The Gown

Author: Jennifer Robson
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 2018
Pages: 400
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: London, 1947: Beseiged by the harshest winter in living memory, burdened by onerous shortages and rationing, the people of postwar Britain are enduring lives of quiet desperation despite their nation's recent victory. Among them are Ann Hughes and Miriam Dassin, embroiderers at the famed Mayfair fashion house of Norman Hartwell. Together they forge an unlikely friendship, but their nascent hopes for a brighter future are tested when they are chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime honor: taking part in the creation of Princess Elizabeth's wedding gown.

Toronto, 2016: More than half a century later, Heather Mackenzie seeks to unravel the mystery of a set of embroidered flowers, a legacy from her late grandmother. How did her beloved Nan, a woman who never spoke of her old life in Britain, come to possess the priceless embroideries that so closely resemble the motifs on the stunning gown worn by Queen Elizabeth II at her wedding almost seventy years before? And what her Nan's connection to the celebrated textile artist and holocaust survivor Miriam Dassin?

With The Gown, Jennifer Robson take us inside the workrooms where on of the most famous wedding gowns in history was created. Balancing behind-the-scenes details with a sweeping portrait of a society left reeling by the calamitous costs of victory, she introduces readers to three unforgettable heroines, their points of view alternating and intersecting throughout its pages, whose lives are woven together by the pain of survival, the bonds of friendship, and the redemptive power of love.

Review: This book gets rave reviews every time I see someone post about it, but still I wondered, "how could a book about a dress be that good." It was on display at the library and I figured I'd finally try it. It really is that good. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Jennifer Robson Novels
After the War is Over
Moonlight Over Paris
Somewhere in Paris

Banished: Surviving my Years in the Westboro Baptist Church

Author: Lauren Drain and Lisa Pulitzer
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 2013
Pages: 295
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: You've likely heard of the Westboro Baptist Church. Perhaps you've seen their pickets on the news, the members holding signs with messages that are too offensive to copy here, protesting at events such as the funerals of soldiers, the 9-year old victim of the recent Tucson shooting, and Elizabeth Edwards, all in front of their grieving families. The WBC is fervently anti-gay, anti-Semitic, and anti-practically everything and everyone. And they aren't going anywhere: in March, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the WBC's right to picket funerals.

Since no organized religion will claim affiliation with the WBC; it's perhaps more accurate to think of them as a cult. Lauren Drain was thrust into that cult at the age of 15, and the spat back out again seven years later.

Banished is the first look inside the organization, as well as a fascinating story of adaptation and perseverance.

Lauren spent her early years enjoying a normal life with her family in Florida. But when her formerly liberal and secular father set out to produce a documentary about the WBC, his detached interest gradually evolved into fascination, and he moved the entire family to Kansas to join the church and live on their compound. Over the next seven years, Lauren fully assimilated their extreme beliefs, and becase a member of the church and an active and vocal picketer. But as she matured and began to challenge some of the church's tenets, she was unceremoniously cast out from the church and permanently cut off from her family and from everyone else she knew and loved.

Review: I don't recommend this book because it's repetitive in its stories and message. A good editor could have tightened it up and made it a more compelling read. That said, it's interesting. I am a moth to flame when people are willing to talk about their time in a cult - how they ended up in one, what it was like, and escaping.

A Touch of Stardust

Author: Kate Alcott
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Knogf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2015
Pages: 304
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Julie Crawford left Fort Wayne, Inidna with dreams of being a Hollywood screenwriter. Unfortuntely, her new life is off to a rocky start. Fired by the notoriously demanding director of Gone with the Wind, she's lucky to be rescued by Carole Lombard, whose scandalous affair with the still-married Clark Gable is just heating up.

As Carole's assistant, Julie suddenly has a front-row seat to two of the world's greatest love affairs. And while Rhett and Scarlett - and Lombard and Gable - make movie history, Julie is caught up in a whirlwind of outsized personalities and overheated behind-the-scenes drama. . .not to mention a budding romance of her own.

Review: While I was never engrossed in the story or absorbed into the characters' lives, this was an interesting novel. I loved reading about the making of Gone with the Wind, an epic novel an movie.

I didn't love the ending, but it did ring true to life so I guess I can't fault the author for that.

Gabriel's Angel

Author: Nora Roberts

Genre: Christmas / Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2012
Pages: 244
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: All reclusive artist Gabriel Bradley wants is solitude. But when a very pregnant - and very beautiful woman ends up at his remote cabin during a blizzard, the modern-day Scrooge can't turn her away. For even though Laura is desperate, alone, and on the run, she's manage to bring Cabriel the gifts of passion, hope and life - he only needs the courage to reach for them.

Review: Laura didn't come off as the weak and vulnerable character that Roberts kept insisiting she was, but the story as a whole was cute. Gabriel pushed the whole angel thing a bit too much too. But, overall. this plot and these characters worked against the backdrop of Christmas.

The Christmas Wedding Ring

Author: Susan Mallery
Genre: Fiction / Christmas
Publisher: Harlequin, 2014
Pages: 384
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: In her youth, Molly Anderson couldn't help crushing on gorgeous bad boy Dylan Black - even though he only had eyes for her older sister. When things didn't work out between them, he said goodbye to Molly as well, vowing they'd have a great adventure when she grew up. Years later, dumped by her fiance just before Christmas, she's finally ready to take Dylan up on his promise.

A guarded Dylan has always had a weakness for Molly, and when she waltzes back into his life - grown-up and gorgeous - he's stunned. So why not whisk her away for some no-strings-attached fun.

Laughter-filled days and late-night kisses are changing Molly's life, for good. The only gift she truly wants now is Dylan's love, but when she discovers the secret she's been keeping, she may lose him again, this time for ever.

Review: I read a Christmas book on Halloween :-), and it was so cute. I couldn't stop thinking about Molly and Dylan all day. Hangover! This was predictable, but super cute and I really like how Mallery developed the characters' relationship. It was a good way to end the month.

Other Susan Mallery Novels
One Big Happy Family
The Friendship List
The Sister Effect
The Vineyard at Painted Moon

Wishing Tree Series
The Christmas Wedding Guest
Home Sweet Christmas

Mischief Bay Novels
The Girls of Mischief Bay
The Friends We Keep
A Million Little Things

Vintage

Author: Susan Gloss

Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers, 2014
Pages: 320
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: At Hourglass Vintage in Madison, Wisconsin, every item in the boutique has a story to tell. . .and so do the women who are drawn there.

Violet Turner has always dreamed of owning a shop like Hourglass Vintage. When she is facedd with the possibility of losing it, she realizes that, as much as she wants to, she cannot save it alone.

Eighteen-year-old April Morgan is nearly five months along in an unplanned pregnancy when her hasty engagement is broken. When she returns the perfect 1950s wedding dress, she discovers unexpected possibilities and friends who won't let her give up on her dreams.

Betrayed by her husband, Amithi Singh begins selling off her old clothes, remnants of her past life. After decades of housekeeping and parenting a daughter who rejects her traditional ways, she fears she has nothing more ahead for her.

Review: This book was on a display at the library so, I chose it for the cover. I liked it a lot more than I expected, and also gave it almost 5 stars, much higher than what other Goodreads readers have rated it.

It felt like real-life and the characters were likeable and believable. Fun little read.

Under the Boardwalk

Author: Carly Phillips
Genre: Chick Lit
Publisher: CP Publishing LLC
Pages: 406
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: When Ariana Costas heard her twin sister, Zoe, had disappeared, Ari left Vermont and returned to her Jersey girl roots to find her. Ari didn't know what to expect from her search, but danger around every corner, dodging bullets, and a hunk in a leather jacket saving her was not it.

Detective Quinn Donovan thought he located Zoe Costas. Beautiful, dark haired and a perfect match to the description he'd been given, he believes he has his lady. Except as it turns out, the gorgeous women is Zoe's twin Ariana, the college professor. Suddenly, Quinn's job is more about trying to protect Ari who is in trouble deeper than the Atlantic at high tide. There's more at stake than trying to protect her without spilling his well-guarded secrets.

Review: In an attempt to find a new light / fun author, I settled on Carly Phillips. This was an escape, but I need a real story and this was just fluff fluff fluff sex fluff sex fluff fluff. This genre serves a purpose, but I needed more. I do not plan to continue with this series.