The Dilemma

Author: B. A. Paris
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2020
Pages: 352
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: It's Livia's 40th birthday, and her husband Adam is throwing her the party of a lifetime to make up fort he wedding they never had. Everyone who leves will be there, except her daughter Marnie, who's studying abroad. But Livia is secretly glad Marnie won't be there.

Livia has recently uncovered a secret about their daughter which, if revealed, will shake the foundation of their family to its core. She needs to tell Adam, but she's waiting until the party is over so they can have their last happy time together.

Adam, meanwhile, has his own surprise for Livia: he's arranged for Marnie to secretly fly back for the party. But before Marnia arrives, Adam hears some terrible news. Now he too is faced with a dilemma: Does he share what he's learned with his wife? Is hiding the truth the same as telling a lie? And how far are Adam and Livia willing to go to protect the ones they love-and give each other a last few hours of happiness?

Review: My journey with B. A. Paris: I loved Behind Closed Doors. The Breakdown was a let down. I thought maybe Bring Me Back would be her come back, but no.

The Dilemma is so good. Not quite five stars, but darn close. I really enjoyed this. It's family drama with the same sort of tension you mind in thrillers.

The Art of Her Deal

Author: Mary Jordan

Genre: Biography

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2020

Pages: 352
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Based on interviews with more than one hundred people in five countries, The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump draws and unprecedented portrait of the first lady. While her public image is of an aloof woman floating above the political gamesmanship of Washington, behind the scenes Melania Trump is not only part of President Trump's inner circle, but for some key decisions she has been hissingle most influential advisor.

Throughout her public life, Melania Trump has purposefully worked to remain mysterious. With the help of key people speaking publicly for the first time and never-before-seen documents and tapes, The Art of Her Deal looks before she met Donald Trump. Mary Jordan traces Melania's journey from Slovenia, where her family stood out for their noncorformity, to her days as a fledgling model know for steering clear of the industry's hard-partying scene, to a tiny living space in Manhattan she shared platonically with a male photographer, to the long, complicated dating dance that finally resulted in her marriage to Trump. Jordan documents Melania's key role in Trump's political life before and at the White House, and shows why he trust her instincts above all.

The picture of Melania Trump that emerges in The Art of Her Deal is one of a woman who is savvy, steeling, ambitious, deliberate, and who plays the long game. And while it is her husband who became famous for the phrase, "the art of the deal," it is she who has consistently used her leverage to get exactly what she wants. This is the story of her art of the deal.

 

Review: Melania is interesting to me, and partly because she is rather mysterious. This author didn't dig up any dirt on her, and took a non-biased approach in discussing. I didn't expect any earth-shattering revelations, and there weren't any. Melania is a smart lady, stands on her own two feet, and she and Trump are well-suited. That was my take-away.

Aly's House

Author: Leila Meacham

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 2016 (originally published in 1985)

Pages: 224

Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: A tender, classic love story about the power of first love and the promise of a second chance. . .

Aly Kingston has only ever loved one man, Marshall Wayne. But she put all those childish dreams behind her ages ago when the Waynes left town. Her father's victory at foreclosing on the Wayne family farm, the betrayal written all over Marshall's face-it all lingers in her mind and in her heart. But now, years later, when he comes back home to Claiborne, Aly realizes so much has changed since Marshall's been away. . .and so much remains the same.

Seeing Aly again surprises Marshall Wayne. Gone is the gangly girl who followed him around. In her place is a beautiful woman with warmth and sensititivity, someone who makes him want to believe in love again. But Marshall is back home for one reason and one reason alone: to get revenge on the man who destroyed his family and to reclaim what rightfully belongs to him. 

As the past and the present collide, will Aly lose her heart to the man who's plotting to destroy her family? Or can she show Marshall that love runs deeper than vengeance?

Review: I devoured this Leila Meacham book. It wasn't one of my faves, but I just love her writing style. Granted, this is a much earlier novel, I believe her second, and it reflects the 1980s in time and place, but it's still enjoyable. In fact, it's interesting to see how readers' tastes and expectations have changed.

Last One Home

Author: Debbie Macomber
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, 2015
Pages: 416
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Growing up, Cassie Carter and her sisters, Karen and Nichole, were incredibly close—until one fateful event drove them apart. After high school, Cassie ran away from home to marry the wrong man, throwing away a college scholarship and breaking her parents’ hearts. To make matters worse, Cassie had always been their father’s favorite—a sentiment that weighed heavily on her sisters and made Cassie’s actions even harder to bear.

Now thirty-one, Cassie is back in Washington, living in Seattle with her daughter and hoping to leave her past behind. After ending a difficult marriage, Cassie is back on her own two feet, the pieces of her life slowly but surely coming together. Despite the strides Cassie’s made, she hasn’t been able to make peace with her sisters. Karen, the oldest, is a busy wife and mother, balancing her career with raising her two children. And Nichole, the youngest, is a stay-at-home mom whose husband indulges her every whim. Then one day, Cassie receives a letter from Karen, offering what Cassie thinks may be a chance to reconcile. And as Cassie opens herself up to new possibilities—making amends with her sisters, finding love once more—she realizes the power of compassion, and the promise of a fresh start.

Review: Super quick read, and I loved it. I fell in love with Cassie and her daughter early on, and Steve too. Just a feel-good novel.

The Courage Tree

Author: Diane Chamberlain
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: MIRA, 2009
Pages: 400
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Eight-year-old Sophie Donohue just wanted to be like every other little girl. Which is why her mother, Janine, reluctantly agreed to let her go on the weekend camping trip with her Brownie troop. But when Janine arrives to pick up Sophie after the trip, her daughter is not with the others. Somehow, along the forested route from West Virginia, Sophie has disappeared.

But Sophie is no ordinary eight-year-old. She suffers from a rare disease, and Janine has recently enrolled her in an experimental treatment as a last effort to save her life—despite the vehement objections of her ex-husband, Joe. Without her medication, Sophie cannot survive long. All her mother's instincts tell Janine that Sophie is alive, but time is running out.

Deep in the Virginia forest, another drama unfolds. Sophie finds refuge in a remote cabin inhabited by Zoe, a woman who wants nothing to do with the child. Zoe is struggling to save her own daughter from the law, and Sophie's presence jeopardizes any chance of that happening. She is as determined to save her daughter as Janine is to save Sophie…and only one of them can succeed.

Review: I loved this book. The kidney disease/transplant part wasn't accurate enough for me personally, and I only know this because my husband has end-stage renal disease. The type of kidney disease in the book is not specified, but based on my own experiences, it didn't ring true. Definitely a book worth reading though, as all of Chamberlain's novels are.

Other Diane Chamberlain Novels
Big Lies in a Small Town
Necessary Lies
Pretending to Dance
Reflection
Summer's Child
The Dream Daughter
The Last House on the Street
The Silent Sister
The Stolen Marriage

The Winter in Anna

Author: Reed Karaim
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Norton, W. W. and Company, Inc., 2017
Pages: 256
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: A young man, Eric, drops out of college and lucks into a job with a small-town newspaper where he meets Anna, a woman whose story will be haunt and inspire him for the rest of his life. Set in a remote North Dakota community in the last days before the Internet, The Winter in Anna unfolds around a romance that almost was, and a meditation on what constitutes a life well lived. In wistful, moving reflections, Eric looks back on his days with Anna and struggles to reconcile his memories with what he has since learned of her.

Review: I liked this book. It's character driven, rather than plot driven so it's a quieter, slower read. However, it felt authentic. It's many years in the future and Eric reflects on Anna and the time they spent together. It was something a little different or out of the ordinary from the types of books I usually read. 

Southern Discomfort

Author: Tena Clark
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Atria Books, 2018
Pages: 320Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: In her memoir that is a "story of love and fury", Grammy Award-winning songwriter and producer Tena Clark recounts her chaotic childhood in a time fraught with racial and social tension. Tena was born in 1953 win a tiny Mississippi town close to the Alabama border, where the legacy of slavery and social injustice still permeated every aspect of life. On the outside, Tena's childhood looked like a fairytale. Her father was one of the richest men in the sate; her mother was a regal beauty. The family lived on a sprawling farm and had the only swimming pool in town; Tena was given her first car - a royal blue Camaro - at twelve.

But behind closed doors, Tena's family life was deeply lonely and dysfunctional. By the time she was three, her parents' marriage had dissolved into a swamp of alcohol, rampant infidelity, and guns. Adding to the turmoil, Tena understood from a very young age that she was different than her three older sisters, all of whom had been beauty queens and majorettes. Tena knew that she didn't want to be a majorette - she wanted to marry one.

On Tena's tenth birthday, her mother, emboldened by alcoholism and enraged by her husband's incessant cheating, walked out the door for good, instantly becoming an outcast in their society. Tena was left in the care of her nanny, Virgie, even though she was raising nine of her own children and was not allowed to eat from the family's plates or use their bathroom. It was Virgie's acceptance and unconditional love that gave Tena the courage to stand up to her domineering father, the faith to believe in her mother's love, and the strength to be her true self.

Review: I have been unable to focus on books since we went into quarantine. I've started many, and may come back to a lot of them, but this month, Southern Discomfort was the only one I was able to see to completion.

I've always enjoyed memoirs of people growing up with crazy, tumultuous childhoods who somehow to turn out to be successful adults. It's interesting, and so very different from my own experiences.