeming his teenage reputation is worth losing out on his second chance at love.

My Comments:

I enjoyed this second book in a series enough to track down the first and read it too.  

Book Review: Happily This Christmas

 

Happily This Christmas

About the Book:

Wynn Beauchene has a thriving business, a great kid and a mildly embarrassing crush on the guy next door—local cop Garrick McCabe. She’s a strong, independent woman who can’t help dreaming what-if about a man she barely knows. Until he needs her help…

Garrick’s pregnant daughter will be home for Christmas, and his house needs a woman’s touch. Garrick and his little girl were tight once and he’s hoping a small-town Christmas will bring her back to him. But thawing his daughter’s frosty attitude will take more than a few twinkle lights. Maybe sharing the holiday with Wynn and her son will remind her of the joy of family.

As the season works its magic on these wounded souls, Wynn realizes it’s time to stop punishing herself for a painful secret, while Garrick remains haunted by the ghosts of past mistakes. Will he allow Wynn to open the only gift she truly wants—his heart?

My Comments:

When I went to Amazon to grab the "About the Book" copy, I noted that this was book six in the series.  I haven't read any of the others, but honestly, I wondered if Happily This Christmas was part of a series, because like much series fiction it had a lot of characters who seemed to get too much attention in the book for very little reason.  Susan Mallery took time to catch readers up with what happened in the lives of characters from other books, one of whom happens to be the ex-boyfriend of Wynn, the heroine of Happily This Christmas.  

As noted in the blurb above, Wynn, Garrick and Garrick's daughter all need to let go of past pain to open themselves to the joy of the season, and, of course, love.

I likes Garrick and Wynn and enjoyed seeing them get to know each other.  I loved Garrick's relationship with his daughter and how he was able to get his little girl back.  

Yes, its a Christmas romance.  Yes, everyone lives happily ever after.  You didn't expect anything different, did you? 

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B. 

Review of The Banty House

The Banty House

About the Book:

In the fading town of Rooster, Texas, all that’s really left is a service station, a church…and the Banty House, a long-ago Depression-era brothel. For more than seventy-five years, Betsy, Connie, and Kate Carson have called their mama’s house a home. The three eccentric sisters get by just fine with their homemade jams and jellies, a little moonshine on the side, and big hearts always open to strangers. Like Ginger Andrews.

An abandoned teen with a baby on the way and nowhere to go, she’s given a room to call her own for as long as she wants. The kind invitation is made all the sweeter when Ginger meets the sisters’ young handyman, Sloan Baker. But with a past as broken as Ginger’s, he’s vowed never to get close to anyone again. As a season of change unfolds, Ginger and Sloan might discover a warm haven to heal in the Banty House, a place to finally belong, where hope and dreams never fade.

My Comments:

What is family?  Is it people who are related by blood?  People who care for each other?  Both?  These three old ladies are related by blood.  None have ever had another family, except their mother.  However, they have hearts full of love for those who need it, and in this case the two who need it are a war vet with PTSD and a young pregnant girl.  

Through the book we learn the story of the little old ladies and their lives.  We learn about their mother--a mixed race woman who had to survive the depression. While her method might raise moral eyebrows, she met a commercial desire, did it while protecting (in her own way) young women and raising her own family.  We learn how even today, young women end up used for their bodies.  

Carolyn Brown has many books, including this one, available on Kindle Unlimited, so if  you are a member, it won't cost you anything to have a look.  I got my copy via NetGalley.  Grade:  B.