July 7, 2017

The Forever Summer

Author: Jamie Brenner
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company, 2017
Pages: 368
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Marin Bishop has always played by the rules, and it's paid off: at twenty-eight she has a handsome fiancé, a prestigious Manhattan legal career, and the hard-won admiration of her father. But one moment of weakness leaves Marin unemployed and alone, all in a single day. Then a woman claiming to be Marin's half-sister shows up, and it's all Marin can do not to break down completely. Seeking escape, Marin agrees to a road trip to meet the grandmother she never knew she had. As the summer unfolds at her grandmother's quaint beach side B&B, it becomes clear that the truth of her half-sister is just the beginning of revelations that will change Marin's life forever. The Forever Summer is a delicious page-turner and a provocative exploration of what happens when our notions of love, truth, and family are put to the ultimate test.
Full of delicious descriptions of coastal New England and richly imagined characters, The Forever Summer is an emotional, hot-topic page-turner and a summer must-read.
Review: I just loved this novel. The author's writing style spoke to me. The characters and setting came to life as the story unfolded. The Forever Summer is a perfect summer / beach read.

July 6, 2017

Blackberry Winter

Author: Sarah Jio
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2012
Pages: 320
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: Seattle, 1933. Single mother Vera Ray kisses her three-year-old son, Daniel, goodnight and departs to work the night-shift at a local hotel. She emerges to discover that a May-Day snow has blanketed the city, and that her son has vanished. Outside, she finds his beloved teddy bear lying face-down on an icy street, the snow covering up any trace of his tracks, or the perpetrator's.

Seattle, 2010. Seattle Herald reporter Claire Aldridge, assigned to cover the May 1 "blackberry winter" storm and its twin, learns of the unsolved abduction and vows to unearth the truth. In the process, she finds that she and Vera may be linked in unexpected ways.

Sarah Jio burst onto the fiction scene with two sensational novels—The Violets of March and The Bungalow. With Blackberry Winter—taking its title from a late-season, cold-weather phenomenon—Jio continues her rich exploration of the ways personal connections can transcend the boundaries of time. 

Review: I knew going into this it would be an emotionally challenging book. As a mom with a little boy not much older than my own, my heart went out to Vera and Daniel. I kept having to remind myself that this is a work of fiction.

This isn't why I gave it a "do not recommend" rating though. This novel moved incredibly slowly, unimportant and seemingly random details were awkwardly revealed, and characters seemed to miss obvious cues or didn't connect the very obvious dots. The characters were also cliche, so very cliche. They also took on traits and interests at the convenience of the author, rather than staying true to themselves. It was hard for me as the reader to understand their motivations and rationale.

Obviously this novel didn't work for me. Rather than just returning it unfinished to the library, I forced myself to hang in there; apparently a glutton for for punishment. It was a painful read...until I got to the last two discs when it finally all came together. Maybe I would have enjoyed this more had I read the print version. I don't know.

July 5, 2017

Windy City Blues

Author: Renee Rosen
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2017
Pages: 480
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: In 1960s Chicago, a young woman stands in the middle of a musical and social revolution. A new historical novel from the bestselling author of White Collar Girl and What the Lady Wants.

Leeba Groski doesn’t exactly fit in, but her love of music is not lost on her childhood friend and neighbor, Leonard Chess, who offers her a job at his new record company in Chicago. What starts as answering phones and filing becomes more than Leeba ever dreamed of, as she comes into her own as a songwriter and crosses paths with legendary performers like Chuck Berry and Etta James. But it’s Red Dupree, a black blues guitarist from Louisiana, who captures her heart and changes her life.

Their relationship is unwelcome in segregated Chicago and they are shunned by Leeba’s Orthodox Jewish family. Yet in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, Leeba and Red discover that, in times of struggle, music can bring people together.

Review: Some chapters/sections could have been eliminated with nothing lost from the story, but still a very good read. This was another I couldn't read fast enough. I love the time frame, 1930s to 1950s, and the subject matter, the birth of R&B in Chicago. Leeba was an easy character to love and the story was just fascinating, especially since it was based in fact.

I asked my music teacher/band director husband if he had ever heard of Chess Records, and he told me that he had a ton of Chess Record stuff in the basement. He disappeared for a few minutes and came back up with several CDs. I took them from him and said I wanted to listen to them on my commute. Some of the songs/artists he had were mentioned in this book.

Other Renee Rosen Novels:
What the Lady Wants

July 2, 2017

Almost Missed You

Author: Jessica Strawser
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2017
Pages: 320
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Violet and Finn were “meant to be,” said everyone, always. They ended up together by the hands of fate aligning things just so. Three years into their marriage, they have a wonderful little boy, and as the three of them embark on their first vacation as a family, Violet can’t help thinking that she can’t believe her luck. Life is good.

So no one is more surprised than she when Finn leaves her at the beach—just packs up the hotel room and disappears. And takes their son with him. Violet is suddenly in her own worst nightmare, and faced with the knowledge that the man she’s shared her life with, she never really knew at all.

Caitlin and Finn have been best friends since way back when, but when Finn shows up on Caitlin’s doorstep with the son he’s wanted for kidnapping, demands that she hide them from the authorities, and threatens to reveal a secret that could destroy her own family if she doesn’t, Caitlin faces an impossible choice.

As the suspenseful events unfold through alternating viewpoints of Violet, Finn and Caitlin, Jessica Strawser's Almost Missed You is a page turning story of a mother’s love, a husband’s betrayal, connections that maybe should have been missed, secrets that perhaps shouldn’t have been kept, and spaces between what’s meant to be and what might have been.Violet and Finn were “meant to be,” said everyone, always. They ended up together by the hands of fate aligning things just so. Three years into their marriage, they have a wonderful little boy, and as the three of them embark on their first vacation as a family, Violet can’t help thinking that she can’t believe her luck. Life is good.

So no one is more surprised than she when Finn leaves her at the beach—just packs up the hotel room and disappears. And takes their son with him. Violet is suddenly in her own worst nightmare, and faced with the knowledge that the man she’s shared her life with, she never really knew at all.

Caitlin and Finn have been best friends since way back when, but when Finn shows up on Caitlin’s doorstep with the son he’s wanted for kidnapping, demands that she hide them from the authorities, and threatens to reveal a secret that could destroy her own family if she doesn’t, Caitlin faces an impossible choice.

As the suspenseful events unfold through alternating viewpoints of Violet, Finn and Caitlin, Jessica Strawser's Almost Missed You is a page turning story of a mother’s love, a husband’s betrayal, connections that maybe should have been missed, secrets that perhaps shouldn’t have been kept, and spaces between what’s meant to be and what might have been.

Review: A little bit chick lit, a little bit mystery, but all around great fiction. I couldn't put this novel down. Thoroughly enjoyed it.