More book reviews! All very different. That Summer, You Can Trust Me, The House by the Cerulean Sea!

 

That Summer, Jennifer Weiner 5*

 

That Summer is another book set in Cape Cod, in the area we became familiar with in last year’s Weiner novel, Big Summer. This time we meet two families, one being wealthy, boarding school educated and suburban Philadelphia society entrenched. The other is the created family of Diana, a young woman whose life changed after a traumatic assault when she was young. How the two families intertwine and the tangles along the way create a story you will worry about and test your own thoughts on “#metoo” and money.

 

Jennifer Weiner continues to grow as a writer, tackling complicated viewpoints and issues and packaging them into contemporary fiction. That this book is being called a beach read illustrates again how beach reads have evolved into important fiction. Complex characters and smooth transitions! Culture clashes and #metoo.  Creativity v. Money orientation.  A great read!

 

The Publisher sent me an early copy of this book, which is available now!

 

You Can Trust Me, by Emma Rowley 4*

 

I’m not generally a mystery reader but like to broaden my scope. When a popular online book club chose this book for a monthly “read along” I hopped on the bandwagon, because their recommendations have led me to many books I’ve enjoyed.

 

I count this one as one of them.  An intriguing house, built on the site of a tragic fire, a wealthy social influencer with the requisite handsome husband and darling child. And the ghostwriter, who is there to expand the brand.  Or is she?

 

The book twists and turns in both viewpoint and time, leading the reader down first one alley and then the next.  Maybe it’s because this isn’t my normal genre, but I found it fun! The ending was mostly satisfying--no spoilers from me!   If you like a mystery, or need a change, give this one a try.

 

 

 

The House on the Cerulean Sea, TJ Klune 6*...if possible.

 

 

This may be my favorite book of the year.  It reads like a children's book or maybe a fable, and the magical creatures who make up the characters are nothing like what I normally read, but what a beautiful story, beautifully told.  The characters are exquisite, from the seemingly OCD Linus Baker to the fascinating master of the Orphanage, we are taught to look beyond appearances and preconceptions to the possibility of a kinder, more inclusive world.  Linus is sent to investigate the orphanage, with almost no preparation, so we discover all the idiosyncrasies along with him.  This writer makes us adore the spawn of Lucifer!

"How can we fight prejudice if we do nothing to change it? If we allow it to fester, what’s the point?”

 

Give yourself the gift of reading this one! 

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Great summer read! 5 stars

 

Taylor Jenkins Reid has shown she’s a skilled writer, unafraid of using nonlinear storylines to develop the world of her characters.  Malibu Rising is no different. Add to that the family saga of the Rivas and this is the kind of book you can sink into.

 

The Rivas value their family bonds, a value that is tested over and over with their parents, siblings and their choice of loves.  For a group as loyal as the four children, Nina, Jay, Hud and Kit, their secrets keep them from being completely authentic with each other, but for some reason, this, along with insecurities we don’t expect from the celebrities they’ve become, make them relatable characters we just want to cheer for.

 

Set against glamorous Malibu, with the ocean, surfing, fires and wild parties that just the name Malibu brings to mind, this was a satisfying novel with just enough escapism to make it an ideal summer read.  Cinematic in its scope and execution, this book would be a great movie.  Another hit for TJR!

 

Malibu Rising publication day is June 1, 2021. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my copy!

A Million Reasons Why, by Jessica Strawser. 5*

 

A Million Reasons Why by Jessica Strawser

 

When Caroline’s husband selected the Christmas gift they would give her family, he had no reason to believe it would result in anything but interesting information.  He had no way of knowing the heartbreaking secrets that would be unlocked by that simple test.

 

The information sends this family into chaos that includes infidelity and illegitimate children, to lies told to keep the secrets hidden.  Along the way, complex characters tangled together in a web of love and secrecy gamble with what they hold most dear.  And the plot continues to twist.

 

Strawser had treated moral issues most people never consider with tenderness and compassion. What would you do if you could save someone’s life…and only you could do it?  This book not only explores the morality of its characters, but also of how our society treats people with medical crises, particularly those in need of organ donation.

 

This book will grab you and keep you until the end. You won’t want to put it down.

 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this copy to me. Publication date is March 23, 2021.

The Sweet Taste of Muscadines, debut by Pamela Terry. 4*

 

 

The Sweet Taste of Muscadines

 

The Sweet Taste of Muscadines, a debut novel by Pamela Terry, is the best of southern family drama but also part travel book. The scenes that unfold for the Bruce family, upon the unexpected death of the matriarch sport characters authentic, lovable and embarrassing, just as we’d expect in a story of a family.

 

Where Terry shines most, though, is in her descriptions and sense of place. Lila, our main character, begins the journey at her late husband, now her, home in Maine, where we as readers would be just as happy to stay, with the artists and all the great canine friends.

 

But then she travels “home” to Wesleyan, Georgia, and she not only enchants us with the tasteful homes and small town, but also lets us visit the low country Marsh. The writing in this section felt very much like Pat Conroy could have been nudging the author as she typed.

 

But she saved the best for last, as our characters travel to the Hebrides in Scotland, to the actual island (but fictional community) of Eynhallow, where the beauty makes the reader, and probably the writer, breathless.

 

Encapsulated in these lovely settings is a very real story of loss, mystery and acceptance. In these pandemic times, I’d give it five stars for the chance to “travel” alone, but the story is well done. Especially if you love dogs!

 

The Sweet Taste of Muscadines will be published March 16, 2021 by Random House/Ballantine. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to preview.

 

Four Winds by Kristin Hannah….5+ stars.

 

 

Kristin Hannah is one of those authors whose book you know you will love no matter the subject or genre. She’s that good at bringing character, time and place to life. Her research is dependable which lets the reader “live” in times too hard to fantasize, while appreciating the beauty along the way.

 

She’s done that again with Four Winds. Here more than ever, Hannah gives us a glimpse of the lives and expectations of women in the pre depression era, then raises the stakes by putting her underestimated character, Elsa, on a Texas panhandle farm immediately before, and then during, the dust bowl. Elsa and her children keep descending the societal ladder and eventually find themselves as homeless migrant workers in California.

 

I don’t want to spoil the story but must elaborate on the brilliant descriptions of the time and place. I could FEEL the dust in my nostrils. The cold wet nights of homelessness. The despair of hopelessness. And most importantly, the strength that Elsa finds within herself.

 

If you’ve missed Hannah’s other historical novels, you owe it to your hungry reader self to pick them up. Four Winds is the most recent, but only the beginning. Brava, Kristin Hannah!

 

I was granted access to this book by Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press. Four Winds releases today, February 2, 2021.

What’s Worth Keeping, Kaya McLaren 5*.

 (Warning: This book has graphic depictions of cancer and recovery, as well as first responder ptsd)

What’s Worth Keeping, Kaya McLaren

 

This is a beautiful book in so many ways.  Kaya McLaren clearly speaks from experience as she describes her character, Amy's, journey through diagnosis, treatment and recovery from breast cancer.  Poor Amy has it bad enough with just that, but when she discovers divorce papers completed by her husband Paul, she needs to leave her family and return to nature to find a way back to herself.  She revisits National Parks and Monuments from her childhood and lets the majesty of those sacred places help her heal.

 

In the meantime, Paul, who has never recovered from the PTSD of being a first responder at the Murrah Building bombing in Oklahoma City, must find his way out of the nightmares, reliving tragedy at every turn.  On top of that, Amy and Paul have an 18-year-old daughter on the brink of her own future who punishes her parents for their "shortcomings." 

 

The settings of this novel, the national parks and Great Aunt Rae's outfitting operation in New Mexico are breathtaking, and the author renders them perfectly. The story of each of the characters, told in alternating chapters give a uniquely personal insight into the emotions and physical challenges each of them face and the author is able to resolve the issues in a way that feels hopeful. 

 

Aside from being a wonderful story, I would recommend this book to anyone close to someone facing any of these crises…cancer, PTSD recovery and teenagers whose parents must deal with normal life amid near tragedy.  An emotional journey not often told well. Brava Kaya McLaren.

This book was provided to me by the publisher, via NetGalley.

Perfectly Impossible, well written, but ....3*

 

Perfectly Impossible

 

This light and sometimes heartwarming book felt like a throw-back to the sixties, when escapist reading often delved into the lives of the uber rich and the problems that they create just by being.  I didn’t care for them then and didn’t love this book now.  I’d rather read about accessible people, not modern-day fairy tales.

 

Yet if you take away the glitz and glam, you are left with Anna, an undiscovered artist who pays her way by working for The Rich and Famous and Vacuous KissyVon Bismark (only her husband calls her Bambi.). Anna is a personal assistant extraordinaire, who can and does solve problems from the tiniest to the unimaginable.  She’s so good, in fact, that she’s unbelievable.  I wanted to believe in her, and if I suspend my disbelief enough to accept the over the top things she does for her boss, I can, but the world I know and the one created just doesn’t let me go that far.  Maybe I’m too much of a pragmatist for this one.

 

If you like tales of the rich and the world they inhabit, you will enjoy this one.  It is an easy read, and well written.

 

Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read it.

Sometimes, we all need a do-over. In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren. Great holiday escape!

In a Holidaze

 

When the annual family holiday trip to the mountains takes an unexpected turn, Maelyn Jones is devastated.  Not only has she engaged in a snog fest with the wrong brother, but the cabin where her family has vacationed all her life, with her parent’s college friends and families, is going to be sold and she’ll never have a chance at a do over with the right brother.

 

Only she does.  Again and again.  Maelyn gets thrown back in time and had to play out the entire vacation from the beginning, and only she knows what happened the first time.

 

This is a delightful holiday novel, just right for a season too busy for serious books.  The characters are the well drafted people who inhabit all our families, whether biological or chosen and they act accordingly. On top of that, it’s hilarious.  It’s a perfect book for 2020, because who wouldn’t want some “do overs?”

 

I received an ARC of In a Holidaze from NetGalley.  It’s release date is October 6, 2020.

Amazing Research is Jodi Picoult's Wheelhouse. Great read. Five Stars!

Dawn MacDowell is a gifted Egyptologist with a specialty in The Book of Two Ways, the direction for ancient Egyptians to guide them in the afterlife. But while she is absorbed with the historical treatment of death, the reality hits too close to home when her mother tells her she is dying.  Dawn must leave the work and the man she loves to be with her mother and care for her young brother.  When her mother dies, she is trapped with the need to handle her mother’s debt and the care of her small brother.  Egypt is so far away.  Dawn runs away from her first loves and drawing on the experience she’s had with her mother, becomes a Death Doula, helping terminal patients deal with the myriad of things left unfinished.  The struggle Dawn feels over her lost career, the man she loved first, the family and career she’s created conflict in heartbreaking ways.

 

When I started reading this book, I was afraid that the Egyptology portions which are so important to this book were beyond my understanding, but as Jodi Picoult is so good at doing, by the end of the book I just wanted more. 

 

I loved this book.  I enjoyed each level of the story and enjoyed the timeline hopping because it made it easy to understand why Dawn was so confused.  I loved learning about the history of Egypt, Death Doula’s and even the quantum physics Dawn’s husband teaches. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. 

 

Thank you to the publisher, Ballantine, and to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in advance. The book will be published on September 22, 2020.  

Great summer read: Better Choices, Rod Pennington and Jeffery A. Martin. 5*

 

Better Choices by Rod Pennington and Jeffrey Martin

I’d rate this story 5 stars if only because of the antics of twins Charles and Angela, who, despite their parents’ odd marital agreements, find ways to not only work the system, but beat it. Add in a quirky aunt or two, a dying matriarch and the central figure, Allison, whose father was a self-made millionaire, and the delightful story unfolds.

The authors have created characters I’d love to have for friends, and set them in a fantastic story…not exactly realistic, but fun anyway.  I’d read them again in a heartbeat! Great summer read!

I was granted an advanced reader copy of Better Choices by the publisher, Integration Press, and NetGalley.

Exciting Times, Naoise Dolan. Millennials in Hong Kong

 

Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan

An inside look at the varied relationships of millennials in Hong Kong.  Ava is fresh out of college, teaching English as a foreign language in Hong Kong. The private school where she works is tightly run, determined to give parents what they pay for, even if the students don’t want it and even if it means teachers don’t have time for bathroom breaks.   From Dublin, where she has been sad, Ava is giving Hong Kong a try. Here she meets other young people, including Julian, a banker, with whom she had an intimate relationship, while both insist they are not a couple.

Ava needs a place to live and can’t afford anything she likes on her salary, so agrees to move in with Julian. While he is away on a business trip, she meets another banker, Edith, a Hong Kong local, educated at Cambridge.  Their friendship blossoms into romance, providing insight into Ava’s infatuation with Edith, Edith’s feelings of inferiority, and of course Ava’s conflicted feelings about Julian.

There is a lot of navel gazing in the book, but relationship books need that.  The scenes with Ava’s English students are fun and the reader gets to experience a facet of Hong Kong not generally seen.

I read this as an advanced reader’s copy courtesy of Netgalley. The book was published by Harper Collins and released June 2, 2020

What You Wish For, another great Katherine Center book, 5*

Whenever I see the cover of a new Katherine Center book, I smile. They are bright and cheerful, yes, but I also know there will be complicated characters who look for deeper meaning, deeper gratitude and deeper joy than from any other author. What You Wish For doesn’t disappoint.

Set in the historical and beautiful city of Galveston, Texas, What You Wish For is the story of school librarian Samantha Casey. Sam has a history of running away from problems, not the least of which was a paralyzing crush on colleague Duncan Carpenter. She finds a home at the charming private school on the island, and fits in until the day she experiences a return of her childhood epilepsy. Instead of running away again, she takes the advice of her mentor and recreates herself with joy.

Then her mentor dies, and none other than Duncan Carpenter comes to take his place. Only Duncan has changed too, and not in ways that Samantha can understand.

This book examines serious issues: bullying in school, creativity versus protection, school safety and the way people are marginalized for characteristics that don’t define them. Katherine doesn’t disappoint her readers. She lets her characters charge ahead boldly and with flowers in their hair. You will want to applaud.

This book was provided to me by NetGalley. It will be released on July 14, 2020.

The Second Home, by Christina Clancy 4*

When we picture the perfect place to spend summers as children, the house that Ed and Connie Gordon travel from Milwaukee to Wellfleet every summer might come to mind. When they adopt a nearly grown teenager who their daughter Ann befriends, the family of five seems complete. Then comes the jealousy, teenage hormones and the problems that too much freedom and too little information breeds. The three children, once close, separate into their own shadowy worlds and it takes the death of their parents, years later, to reunite them. The question of what happens to the Second Home force the issue.

Christina Clancy has created deep characters and a gorgeous setting that propels this book into the "great summer read" category. But it has some dark moments that hold me back from giving it a five-star rating. Every parents dream, and nightmare, all in one book.

This book was provided to me by NetGalley and will be published June 2, 2020.

Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear by Matt Salesses

 Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear by Matt Salesses

Invisibility is a social issue that doesn’t get the attention it deserves.  It affects many segments of the population, but some groups bear more of the burden of being unseen than others.  Disappear Doppelganger Disappear begins with an abbreviated list of disappearances…governmentally sanctioned limits on immigration, particularly affecting Asian immigration. Author Matthew Salesses addresses this burden through character Matt Kim, who has lost his parents, family, and quickly losing all sense of himself. As a Korean-American adopted child, Matt seeks connection.  He’s divorced and estranged from his daughter and seems to be willing to do anything to reestablish connections. Like the character in his own novel: “He was at an age of dwindling options: Each choice he made limited the choices he had left.”

Then there are the doppelgängers written as separate characters. There is another “Matt” who is everything the first Matt thinks he’d have liked to have been, but this Matt has been murdered.  The girlfriend, who changes her name, though the original Matt sees this change as the creation of another doppelganger.  The story reinforces the premise that in order to communicate, there must be a “share[d] belief in imaginary things: nations, limited liability corporations, money, gender, race.”  It isn’t clear what these characters believe in, but clearly, this author understands the nuances of humor.

This book is not for the person looking for an easy read.  It is hard to keep track of the many Matts, (including one named for the author.)  The magical elements, which let Matt travel through space and time (though only between two locations and times,) are interesting and unforgettable, but difficult as well, taking the form of cracks in walls, yellow yarn and bubbles.  It is in the existential questions where the universal appeal resides, and it goes beyond a plea for male Asian adoptees/immigrants to be seen.

“In this one and only world, messy and circumstantial and shared, nothing is completely free from its opposite. You are not only who you are, but who you are not.”

This is an important book for the times in which we live, and probably, for any time.  Crises change, but the need for human connection and living authentically never disappear, even when we want them to.

Recommended to anyone looking for deeper meaning in fiction. 

I read an advanced readers copy of Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear provided by NetGalley. The book will be released on August 11, 2020.

Big Summer by Jennifer Berg. 5*

Publication Date, May 19, 2020

Jennifer Weiner has been the voice of real women since her debut novel, Good In Bed.  When I say real women, I don’t do it to exclude anyone, but to add to the numbers of people who don’t get picked on for their looks, color, body shape, size, sexual orientation, nationality, age or any of the myriad reasons that get someone labeled as “other.” Jennifer’s books have wonderfully developed inclusive characters who aren’t afraid of showing up in a novel, and I personally find it refreshing.

Daphne Berg is one of those real women. She’s young, not thirty yet, but she is also smart and not a size 2. She’s also a rising star in the social influencer scene. Her adorable parents worked hard to send Daphne to private school where she excelled, but discovered all those elite cool kids, who treated her either as best friend or pariah. Daphne never knows which to expect, especially from her purported “best friend,” Drue Cavanaugh.

Once Weiner has hooked us on these fascinating characters, the book takes a solid turn into romantic murder mystery. Weaving well drawn characters into the idyllic setting of Cape Cod, Berg shows that she knows how to tie the threads up in an unexpected knot. 

This is a great book for summer reading, good for contemporary fiction, romance lovers, and people who enjoy a good mystery. Big Summer is another great read from Jennifer Weiner.

This was a Read Now selection from NetGalley and provided by the wonderful publisher, Atria Books.

A Hopeful tale of love. 5*

Joe first meets Nora standing near the great gold clock in Grand Central Station in 1937.  He's a lever man for the trains, and she's a refined young woman.  Instantly smitten, this book tells the story of the unconventional romance of Joe and Nora.  It shows the sacrifices made when life presents obstacles that may be impossible to overcome.

The characters in this book are so well drawn, you'll want to invite them to dinner in the diner... and have everything but coffee.  We love Joe's pragmatism, and Nora's artistic, get it done attitude. We love how character matters regardless of circumstance, for both of them.

Grand Central itself, in its prime, is the only setting that really matters, and it is fascinating to learn the inner workings of such an important hub through the eyes of an insider.  I finished the book a week ago, and already wish I could go back.

I got this book from NetGalley as an advance readers copy.  It was published June 11, 2019.

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Mrs. Everything, by Jennifer Weiner 5 stars

Mrs. Everything, by Jennifer Weiner packs in so much of the popular culture and issues from the era it covers that if you lived them, you’ll be constantly thinking “oh yeah!” and if you didn’t, you might just shake your head at the adventures these sisters experience. And you may find yourself wondering: was that really a thing back then?  Abortion rights, drugs, homosexuality, women’s right to work outside the home, participate in sports, etc. etc.…these are all the issues of the Millennials, right.

Wrong.  In this vivid portrayal of growing up in suburban Detroit in the fifties, sixties, and seventies, Weiner opens up a book of snapshots that seem too wild to be real. But they were.  And for two sisters, Bethie and Jo to experience them all…between them, truly, everything.

Their experiences take us through the trauma of a 50s style marriage, divorce, adultery, and recovery for awkward Jo, the athlete, and ultimately leads her to true love.  Bethie falls off the good girl track she’s been raised to ride, and finds herself immersed in sex, drugs and rock and roll.  The scenes at the commune where she lands are fascinating and colorful and make you want to live there, too.

Jennifer Weiner continues to grow as a writer and I look forward to each of her books. The setting and time periods are well researched and her characters are flawed and real. 

I received this book from NetGalley and am happy to provide this review. Publication date is June 11, 2019

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Woman 99 by Greer Macallister

Woman 99 by Greer Macallister

When Charlottes sister Phoebe is sent away to Goldengrove, a Progressive Home for the Curable Insane, Charlotte knows she must rescue her.  So, she figures out a way to be sent there too, unknown to her family and friends.  It takes weeks, and Charlotte learns the depths of the darkness of Goldengrove, where cruelty takes the place of actual treatment, and women with no problems other than being inconvenient for their male family members, are locked away without hope of release.  The women are used as slave labor, and deprived of all worldly comforts, fed the smallest amount possible to keep them alive and granted no freedom.

Charlotte hatches a plan with other sane inmates to escape, and the adventure unfolds, as she attempts to save her sister, and reunite with the man she loves.  In the spirit of Nellie Bly, she finds ways to improve both her own life, and that of those who truly need the services the ideal Goldengrove can provide.

I received this book from NetGalley.  The book was published March 5, 2019.

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Sunset from the Vortex.

Sedona, Arizona

The Liar's Child 3*

The Liar’s Child by Carla Buckley.

This book intertwines the stories of six characters, all who have suffered tragedies. It shows us how each of them copes and rather than gloss over their individual faults, the book seems to focus on them. It makes it hard to like any of the characters, and I was never sure who I should be rooting for, other than Boon, who is almost always the victim, intended or not.

The book does explore the details of complex lives, illustrating that the circumstances in which a person is born present challenges for improving their life. Hank, a sheriff whose life revolves around service fails his own family and himself. Whit, a handsome man who just want to keep his family happy and safe, whose wife creates havoc that makes it impossible. Cassie, the troubled preteen who can’t find herself, and whose actions ultimately will trap her in the cycle that has caused the family to fall apart. Little Boon, who can’t seem to catch a break anywhere, but who doesn’t seem to ever give up hope.

And then there is Sara, who’s grifter father has died in prison, who is supposed to be an informant who will help the FBI put the bad guys away, but who can’t seem to figure out who the bad guys really are.  She comes across, intentionally I think, as self-absorbed and selfish, though her humanity breaks through often enough to make us know that the only hope these characters have rests with her.

The writing is the saving grace for the book, as the author convincingly depicts the tension of the coming storm, the FBI always just off screen and the emotions of each of the characters.  It is harder to write complex characters, especially if the reader isn’t convinced they are good at heart.  Buckley skillfully creates humans… nothing cardboard at all about her characters.

The book also provides an interesting picture of the-- often idealized-- Outer Banks, and what happens to regular people when disaster and tragedy hit home. I didn’t find the ending particularly satisfying, because it didn’t seem to fit the projectory of the balance of the book.

I received this book from NetGalley. Publication date is March 12, 2019.

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