Tag Archives: women’s fiction

One Perfect Summer by Brenda Novak – a Review

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One Perfect Summer by Brenda Novak – a Review

 

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Description: 
When Serenity Alston swabbed her cheek for 23andMe, she joked about uncovering some dark ancestral scandal. The last thing she expected was to discover two half-sisters she never knew existed. Suddenly, everything about her loving family is drawn into question. And meeting these newfound sisters might be the only way to get answers.

 

While at Serenity’s family’s Lake Tahoe cabin, the three women begin digging into the mystery that has shaken their lives. With Reagan navigating romantic politics at her New York City advertising firm, Lorelei staring down the collapse of her marriage, and Serenity recovering from a messy divorce and traumatizing trial, all three women are converging at a crossroads in their lives. Before the summer is over, they’ll have to confront the paths they walked to get there and determine how to move forward when everything they previously thought to be true might be a lie. Thankfully, they’ll learn together that the future is easier to face with family by your side.

 

 

Review: 

One Perfect Summer by Brenda Novak was an excellent read.   Three sisters that come together, and although they look alike, the differences become more obvious.

We start with Serenity (she was the one who started this all off) she’s a writer, she’s also just finished a messy divorce and a trial from hell.

Lorelei has enough on her plate, without coming out into the middle of nowhere, to meet her sister. She’s also on the brink of a divorce!! Her husband is having an affair with her best friend, and the other woman is pregnant! 

Reagan, is dating a married man, it wasn’t meant to happen that way, but she fell in love…. 

Will the three women be able to become the sisters they all seem to need? Or will jealousy and outside forces pull them apart? 

The meeting between the three women who are biological half sisters, is tense, how can it not be, they never knew each other existed. And who is their father? And how did they never know of each other? 

One Perfect Summer was very well written by Novak.  I felt all the emotion that the sisters had felt. The backstory of each woman is crucial in learning about them. But did we really need the amount of information that was dumped on us about the brothers that lived next door? We need a little, but not as much as we got. (But I did wonder if they would get a book to tell us their stories.) And some of the other family members got page time, which sometimes took us away from the main story. 

So what does the future hold for them? Will they find the truth in the past? Or will they be able to let go and forge a bond that will take them into the future. 

And it brings to mind the debate on nurture versus nature, and the sisters definitely had different upbringings. And reading the interaction with Lorelei and her daughter was lovely. The interaction with Serenity and her parents was interesting. 

Reviewed by Julie B

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

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The Numbers Game by Danielle Steel – a Review

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The Numbers Game by Danielle Steel – a Review

 

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Description:
Eileen Jackson was happy to set aside her own dreams to raise a family with her husband, Paul. Together they built an ordinary life in a Connecticut town, the perfect place for their kids to grow up. But when Eileen discovers that Paul’s late nights in the city are hiding an affair with a younger woman, she begins to question all those years of sacrifice and compromise. On the brink of forty and wondering what she’s going to do with the rest of her life, is it too late for her to start over?

Meanwhile, as Paul is thrust back into the role of suburban fatherhood, his girlfriend, Olivia, is in Manhattan, struggling to find herself in the shadow of her mother, a famous actress, and her grandmother, a fiercely independent ninety-two-year-old artist. With their unique brands of advice ringing in her head, Olivia takes a major step, expanding her art gallery business internationally. Seeing her mother pursue old dreams and even find new love, Olivia realizes that there is so much she must learn about herself before committing her life to someone else.

Ultimately, Eileen decides to chase her own dreams as well. She’s off to Paris to attend Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. What awaits is an adventure that reinvents her life and redefines her.

At every age, there are challenges to be met and new worlds to discover. In this surprising, illuminating novel, Danielle Steel gives us a warmhearted portrait of people driven by their emotions, life experiences, and loyalties, who realize that it’s never too late to turn a new page and start again.

 

 

Review:

The Numbers Game by Danielle Steel is another one of her wonderful stories of family and problems that have an effect on everyone lives along the way. The story centers around married couple, Eileen and Paul, who both gave up their dreams as teenagers to marry, as she was pregnant.  Years later, they live in a nice house in Connecticut, with Eileen being a stay at home mom, and Paul having a successful career in New York; they have three children, with the oldest being Penny at 17. 

When Paul works very long hours, Eileen begins to suspect that he may be having an affair.   When she approaches Paul, he reluctantly confesses that he has been seeing a younger woman.  Eileen and Paul will separate, and their lives and choices is the focus of this story. Paul lives in New York, with his very young girlfriend, Olivia, who has a successful art gallery.  Olivia comes from a famous family, her mother is an actress, and grandmother is a world renown sculptor.

Eileen, slowly begins to adjust life without Paul, and finds herself becoming more self sufficient and changes in her life are for the better.  She decides that though she is in her 40’s, she is still young enough to fulfill her dreams.  Eileen, who is a good cook, signs up for a class in Paris to attend Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, as she wants to start a catering business. To do so, she convinces Paul to stay with the kids for three months, which he agrees, since he feels he owes her this, even if it begins to hurt his relationship with Olivia.

The story revolves around Eileen, as well as Olivia, and to a smaller content, Penny (Eileen & Paul’s daughter), Gwen (the actress), and Gabriella (grandmother), as we watch how all their lives, each at various ages, develop in this heartwarming and wonderful story about life effecting each of them.   I did like all the women involved, and though Eileen was a great heroine, as she was not only a wonderful person, but very likeable.  At first, I was not a fan of Olivia, but over time, she turned out pretty good, and also likeable.

What follows is watching each of them come to major decisions, with many changes along the way, including breakups, divorce, love, happiness and family.  The Numbers Game was very well written by Danielle Steel. 

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

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The Carousel by J.A. Stone-a review

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The Carousel by J. A. Stone-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 28, 2020

An emotional journey of four women connected by blood, love, loss and time.

Pruett Fontaine is at a crossroads. Divorced, she’s lost herself and is struggling to find her place. When her estranged mother dies unexpectedly, she’s drawn back to Louisiana, to a family and town she left behind twenty years ago.

With no choice but to deal with her mother’s estate, a father she doesn’t know anymore, and the woman her mother left them for, she brings her teenage daughter to Sweetwater and collides with a past she’s been running from since she was eighteen.

Her mother’s journals open her eyes to a woman she barely knew, and she can’t outrun the sins of the past. Secrets are exposed, tragedies are revealed, and temptation rears its head over the course of one long, hot Louisiana summer.

••••••••

REVIEW:THE CAROUSEL by J. A. Stone (Juliana Stone) is a contemporary, adult, stand alone story of women’s fiction focusing on four women (Pruett, Daisy, Carol and Lila) from Sweetwater, Louisiana.

Told from several first person perspectives (Pruett Fontaine, Daisy, Charlotte), third person (Carol Seaton) and journal entries (Lila) THE CAROUSEL follows four women connected by blood and love. Divorced mother Pruett Fontaine is called home to Sweetwater, Louisiana after the death of her mother Lila, a woman she hasn’t seen or to whom she has spoken in close to twenty years. With her fifteen- year old daughter Daisy, in tow, Pruett returns to a place that holds too many memories of a time long ago-of a lost love, a dysfunctional family, and a mother who was emotionally absent all of her life. As Pruett attempts to move on from the past, the past isn’t willing to let go, especially when secrets are about to be revealed.

Pruett Fontaine left Sweetwater twenty years earlier, the night her life imploded when a face to face with her mother ended their relationship. Things said in anger pushed Pruett out of town, and away from the boy she would always love. Marriage, family and eventually divorce would force Pruett to analyse her life but more so her return to Sweetwater where the sins of the past come looking for a second chance. But not all is well in Sweetwater, Louisiana as long buried secrets are about to resurface forcing the small town to revisit a dark and dangerous past.

We are introduced to Lila’s best friend and partner Carol, who worked and operated the local B&B: Aunt Charlotte, Lila’s sister; Pruett’s daughter Daisy; and an assortment of Sweetwater lifers, who never expected Pruett’s return. A best friend from childhood, along with Pruett’s first love are never far from Pruett’s mind but a series of journals left to her by her mother Lila, will pull Pruett into the past, a past that will begin to reveal the truth about what happened and why.

THE CAROUSEL is a story about a dysfunctional family where the truth will reveal a past mired in betrayal and heart break; an emotional journey for one woman as she comes to terms with the woman she once called mother, and the family owned secrets that destroyed too many lives. From her heart-broken father (Beverly) who lost the love of his life the same night twenty years earlier, to a woman who struggles to move forward without her friend by her side, THE CAROUSEL spans but a few weeks, yet close to forty years as we are witness to the events leading up to Pruett’s acceptance of a past that controlled her entire life. The premise is captivating and intriguing; the characters are colorful, broken, struggling and strong; the world building is detailed and introspective

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

FOLLOW: Goodreads/Facebook/Twitter/

Juliana Stone is also known as J.A. Stone.

USA Today bestselling author and 2015 RITA® winner JULIANA STONE fell in love with books in the fifth grade when her teacher introduced her to Tom Sawyer. A tomboy at heart, she splits her time between baseball, books, and music. When she’s not singing with her band, she’s thrilled to be writing young adult as well as adult contemporary romance—books that have garnered starred reviews from Publishers Weekly & Booklist—from somewhere in the wilds of Canada.

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Moral Compass by Danielle Steel – a Review

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Moral Compass by Danielle Steel – a Review

 

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Description:
Saint Ambrose Prep is a place where the wealthy send their children for the best possible education, with teachers and administrators from the Ivy League, and graduates who become future lawyers, politicians, filmmakers, and CEOs. Traditionally a boys-only school, Saint Ambrose has just enrolled one hundred and forty female students for the first time. Even though most of the kids on the campus have all the privilege in the world, some are struggling, wounded by their parents’ bitter divorces, dealing with insecurity and loneliness. In such a heightened environment, even the smallest spark can become a raging fire.

One day after the school’s annual Halloween event, a student lies in the hospital, her system poisoned by dangerous levels of alcohol. Everyone in this sheltered community—parents, teachers, students, police, and the media—are left trying to figure out what actually happened. Only the handful of students who were there when she was attacked truly know the answers and they have vowed to keep one another’s secrets. As details from the evening emerge, powerful families are forced to hire attorneys and less powerful families watch helplessly. Parents’ marriages are jeopardized, and students’ futures are impacted. No one at Saint Ambrose can escape the fallout of a life-altering event.

In this compelling novel, Danielle Steel illuminates the dark side of one drunken night, with its tragic consequences, from every possible point of view. As the drama unfolds, the characters will reach a crossroads where they must choose between truth and lies, between what is easy and what is right, and find the moral compass they will need for the rest of their lives.

 

 

Review:

Moral Compass by Danielle Steel is another one of her wonderful emotional standalone novels.  The above description is perfect to lead into this storyline. ‘Saint Ambrose Prep is a place where the wealthy send their children for the best possible education, with teachers and administrators from the Ivy League, and graduates who become future lawyers, politicians, filmmakers, and CEOs. Traditionally a boys-only school, Saint Ambrose has just enrolled one hundred and forty female students for the first time.’

We get to meet many of the staff, as well as the students (boys) returning after summer vacation.  We learn about the wealthy parents, and the students who stood out.  We also meet Vivienne, an 18-year-old senior, who misses her friends, as she has moved from Los Angeles to New York and is enrolled in Saint Ambrose Prep.  Vivienne is pretty, smart and slowly makes friends with a few of the girls, but finds herself becoming friends with two of the most popular senior boys, Chase and Jamie. 

One evening after Halloween, Vivienne is walking and comes upon the boys drinking Tequila.  Both Jamie and Chase invite her to join them. They all become drunk on the Tequila, including Vivienne, who becomes under the influence of alcohol poisoning.   Chase and Jamie are best friends, and both like Vivienne, and soon a fight occurs; while the fight is going on, one of the other boys takes advantage of the inebriated girl and rapes her.  The other boys are shocked, not to mention drunk, and though they pull the boy away, they make the mistake of covering it up and leaving the girl unconscious (from the Tequila poisoning).

What follows is a criminal investigation, as we watch two cops on the case, use forensic evidence to discover the boys involved in the drinking, and the rapist.   We get to see the procedures, as well as the charges against the boys, and the families coming forth to protect their sons.   Vivienne does recover, and also keeps quiet, as she feels only one person was guilty and did not want them to go to jail and ruin their lives.  As things continue to unfold, I did like when two of the boys decide to go past their parent’s decision and tell the truth, which brings most of the others to do the same, with the exception of the rapist.

Moral Compass is a very compelling story that was very well written by Danielle Steel, and covers moral topics such as underage drinking, sexual assault, and things that change the course of the lives of so many innocents.   There were a lot of interesting characters throughout, such as the parents of the boys (some good and some belligerent), Vivienne; the school teachers and management, and the two investigators, who were very good.   Moral Compass was a very good story, which I suggest you read.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

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Regretting You by Colleen Hoover-Review, Excerpt & Giveaway Tour

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Regretting You by Colleen Hoover-Review, Excerpt & Giveaway Tour

 

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 10, 2019

Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would like nothing more than to be nothing alike.

Morgan is determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she did. By getting pregnant and married way too young, Morgan put her own dreams on hold. Clara doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Her predictable mother doesn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.

With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the household is Chris—Morgan’s husband, Clara’s father, and the family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences will reach far beyond just Morgan and Clara.

While struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one boy she’s been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets, resentment, and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back together.

••••••••••

REVIEW: REGRETTING YOU by Colleen Hoover is a contemporary, YA to adult, stand alone multi-genre story line focusing on thirty-four year old, Morgan Grant and her sixteen year old daughter Clara.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Morgan and Clara) using present day and memories from the past, REGRETTING YOU follows the struggling relationship between Morgan Grant and her sixteen year old daughter Clara. A tragic accident will claim the life of Morgan’s husband and Clara’s father Chris, an accident that will destroy not only the life of Morgan and Clara, but of Chris’ best friend Jonah Sullivan. Secrets will begin to unravel revealing years of betrayal and lies forcing Morgan, Clara and Jonah to wonder if everything about their lives were a lie.

Like all teenagers, Clara struggles in the aftermath of her father’s tragic accident, and takes her frustration and anger out on her mother but unbeknownst to Clara there is more going on behind the scenes than anyone could have imagined. Morgan Grant battles between head and heart in the months following her husband’s death. Life goes on but guilt and the overwhelming knowledge of betrayal and deception force Morgan to step back and reconsider where everyone goes, from here.

REGRETTING YOU follows three separate paths that intersect and converge: we follow sixteen year old Clara as she discovers first love; Morgan Grant as she discovers the truth; and a mother-daughter relationship that implodes in the aftermath of death, and the ultimate betrayal.

The cast of colorful secondary and supporting characters include Chris Grant’s best friend Jonah Sullivan; Morgan’s sister Jenny; Clara’s boyfriend Miller Adams, and her best friend Lexie.

REGRETTING YOU is a story of betrayal, secrets and lies; of revelations, heartbreak and grief; of second chances, acceptance and moving forward. Colleen Hoover pulls the reader into a captivating and intense story of family, friendship, and the true meaning of love. The premise is raw, real and edgy; the characters are passionate and angry. A tragic story of love, loss and lies, REGRETTING YOU is a story you won’t soon forget.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

 

 

Despite knowing I just pissed my mother off by being half an hour late for curfew, I still can’t stop smiling. That kiss with Miller was worth it. I bring my fingers to my lips.I’ve never been kissed like that. The guys I’ve kissed in the past all seemed like they were in a hurry, wanting to shove their tongue in my mouth before I changed my mind.

Miller was the opposite. He was so patient, yet in a chaotic way. It was like he’d thought about kissing me so often that he wanted to savor every second of it.

I don’t know that I’ll ever not smile when I think about that kiss. It kind of makes me nervous for school tomorrow. I’m not sure where that kiss leaves us, but it felt like it was a statement. I just don’t know what exactly that statement was.

My phone buzzes in my back pocket. I roll over and pull it out, then fall onto my back again. It’s a text from Miller.

Miller: I don’t know about you, but sometimes when something significant happens, I get home and think of all the things I wish had gone differently. All the things I wish I would have said.

Me: Is that happening now?

Miller: Yes. I don’t feel like I was entirely forthcoming with you.

I roll onto my stomach, hoping to ease the nausea that just passed through me. It was going so well…

Me: What weren’t you honest about?

Miller: I was honest. Just not entirely forthcoming, if there’s a difference. I left a lot out of our conversation that I want you to know.

Me: Like what?

Miller: Like why I’ve liked you for as long as I have.

I wait for him to elaborate, but he doesn’t. I’m staring at my phone with so much intensity that I almost throw it when it rings unexpectedly. It’s Miller’s phone number. I hesitate before answering it, because I rarely ever talk on the phone. I much prefer texting. But he knows I have my phone in my hand, so I can’t very well send it to voice mail. I swipe my finger across the screen and then roll off the bed and head to my bathroom for more privacy. I sit on the edge of the tub.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” he says.

“Sorry. It’s too much to text.”

“You’re kind of freaking me out with all the innuendos.”

“Oh. No, it’s all good. Don’t be nervous. I just should have said this to you in person.” Miller inhales a deep breath, and then on the exhale, he starts talking. “When I was fifteen, I watched you in a school play. You had the lead role, and at one point, you performed a monologue that went on for like two whole minutes. You were so convincing and you looked so heartbroken I was ready to walk onto the stage and hug you. When the play was finally over and the actors came back out onto the stage, you were smiling and laughing, and there wasn’t a trace of that character left in you. I was in awe, Clara. You have this charisma about you that I don’t think you’re aware of, but it’s captivating. I was a scrawny kid as a sophomore, and even though I’m a year older than you, I hadn’t quite filled out yet, and I had acne and felt inferior to you, so I never worked up the courage to approach you. Another year went by, and I continued to admire you from afar. Like that time you ran for school treasurer and tripped walking off the stage, but you jumped up and did this weird little kick and threw your arms up in the air and made the entire audience laugh. Or that time Mark Avery popped your bra strap in the hallway, and you were so sick of him doing it that you followed him to his classroom, reached inside your hoodie, and took off your bra and then threw it at him. I remember you yelling something like, ‘If you want to touch a bra so damn bad, just keep it, you perv!’ Then you stormed out. It was epic. Everything you do is epic, Clara. Which is why I never had the courage to approach you, because an epic girl needs an equally epic guy, and I guess I’ve just never felt epic enough for you. I’ve said epic so many times in the last fifteen seconds—I’m so sorry.”

He’s out of breath when he finally stops talking.

I’m smiling so hard my cheeks ache. I had no idea he felt this way. No idea.

I wait a few seconds to make sure he’s done; then I finally respond. I’m pretty sure he can hear from my voice alone that I’m smiling. “First of all, it’s hard to believe you were ever insecure. And second, I think you’re pretty epic, too, Miller. Always have. Even when you were scrawny and had acne.”

He laughs a little. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

I can hear him sigh. “Glad I got that off my chest, then. See you at school tomorrow?”

“Good night.”

We end the call, and I don’t know how long I sit and stare at my phone.

 


 

You are ‘label-less’ in the fact that you write in several genres. Readers never know what to expect next. If someone asks, how do you label yourself?

When I self-published my first novel I had no idea what genre to put it in. I thought I had written a drama but it turns to that I had written a romance. I’ve learned a lot since then, but I still don’t put a lot of weight in genre when I write. When your best friend is begging you to read a book, it’s not going to matter what genre it is when someone you trust is passionate about the story.

To keep all of your stories and characters straight, you must be very organized.

I’m the most disorganized person you will ever meet! I have no schedule. I can’t wake up before nine in the morning. I probably don’t go to bed until like three in the morning. I usually work about 16 hours a day.

What happens if you get blocked when you are writing?

If I get stuck writing, I go for a drive and play music. Music really helps me plot. I love The Avett Brothers, X Ambassadors, Airborne Toxic Event…I could go on and on.

What can you tell readers about your latest release Regretting You?

I would spoil it if I told you about it! Most of my books are like that. I can’t say what they are about or it spoils it. But I can say that Regretting You is told from a dual point-of-view centered on the inner lives of both a teen and adult protagonist.

Sounds like lots of different types of readers will be interested!

Absolutely. I wanted to write a book that bridged the gap between young adult and contemporary romance so that mothers can read with their daughters. I think it’s exciting to see people sharing reading experiences.

Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including the bestselling women’s fiction novel It Ends with Us and the bestselling psychological thriller Verity. She has won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance three years in a row—for Confess (2015), It Ends with Us (2016), and Without Merit (2017). Confess was adapted into a seven-episode online series. In 2015, Hoover and her family founded the Bookworm Box, a bookstore and monthly subscription service that offers signed novels donated by authors. All profits go to various charities each month to help those in need. Hoover lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys. Visit www.colleenhoover.com.
 
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Forever Friends (Cranberry Cove) by Sarah MacKenzie-Review

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Forever Friends (Cranberry Cove) by Sarah MacKenzie-Review & Giveaway

 

FOREVER FRIENDS
Cranberry Cove #1
by Sarah Mackenzie
Release Date: December 10, 2019
Genre: adult, contemporary, women’s fiction

 

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 10, 2019

Single mom Renee Rhodes seems like a woman who has it all together — perfect house, perfect kid, perfect yard. But now that her daughter is away at college, she doesn’t know what to do next. Without weekly PTA meetings and after-school chauffeur duty, Renee isn’t sure who she is anymore. What she is sure of is that she probably shouldn’t be crushing on her new boss, who couldn’t possibly be interested in a middle-aged mom….

Sadie Landry is drowning in the stay-at-home mom life. With a toddler running wild, a husband who is growing more distant by the day, and a mother-in-law who has a comment on every-little-thing, Sadie is one mommy-and-me class away from losing it. When she learns that she is pregnant again, Sadie knows that something has to change for the sake of her family — and her sanity.

After a birthday party bake-a-thon nearly turns into a three-alarm fire, Renee comes to her neighbor Sadie’s rescue with comfort, competence, and a killer pie recipe. With their unlikely friendship and a newly hatched plan to open a bakery, can Sadie and Renee finally have the lives they’ve always dreamed of?

•••••••••

REVIEW:FOREVER FRIENDS by Sarah Mackenzie is a contemporary, adult work of women’s fiction focusing on neighbors and friends-divorcee, single mother and physician’s assistant Renee Rhodes, and married mother of a two year old toddler Sadie Landry.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Renee and Sadie) FOREVER FRIENDS follows Renee and Sadie as they navigate the minefield of everyday life. Sadie Landry is a graphic designer by trade but opted to stay home and raise her child but Sadie is struggling with her direction in life which includes a husband who is hiding a secret, and a surprise pregnancy for which she is ill-prepared. As she slowly spirals out of control preparing for her child’s second birthday party, her neighbour and friend Renee Rhodes, takes the lead, and offers support where Sadie needs it the most. When Renee’s baking skills become the hit of the party, a local real-estate agent suggests Renee open up her own pie shop, a shop where Sadie’s grandmother’s recipes will be the menu of choice.

Sadie Landry battles between head and heart when Renee offers a partnership using Sadie’s grandmother’s recipes. As ‘Hester’s Bakery’ begins to take shape, Sadie quickly learns that all is not well in her married life. Secrets and lies, and issues of trust threaten Sadie’s tenuous hold on her emotional well-being. Meanwhile Renee Rhodes has fallen for her boss, widower and physician Dr. Dan Hanlon, a mutual attraction that quickly turns into something more but Renee also has issues of trust having witnessed the infidelity of her first husband, and as such, Renee begins to second guess the man with whom she is falling in love. With her daughter Tansy away at university, and her sister Bree keeping secrets, Renee finds herself caught between two worlds, and feels like she is losing control

FOREVER FRIENDS is a story of family and friendships; failures and success; secrets and lies. We are introduced to Sadie’s husband Ethan, their two year old son Lincoln, and Ethan’s meddling mother Annette ; Renee’s daughter Tansy; her sister Bree, and Renee’s boss and lover Dr. Dan Hanlon. The character driven premise is entertaining and captivating; the characters are colorful, energetic and real- our heroines are courageous and supportive as they take the tentative steps towards controlling their futures.

Copy supplied by the publisher

Reviewed by Sandy

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Sarah Mackenzie is the author of The Read-Aloud Family: Make Meaningful and Lasting Connections with Your Kids, and the bestselling book, Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler’s Guide to Unshakable Peace.

On the immensely popular Read-Aloud Revival podcast, she helps families all over the world make meaningful and lasting connections with their kids through books.

She lives in the Northwest with her husband, Andrew, and their six kids, where she loves to make sure they are well-stocked in the best books she can find.

Forever Romance is graciously offering a paper copy of FOREVER FRIENDS to TWO (2) lucky commenters at The Reading Cafe.

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10. Giveaway runs from December 9-14, 2019

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Meg and Jo by Virginia Kantra – Review and Giveaway

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Meg and Jo by Virginia Kantra – Review and Giveaway

 

 

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Description:
The March sisters—reliable Meg, independent Jo, stylish Amy, and shy Beth—have grown up to pursue their separate dreams. When Jo followed her ambitions to New York City, she never thought her career in journalism would come crashing down, leaving her struggling to stay afloat in a gig economy as a prep cook and secret food blogger.

Meg appears to have the life she always planned—the handsome husband, the adorable toddlers, the house in a charming subdivision. But sometimes getting everything you’ve ever wanted isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

When their mother’s illness forces the sisters home to North Carolina for the holidays, they’ll rediscover what really matters.

One thing’s for sure—they’ll need the strength of family and the power of sisterhood to remake their lives and reimagine their dreams.

 

 

Review:

Meg and Jo by Virginia Kantra is a modern retelling on the classic Little Women which inspired this heartwarming modern tale of four sisters.  For those of you who have read Little Women, the story revolves around the sisters, Meg, Jo, Amy and Beth; in Meg and Jo, this story centers on Meg and Jo, hence the title.

Meg, is the steady and reliable sister, married to John and has two children.  Jo, who wanted to be a writer, moved to New York, only to see her career at a standstill, and to make ends meet, she works as a prep cook for a renowned chef; as well as running a secret website as a food blogger. 

With Christmas near, Meg is determined to help her mother and do everything to the point of exhaustion, even turning down her husband’s offer of help.   When the March’s mother Abby, falls and gets hurt, Meg finds herself unable to keep up.  Her husband John, will step up to help more with the kids, as Meg loosens her rigid schedule.

 Jo asks her boss to have a few days to go home to North Carolina to help Meg.  When she returns to New York, she runs into her boss a few times during after hours, and slowly, their attraction begins to sizzle and an affair begins.  When Eric (chef) discovers that Jo is running a blog site, and some of his family recipes appear there, he is miffed. At the same time, the mother, Abby needs surgery and then rehab, so Jo quits and returns home to help Meg.

We do get to see Amy and Beth a few times, each having their own things going on; Amy is in Paris on an internship and Beth being offered a role in a play.  It was always nice to see all the family come home for Christmas, as well as for the mother’s surgery.  From what I understand, there will be another book centering on Amy and Beth.  The March father was rarely around, as he travelled to help others, not really being there for the children or the mother.  I was not a fan of the father.

I really loved both Meg and Jo, as they both made great heroines, and the sisterhood between the 4 girls was awesome.   Jo’s storyline revolving around her food blog recipes, as well as well as the heavy traffic from new found fans was well done, and fun to read.

Meg and Jo was a heartwarming and enjoyable story of family, loyalty, daily family problems and the sisterhood we came to love.   It was also sweet to see Meg and John become even closer and Jo and Eric’s wonderful relationship.    Meg and Jo was a sweet, realistic and fun story that was very well written by Virginia Kantra, which I suggest you read.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

Virginia Kantra’s publisher is graciously offering a paper copy of MEG AND JO to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe

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The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins – a Review

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The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins – a Review

 

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / BAM / Book Despository / iTunes / Google Play

 

Description:
Sarah Dove is no ordinary bookworm. To her, books have always been more than just objects: they live, they breathe, and sometimes they even speak. When Sarah grows up to become the librarian in her quaint Southern town of Dove Pond, her gift helps place every book in the hands of the perfect reader. Recently, however, the books have been whispering about something out of the ordinary: the arrival of a displaced city girl named Grace Wheeler.

If the books are right, Grace could be the savior that Dove Pond desperately needs. The problem is, Grace wants little to do with the town or its quirky residents—Sarah chief among them. It takes a bit of urging, and the help of an especially wise book, but Grace ultimately embraces the challenge to rescue her charmed new community. In her quest, she discovers the tantalizing promise of new love, the deep strength that comes from having a true friend, and the power of finding just the right book.

 

 

Review:

The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins is the 1st book in her Dove Pond series.  The Book Charmer revolves around the small town of Dove Pond, and it’s librarian, Sarah Dove, who is the book charmer;she magically hears her books suggest who should be reading the selected book. The Dove family has always had a little magical ability to help the town and its townsfolks.  Though Sarah plays an instrumental part of the book, the lead in this story is newcomer Grace Wheeler.

We meet 10 year old Grace and her younger sister, Hannah, when they are placed in a foster home, as due to Grace’s tough attitude they have found themselves moving often, but upon meeting her new foster mom, Mama G, she will find a place to stay.  We pick up years later, with a grown-up Grace, leaving a good job, to move to house in Dove Pond, to help Mama G (who is in the stages of dementia), and her niece, Daisy (her now deceased sister’s child).  Grace takes a job as a township clerk; and gets help for a caregiver for her Mama G.  Grace is distant, and tries not to befriend anyone in town, just do her job.  But Dove Pond is a sweet wonderful small town, with friendly and caring residents.   The town is in financial trouble, and Grace as part of her job, needs to fix the budget, and in time find ways to bring the town back to financial stability.

What follows is a sweet story of Grace slowly understanding more of this town, especially the residents who are determined to keep her. Grace is also having her issues with the deterioration of Mama G, who does have lucid times, but the inevitable will happen.  Daisy is also a handful for Grace, but as the townsfolk start working more with Grace to run a festival and bring in money and people back to Dove Pond, they also bring Daisy into being around new friends and neighbors, bringing her out of her shell.

The Book Charmer was a sweet story line in a wonderful cozy small town in Dove Pond.  Hawkins also gives us wonderful characters, especially Grace, Sarah, Trav, Ava, Daisy, Mama G and so many more. I also enjoyed the animals, as well as spending time with everyone in Dove Pond.   Grace was a great heroine, who over time began to change when she became part of the wonderful town, and make friendships that she never had.  Her late blooming romance with Trav was slow built mostly in the background, but it was a sweet happy ever after. A major part of the story was Grace having to deal with Mama G descent into dementia, and this was done so very well by Hawkins.    The Book Charmer was an an enjoyable read that had a bit of everything; books, small town, magic, family, friendship and sadness.  I suggest you read this book now.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

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