In Dog We Trust

Author: Beth Kendrick

Genre: Chick Lit

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2019
Pages: 336
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: When Jocelyn Hillier is named legal guardian for the late Mr. Allardyce's pack of pedigreed Labrador retrievers, her world is flipped upside down. She's spent her entire life toiling in the tourism industry in Black Dog Bay and never expected to be living the pampered life of a seasonal resident in an ocean side mansion, complete with a generous stipend. But her new role isn't without challenges: the dogs (although loveable) are more high-maintenance than any Hollywood diva, the man she wants to marry breaks her heart, and she's confronted at every turn by her late benefactor's estranged son, Liam, who thinks he's entitled to the inheritance left to the dogs.

Jocelyn has worked too hard to back down without a fight, and she's determined to keep her new fur family together. As she strives to uphold the "Best in Show" standards her pack requires, Jocelyn finds love, family, and forgiveness in the most unexpected places.
.

Review: This book started out strong and reminscent of the earlier books in the series, but midway through, it stalled. Still cute, still fluffy - literally fluffy - the plot got tangled up on itself, and some of the conversations were repeats of earlier conversations, ie no growth in the characters.

Cure for the Common Breakup

New Uses for Old Boyfriends

Put a Ring on it

Once Upon a Wine

In Dog We Trust

Once Upon a Wine

Author: Beth Kendrick

Genre: Chick Lit

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2016

Pages: 336
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Cammie Breyer needs a big glass of cabernet - her restaurant failed and her chef boyfriend left for a hotter kitchen. Just when she thinks she's hit rock bottom, her Aunt Ginger calls with a surprise. She's bought a vineyard - in Delaware. At Ginger's command, Cammie returns to Black Dog Bay, the seaside town where she spent her childhood summers with her aunt and cousin, Kat.

The three women reunite, determined to succeed. There's only one problem: none of them knows the first thing about wine making. And it turns out, owning a vineyard isn't all wine and roses. It's dirt, sweat, and desperation. Every day brings financial pitfalls, unruly tourists, romantic dilemmas, and second thoughts. But even as they struggle, they cultivate hidden talents and new passions. While the grapes ripen under the summer sun, Cammie discovers that love, like wine, is layered, complex, delicious, and worth waiting for. . .

Review: I didn't enjoy this book as much as I have others in the series. There was just something missing. It was cute, but I lacked a connection with the characters. I had even wondered if I was starting to lose interest in the series; if it was growing stale. I'm happy to report the fifth book sucked me right in so it seems this novel just wasn't on par with the plot/characters of the others in this series.

Black Dog Bay series:

Cure for the Common Breakup

New Uses for Old Boyfriends

Put a Ring on it

Once Upon a Wine

In Dog We Trust

Put a Ring on it

Author: Beth Kendrick

Genre: Chick Lit

Publisher: Penguin Group Publishing Group, 2015

Pages: 336

Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Brighton Smit doesn't do outrageous. As an insurance actuary, it's her job to assess risk and avoid bad investments. But when her fiance calls to confess he's married someone else on a whim ("I look at her and just knew!"), she snaps. . .

That night, at a local bar, Jake Sorensen - hot, rich, and way out of her league - buys Brighton a cocktail. At midnight, she kisses him. And by dawn, they're exchanging vows at a drive-through chapel.

Brighton knows Jake is a bad bet, but she doesn't care. After a lifetime of playing it safe, she's finally having fun. Until the whirlwind romance gives way to painful reality. . .and Brighton finds out the truth about why a guy like Jake married a girl like her. With her heart on the line and the odds stacked agains them, Brighton must decide whether to cut her losses or take a leap of faith that this love affair is one in a million.

Review: I started this on my lunch break - why oh why did I do that? This was unputdownable. I identified so much with Brighton.

Black Dog Bay series:

Cure for the Common Breakup

New Uses for Old Boyfriends

Put a Ring on it

Once Upon a Wine

In Dog We Trust

New Uses for Old Boyfriends

Author: Beth Kendrick

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2015
Pages: 336
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: After growing up in privilege and marrying into money, Lila Alders has gotten used to the good life. But when her happily-ever-after implodes, Lila must return to Black Dog Bay, the tiny seaside town where she grew up. She's desperate for a safe haven, but everything has changed over the past ten years. Her family's fortune is gone - and her mother is in total denial. It's up to Lila to take care of everything, but she can barely take care of herself.

But former golden girl of Black Dog Bay struggles to reinvent herself by opening a vintage clothing boutique. But even as Lila finds new purpose for outdated dresses and tries to reunite with her ex, she realizes that sometime it's too late for old dreams. She's lost everything she thought she needed but found something - someone - she desperately wants. A boy she hardly noticed has grown up into a man she can't forget. . .and a second chance has never felt so much like first love.

Review: Oh my gosh - the title; made me giggle. This is such a fun series. I loved the first book, but this one was fun too. I cannot wait to get started on the third. It's not very often I get super excited about reading a series, but I'm really enjoying this one.

Black Dog Bay series:

Cure for the Common Breakup

New Uses for Old Boyfriends

Put a Ring on it

Once Upon a Wine

In Dog We Trust

The Cherry Harvest

Author: Lucy Sanna
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher, 2016
Pages: 352
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: A memorable coming-of-age story and love story, laced with suspense, which explores a hidden side of the home front during World War II, when German POWs were put to work in a Wisconsin farm community. . .with dark and unexpected consequences.

The war has taken its toll on the Christiansen family. With food rationed and money scarce, Charlotte struggles to keep her family well fed. Her teenage daughter, Kate, raises rabbits to earn money for college and dreams of becoming a writer. Her husband, Thomas, struggles to keep the farm going while their son, and most of the other local men, are fighting in Europe.

When their upcoming cherry harvest is threatened, strong-willed Charlotte helps persuade local authorities to allow German war prisoners from a nearby camp to the pick the fruit.

But when Thomas befriends one of the prisoners, a teacher named Karl, and invites him to tutor Kate, the implications of Charlotte's decision become apparent - especially when she finds herself unexpectedly drawn to Karl. So busy are they with the prisoners that Charlotte and Thomas fail to see that Kate is becoming a young woman, with dreams and temptations of her own - including a secret romance with the son of a wealthy, war-profiteering senator. And when their beloved Ben returns home, bitter and injured, bearing an intense hatred of Germans, Charlotte's secrets threaten to explode their world.

Review: A World War II novel set in the United States? Yes please. I was hooked from the first page. Approximately midway through something happened and I thought for sure this book had jumped the shark, but the author reigned it back in. 

At times I wasn't sure if I was reading a historical fiction or young adult novel, but overall I enjoyed this. There was more this author could have explored, and several reviews mentioned the ending was rather weak, but still a different sort of World War II story. I'll take it.

Cure for the Common Break-Up

Author: Beth Kendrick
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2014
Pages: 336
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Flight attendant Summer Benson lives by two rules: Don't stay with the same man for too long and never stay in one place. She's about to break rule number one by considering accepting her boyfriend's proposal-then disaster strikes and her world is shattered in an instant.

Flight attendant Summer Benson lives by two rules: Don’t stay with the same man for too long and never stay in one place. She’s about to break rule number one by considering accepting her boyfriend’s proposal—then disaster strikes and her world is shattered in an instant.
 
Summer heads to Black Dog Bay, where the locals welcome her. Even Hattie Huntington, the town’s oldest, richest, and meanest resident, likes her enough to give her a job. Then there’s Dutch Jansen, the rugged, stoic mayor, who’s the opposite of her type. She probably shouldn’t be kissing him. She definitelyshouldn’t be falling in love.
 
After a lifetime of globe-trotting, Summer has finally found a home. But Hattie has old scores to settle and a hidden agenda for her newest employee. Summer finds herself faced with an impossible choice: Leave Black Dog Bay behind forever, or stay with the ones she loves and cost them everything....

Review: A couple weeks ago I had picked up the second book in the series not realizing that it wasn't a stand-alone novel. I set it aside and requested the first book, Cure for the Uncommon Breakup.

It's typical fluff; cute, funny, predictable, a fast read, and one of the better books I've read in this genre. I plan to keep going with this series. Thoroughly enjoyed this first book. 

Black Dog Bay series:

Cure for the Common Breakup

New Uses for Old Boyfriends

Put a Ring on it

Once Upon a Wine

In Dog We Trust

Watch by Moonlight

Author: Kim Hawks
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: William Morrow & Company, 2001
Pages: 240
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: On a storm-tossed British night in 1763, a fine gentleman rides up to an old inn and requests shelter. His name, he tells Bess, the innkeeper's beautiful daughter, is Jason Quick, a man of wealth and honor. But there is blood on his sleeve. And his appearance is followed soon after by the arrival of the king's redcoats on the trail of a notorious bandit known as the Golden Fleecer.

There is much about this bold, enigmatic strangers that frighterns Bess, but there is something that draws her to him as well. And Quick himself is undone by the exquisiste loveliness of this dark-eyed miss who lustrous black hair cascades well past her waist. 

Soon there are no secrets between them, as Jason reveals the truth to the lady who has, in an instant, become his eternal love. It is he whom the redocats seek, the daring highwayman, the most wanted man in Dorset. For Bess, who long ago resigned herself to a life of toil and drudgery yet has never strayed from respectability, the shock of Jacon's revelations cannot dampen the fire that now burns in her breast. There is a tender heart within him, and  nobility to his criminal purpose. And no love in history has ever been more fated, or more dangerous. One more brazen robbery and Jason can Quick can fulfill the sworn duty that has determined the course of his life. Then he and his lady can begin anew together in the far colonies, across a vast ocean. But treachery breeds in unexpected corners and dastardly traps are set in the shadows, even as the highwayman sits astride his stallion beneath his true love's window and vows, "I"ll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."

Kate Hawks, a stunning new voice in historical fiction, renders a tale rich in atmosphere, passion, adventure, and intense emotion, a magnificent, heartfelt retelling of one of the most enduring love stories of all times.

Review: The Highwayman is my favorite poem. I first read it in middle school, and it captured my imagination. I've read it various times over the years, and it is still just so good. 

Imagine my suprise when I was browsing the library shelves and saw the title, "Watch by Moonlight." It was a familiar phrase so I pulled the book out and read the synopsis. It was genius, the backstory of this amazing poem. Who would have thought? Well, Kate Hawks, apparently. 

If I have one criticism it's that there are almost too many details mid-way through, too much imagining. The beginning was good, the middle dragged slightly, and the ending was amazing.

Overground Railroad

Author: Candacy Taylor
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: Abrams, 2020
Pages: 260
Rating: Highly Recommond

Synopsis: Published from 1936 to 1966, the Green Book was hailed as the "black travel guide toAmerica." At that time, it was very dangerous and difficult for African Americans to travel be cause black travelers couldn't eat, sleep, or buy gas at most white-owned businesses. The Green Book listed hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and other businesses that were safe for black travelers. It was a resourceful and innovative solution to a horrific problem. It took courage to be listed in the Green Book, and the Overground Railroad celebrates the stories of those who put their names in the book and stood up to segregation. It shows the history of the Green Book, how we arrived at our present historical moment, and how far we still have to go when it coems to race relations in America.

Review: I loved this book. The perfect complement to The Warmth of Other Suns, also excellent, and the movie The Green Book, which I also enjoyed.

This book touched on themes that are interesting to me, race relations, travel, and history. I wish the author would have left her personal opinions out and just told the story, but I definitely highly recommend it.

The Overground Railroad is organized and laid out well. The images and photographs included throughout are strategically placed, and make the story itself even more rich.

The Red Address Book

 Author: Sofia Lundberg
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: HMH Books, 2019
Pages: 304
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Meet Doris, a 96-year-old woman living alone in her Stockholm apartment. She has few visitors, but her weekly Skype calls with Jenny - her American grandniece, and her only relative - give her great joy and remind her of her youth.

When Doris was a girl, she was given an address book by her father, and ever since she has carefully documented everyone she met and loved throughout the years. Looking through the little book now, Doris sees many crossed-out names of people long gone and is struck by the urge to put pen to paper. In writing down the stories of her colorful past - working as a maid in Sweden, modeling in Paris during the 30s, fleeing to Manhattan at the dawn of the Second World War - can she help Jenny, haunted by a difficult childhood, unlock the secrets of their family and finally look to the future. And whatever became of Allan, the love of Doris' life?

Review: This book was a slow starter, as a lot of character driven novels are for me, but I was compelled to stick with it. I'm so glad I did. 

I loved Doris and she took on the appearance of my own, now-deceased, grandmothers as the story progressed.

If you enjoyed A Man Called Ove and/or Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk, this book is for you.

The Irresistable Blueberry Bakeshop & Cafe

Author: Mary Simses
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company, 2014
Pages: 368
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Ellen Branford is going to fulfill her grandmother's dying wish - to find the hometown boy she once loved, and give him her last letter. Ellen leaves Manhattan and her Kennedy-esque fiance for Beacon, Maine. What should be a one-day trip is quickly complicated when she almost drowns in the chilly bay and is saved by a local carpenter.

The rescue turns Ellen into something of a local celebrity, which may or may not help her unravel the past her grandmother labored to keep hidden. As she learns about her grandmother and herself, it bcome s clear that 24-hour visit to Beacon may never be enough.

Review: The blueberry didn't fall far from the bush. . .isn't that how the old saying goes?

Ellen and her grandmother led oddly similar lives, but that happens doesn't it? Both dumped men who loved them, and abandoned their passions. Although, I'd like to think Ellen is still doing photography; maybe taking pictures of the spoils from the cafe for her baking blog :-)

At first blush this is just another cheesy, light, and fun romance novel, but if you dig a little deeper, life in all its messy glory is there.

Orphan Train

Author: Christina Baker Kline
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher, 2017
Pages: 278
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Between 1854 and 1929, so-called orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of theEast Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by pure luck. Would they be adopted by a kind and loving family, or would they face a childhood or adolescence of hard labor and servitude.

As a young Irish immigrant, Vivian Daly was one such child, sent by rail from New York City to an uncertain future a world away. Returning east later in life, Vivian leads a quiet, peaceful existence on the coast of Maine, the memories of her upbringing rendered a hazy blur. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are vestiges of a turbulent past.

Seventeen-year-old Molly Ayer knows that community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping her out of juvenile hall. But as Molly helps Vivian sort through her keepsakes and possessions, she discovers that she and Vivian aren't as different as they appear. A Penobscot Indians who has spent her youth in and out of foster homes, Molly is also an outsider being raised by strangers, and she, too, has unanswered questions about the past.

Review: Put on my list as a new release, I grabbed a copy as I was walking past a display at my library. This is one of those books you wish you could read again for the very first time. It's an amazing story.

I was aware of the orphan trains and have actually read at least one other book about them, but this is so well written. It's told in alternating timelines that I don't love, but it works for this novel. The author made a conscious effort to weave Vivian and Molly's stories together so that the transition between the present and past was seamless.

If you pick this book up, and I highly recommend that you do, make sure you check out the additional information and interview with the author at the back of the book. It creates a richer understanding of the time and circumstances.

Rookhurst Hall

Author: Elizabeth Jeffrey
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Severn House Publishers, 2010
Pages: 220
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: The discovery of two old photographs, one of a large house, the other of three teenage girls in Edwardian dress, puzzles twent-year-old Lucy Armitage and send her off on a quest with antique dealer Ben Manton to find their origins. Because although she is sure it can have nothing to do with her, one of the girls in the photograph is uncannily like Lucy herself.

Review: I didn't realize when I picked this book up that I had ready another book by Elizabeth Jeffrey, but I read Meadowlands in 2019. As with this book, it was the cover that drew me to that one. And, the covers are quite similar, both are graced by estate homes.

Regardless, I like Jeffrey's writing style. She tells a good story with no wasted words and the plot moves, each conversation and scene propelling the novel forward. Despite it's relative predictability in plot, I couldn't put this one down, and that is the marker of an excellent storyteller.

I will seek out more novels by this author.

Beach Wedding Weekend

Author: Rachel Magee
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Hallmark Publishing, 2019
Pages: 298
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: When Brody broke up with Paige and went to Europe, he suggested that someday, they'd pick up right where they left off. A hopeless romantic, she believed him. But when they meet again, Brody's dating a gorgeous actress.

They're all going to attend the same wedding, and Paige plans to win Brody back. She even enlists her best friend's brother, Aiden, to pretend to date her and make her ex jealous. A breezy, charming restaurant owner, Aiden actually avoids serious relationships, but as a fake boyfriend, he's perfect.

As old friends and  exes take part in wedding preparations and enjoy the beauty of the Florida coast, they begin to see themvelseves - and each other - in a new light.

Review:  Super cute and exactly the type of "fluff" I wanted. Someday I'll get back into reading heavier novels, but there's nothing wrong with light reading and escapes.

The Next Always

Author: Nora Roberts
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2014
Pages: 336
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: The historic hotel BoonsBoro, Maryland, has endured war and peace, changing hands, even rumored hauntings. Now it's getting a major facelift from the Montgomery brothers and their eccentric mother. As the architect of the family, Beckett has little time for a social life. But there's another project he's got his eye on: the girls he's been waiting to kiss since he was sixteen.

After losing her husband and returning to her hometown, Clare Brewster settles into her life as the mother of three young sons while running the town's bookstore. Though busy, Clare is drawn across the street by Beckett's transformation of the old inn, wanting to a closer look, both at the building and the man behind it.

Review: I wanted another fun, fluff novel, but this one just didn't do it for me. The fluff factor was there in a predictable romance, but the supporting plot was very much meh. This was my first Nora Roberts novel and if this is "typical" then I don't think I'll read another, not even to continue this trilogy (at least not right now).