women’s fiction

Review: Never Let You Go by Chevy Stevens

Posted by

0

29939148

I absolutely love Chevy Stevens.  She’s one of my go-to authors, one of the few whose new books are definite must reads.  This latest from her didn’t disappoint.

When Lindsey met Andrew, she thought all her dreams were finally coming true.  He was loving, attentive, wealthy, handsome…basically everything you could want in a husband.  And things were very good for awhile.  But then he began to change.  Or rather, his true personality began to show.  Controlling and abusive, this wasn’t the man she fell in love with.  As things get more and more dangerous, she starts to plan her escape.

Finally it happens.  She and her daughter get away, and Andrew is sent to prison for several years.  When he’s released, though, all those feelings come barreling back.  The paranoia, the fear that she’s being followed. And has someone been in her house, messing with her things and with her mind?  Andrew swears it’s not him, but clearly he’s not the most trustworthy individual. And lest you think you’ve got it all figured out, don’t blink.

In some ways this is your typical “wife leaves abusive husband” drama.  But then it becomes more.  Because Chevy Stevens.  She has a way of taking the ordinary and weaving it into a compelling story that you just can’t put down.  Don’t miss this one!

~Thalia

Buy It Now:  Never Let You Go

Review: I Liked My Life by Abby Fabiaschi

Posted by

0

29875926

Even though I usually run true to form with my book choices, every now and then I surprise myself by going outside my norm.  This is one of those times.

Maddy had it all together.  A stay at home mom, she seemed to thrive on taking care of her husband, her daughter, her house…all her pride and joy.  But then why would she take her own life?  Were things really as good as everyone believed?  This is what her family is left to ponder as they try to come to terms with her death.

Maddy, however, has another job on her hands.  She’s gone but not really, stuck somewhere between here and there.  Before she moves on for good, she’s determined to make sure her family will be okay without her.  Whether that means mending fences between her husband and daughter or doing some matchmaking from beyond, she has her hands busy.

This was a good story, much different from what I’d normally pick.  Sappy and sweet in some places, sad and melodramatic in others, with a few surprises along the way.

~Thalia

Buy It Now:  I Liked My Life

Review: Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner

Posted by

0

who-do-you-love-9781451617818_hrJennifer Weiner sure does know how to write a love story. And while it’s true that not all of her books fall into this category, I think it’s fair to say that this is where she truly excels as an author. Her newest novel adds another winner to that list.

Rachel and Andy meet for the very first time when they’re just eight years old. Although they’re both patients at a hospital, that’s where the similarities end. Rachel comes from a well-to-do, stable family. Andy, on the other hand, is the child of a single mother who spends much of her time working to support their family of two. That chance encounter at such a young age makes a mark on each of them, and when they meet again so many years later the sparks definitely fly. And so it goes over time. They meet by happenstance time and again. Their relationship is reignited, but without fail something happens to drive them apart.

So this is a love story, without a doubt. And it’s romantic and heart-tugging at times. But it’s a love story that spans several decades, tells a story of love that persists despite all odds. And it’s not wrapped up all nice and neat in a pretty little package. There are definite bumps along the way, and some of those bumps are as big as sinkholes. But still. It’s a story that pulls you in and makes you love the characters in spite of their very real flaws. You want both of them to win, and you want them to get their happily ever after. Do they? You’ll have to read the book to find out…

~Thalia

Buy It Now: Who Do You Love: A Novel

Review: The Summer of Good Intentions by Wendy Francis

Posted by

0

  
Here we go! Another summertime novel set on Cape Cod. I AM LOVING these beach reads. 

In The Summer of Good Intentions, the three Herington sisters and their families spend a few weeks at their beach house on the Cape. They don’t anticipate that the gradual changes that have been happening in the past year will all come to a head right there at the beach. 

I liked these women and their families – but surprisingly I liked their spouses even more. Francis wrote sympathetic but realistic male characters, which is refreshing in a world of literary men that are either too perfect, too cynical, brutish, or just plain silly. 

There are some sad parts of this book. There’s a hint at Alzheimer’s, a house fire, the diagnosis of a chronic and incurable disease, and a death. But there’s also beautiful reconciliation of a marriage, a promising new romance, and a children’s unrivaled gift to their mother. 

-calliope

Buy THE SUMMER OF GOOD INTENTIONS

Review: The Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

Posted by

0

luckiest-girl-alive-9781476789637Most of the time, when I finish a book I’m able to talk about it right away. But every now and then a book comes along that makes me hesitate, sit back and think about it a bit. This debut novel by Jessica Knoll is one of those books.

Meet Ani. She’s a young women living in New York, not yet thirty and already an established contributor to The Women’s Magazine. She’s the epitome of success. Ani knows how to dress, how to walk and talk, how to order at a restaurant. And she’s engaged. Not just any average Joe will do. Luke comes from old money, a well-to-do and highly respected family. He’s her ticket to security. Does she love him? Does it even matter?

But Ani is hiding a secret from most of the world. Something from her past has come back to tarnish the image she’s worked so hard to cultivate. Everyone thinks they know what happened when she was a student at the prestigious Bradley School, but now it’s time for Ani to tell her side of the story.

I’m the first to admit, it took me more than my typical 10% to get into this story. Even after 20%, I was still skeptical. But I knew, just felt even, that something was going to happen to make it worth my while. So I stuck with it. And I’m glad I did. Because it paid off.

This is a dark, sarcastic, humorous, witty story. There’s a depressing sadness that comes from finally hearing what happened to Ani. But at the same time, she’s not always a very likable character. She’s kind of mean, biting, cruel even. Once you hear her story, however, you understand. And you find yourself pulling for her, even cheering her on as the story reaches its ending. It’s a story that I think will leave people pondering for a bit, wondering about what they just read. And it’s a book that I believe people will recommend to others, just like I’m now recommending it to you!

~Thalia

Buy It Now:Luckiest Girl Alive: A Novel

Review: Burying Water by K.A. Tucker

Posted by

0

burying-water-9781476774183_hrDisclaimer: An earlier review of this book was previously posted to the blog. However, in light of the second part of the story being released tomorrow, I felt that another look at this wonderful story was needed!

Almost 2 am. That’s what time I stayed awake until in order to finish this book. And at my age, that doesn’t happen very often.

When “Jane” wakes up in a hospital, she has absolutely no memory of how she got there or even of who she is. With the help of the sheriff who found her on the side of the road and his surgeon wife who saved her life, Jane begins to build a new life. But there’s something about the sheriff’ son, Jesse, that niggles at her lost memory. There’s definitely an attraction but something tells her it goes deeper than that. Told from alternating perspectives, the story also switches from past to present. We hear Jane’s present-day story as she struggles to find herself. And then there’s Jesse’s story leading us up to Jane’s brutal attack.

Although I’ve seen this book described as a romance, I’d say it falls more into the suspense/thriller genre. The romance is there, most definitely. But that’s not what kept me awake reading to find out what was going to happen next! It’s also been mentioned as the first in a new series which interests me immensely as I’d love to see where the author goes next with these intriguing characters. This is the first book that I’ve read by KA Tucker, but it definitely won’t be the last!

~Thalia

Buy It Now: Burying Water: A Novel (The Burying Water Series)

Review: Four Friends by Robyn Carr

Posted by

0

20140315-230110.jpg I’ve been a fan of Robyn Carr ever since Virgin River … And I’ll always be a fan. But Four Friends is nothing like the nature-filled, adventurous, romantic tales of Virgin River or Thunder Point.

Four friends is about four neighborhood women, each in a different phase in life, each with struggles, and each with strengths. They bring each other wine, pull each other out of bed to join the daily morning walks, and save each other’s lives. Literally.

The more I think about this book, the more ambivalent I am about it. I liked it, but there were some parts that just annoyed me!

For example:
I’m a sucker for a good tale about marriage, but I hated that there was cheating going on. I appreciate Carr being a champion for victims of domestic abuse, but some of that story seemed contrived. Crystal-toting Sonja lent a cool quirkiness that I loved… and then the rug was ripped out from under me when Sonja wasn’t really who she appeared to be. And Andy’s love life was great for her, but her new man was so timid and tepid that I couldn’t feel the attraction.

I think I felt like I was looking in on a pretend world when I read Four Friends. I was totally entertained, and the friendships were terrific. But I wasn’t drawn in to the story… I wasn’t in the pages with the characters… They just weren’t real to me.

All in all, from the outside looking in, Four Friends is a fresh take on women’s friendships with each other and the struggles they overcome in their relationships with men.

–Calliope

Buy FOUR FRIENDS

Review: The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton

Posted by

0

20131227-125151.jpg It’s the late ’60s and five ladies who hang out with their children at a park in Palo Alto strike up a friendship. Ally, Kath, Brett, Linda and Frankie have different marriage situations, different backgrounds, and varied financial statuses, but they all want the same thing: to be noticed and appreciated.

The women decide to start writing — and sharing their work on Wednesdays at the park. As they navigate the world of literary critique without hurting feelings, they learn to love each other despite any shortcomings in their talent or personalities.

I just loved this book. It reminded me of my relationship with my sister and my best friends – always honest, sometimes abrupt or annoyed, always loving. These ladies were strong and independent, even as housewives in the 1960s. But they intelligently chose to rely on each other when a husband cheats, a pregnancy ends in miscarriage, self-esteem tanks, an old injury leaves physical and emotional scars, and breast cancer threatens to take a mother from her children. The women weren’t perfect. They judged each other silently, and supported each other out loud. But I guess you don’t really care what someone thinks of you when you’re suffering; you care how people treat you.

I think I mostly loved this book because the friendship was real – flawed and imperfect, but they always figured out what to do to move on from their mistakes. I laughed and cried at these five women sharing a relationship this special, while raising children, taking care of their homes and husbands, and dealing with the tragedies life threw at them.

The ending? Think Johnny Carson, blatant hilarity, and true love for our fellow man. I mean, woman.

–Calliope

Buy it now The Wednesday Sisters

Review: The Last Original Wife by Dorothea Benton Frank

Posted by

0

20130818-190752.jpg
4 stars

The Last Original Wife cracked me up! One thread in the book was about how Wes, the husband, didn’t appreciate his wife Les’ humor — kind of like how some reviewers didn’t appreciate the humor in this book. But I did. 🙂

The book is ostensibly about a marriage gone wrong, a woman’s search for her own identity, and the social dynamic in the south. Underneath, the author comments on society’s expectations and prejudices. To experience it all, I went on a hilarious literary trip from Atlanta to Charleston, replete with a brother living in a haunted house, walks along the battery with iced cocktails, dinners at the Club, and a lover who wears seersucker suits.

Wes and Les had a less-than-perfect marriage. And Les finally got fed up with Wes’ idiocy. Did she make a high moral choice? No. Did he deserve it? Yeah, pretty much. They both hid their real selves from each other for years, so in my opinion they both reaped what they sowed.

I really enjoyed the humor, the insouciance, the ridiculousness of these characters and their interactions. I felt like I was reading the book version of a mural of caricatures.

I didn’t agree with everything the characters did in The Last Original Wife. I wouldn’t have made the decisions they did. But I loved reading their story.

–Calliope

Buy It Now The Last Original Wife