Tag: book review

The Lindbergh Nanny (book review)

I received an advance reader copy of The Lindbergh Nanny by Mariah Fredericks from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press and…wow. I loved it!

I’m a huge fan of historical fiction, particularly when it is done well, and this was. I was already somewhat familiar with the story of the Lindbergh kidnapping in broad terms, but not with the finer details. This book focuses primarily on Betty Gow, Charlie Lindbergh’s nanny, as well as the butler, chauffeur, and other staff. It was fascinating and I found myself constantly taking breaks from the book to look up more information on Betty (she was lovely), or Anne Morrow Lindbergh, “Lucky Lindy,” or the investigation or trial. I feel much more informed about this event now.

The book itself is fiction, but the author clearly did painstaking and meticulous research. She brings the characters and tragic story to life.

There were a few minor typos/grammatical errors, which will presumably be corrected before publication (November 15, 2022) but they didn’t detract from the well written and engrossing story.

I highly recommend The Lindbergh Nanny, (5 stars!). It will be published November 15, 2022. I’m very grateful to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC, to Mariah Fredericks for writing such an enjoyable, thought provoking and riveting read.

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And Then There’s Margaret (book review)

Description:

When Allison Montgomery’s beloved father-in-law passes away, her mother-in-law, Margaret, ‘temporarily’ moves in. From rearranging the furniture and taking over the kitchen, to undermining and embarrassing Allie at every turn, Margaret turns Allie’s life upside down causing her to bounce between a sincere desire to support her grieving mother-in-law and an intense urge to simply push her out of the nearest window. Feeling annoyed, trapped and even a little childish, Allie struggles to avoid a complete meltdown with help from her fearless and audacious best friend, a plan for reinventing herself and enjoying a second act, and, yes, a few glasses of Chardonnay. Along the way, Allie discovers the reasons behind Margaret’s attitude toward her all these years. Does it help? Maybe…

I enjoyed this book…I did. It’s a light, enjoyable read, and there were many funny moments. But I found Allie incredibly frustrating. And Margaret. And Hank too. And that made it difficult to relate to the characters. In the end, things are explained a bit and that helped…but still.

Thank you to NetGalley and Black Rose Writing for the ARC. Look for And Then There’s Margaret in bookstores now.

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The Last to Vanish (book review)

The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda was another good mystery/thriller.

Abby Lowell has been working at The Passage Inn in the small town of Cutter’s Pass in North Carolina for 10 years. It’s adjacent to the Appalachian Trail and offers beautiful scenery, great hiking, and breathtaking waterfalls. Cutter’s Pass has also been the scene of several disappearances through the years. When one of the missing’s family members shows up at the Inn looking for answers, Abby becomes embroiled in the mystery.

This was a good, fast, easy read and was very enjoyable. Abby, and all of the supporting characters, are well rounded and likable. The story moves quickly and is compelling.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC. Look for The Last to Vanish July 26, 2022.

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Back to the Garden (book review)

I received an advance copy of Back to the Garden by Laurie King a couple of months ago and I finally finished it last night. (It’s been busy around here!)

I love a good mystery and this was good. Full disclosure- it took me a while to get into it. It seemed rather slow in the beginning and I kept putting the book down and getting distracted. I kept at it though and after a couple of chapters, I was hooked. (So, if you find this slow…keep going!)

The book goes back and forth from the 1970’s to present day. In 1975 the young heir to the Gardener Estate establishes a commune on the grounds. In the present, the estate is run by a trust and open to the public. When one of the art works in the garden, a statue, needs restoration work, they discover a body buried beneath it.

The main character is a police inspector who is investigating a serial killer who was active during the time period. She’s an intriguing character, very likable, and the supporting characters are as well.

There’s a few surprises throughout the story and, once I got past the first couple of slow chapters, I found it a very enjoyable read. I’m giving it 4 stars- because it was a bit slow in the beginning.

Back to the Garden will be out September 6, 2022.

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The Lioness (book review)

I have been waiting (and waiting and waiting) for this book to become available at my library. It finally did…and I read it…and I loved it!

Before I talk about The Lioness I have to mention that I love this author. I read The Flight Attendant and The Hour of the Witch and while I enjoyed them, I found myself frequently talking to the main characters (which is not something I make a habit of) and exclaiming things like, “GIRL, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!” Or “OMG, YOU IDIOT!” And so forth and so on.

The Lioness is Chris Bohjalian’s latest book, which he apparently wrote in 2020 during quarantine…or as he so aptly put it, during the year that Satan spawned. I think it must have made a difference because this is my favorite of his books (at least the ones I’ve read.) I was captivated immediately and just devoured the book (no pun intended, ha!)

I’m hesitant to describe the book in much detail because I don’t want to give anything away. It’s set in the 1960’s when a Hollywood movie star and her entourage go on an African safari. They anticipated seeing giraffes munching on leaves or seeing elephants or wildebeest…and things didn’t exactly go as planned.

The book is written from several character’s viewpoints, which typically annoys me. It didn’t in The lioness. Each chapter is labeled with the character speaking, so it’s very easy to follow and doesn’t feel strange. And it makes sense. (But if this usually isn’t a format you care for, you might not like it.)

Chris Bohjalian is a lovely writer. His characters are all well rounded and intriguing and he describes Africa and the animals and challenges so well that it’s easy to imagine being there.

Excellent book, highly recommend! Five stars.

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Book Review: The Mother In Law

Description

I’ve fallen in love with a man called Sam. And he’s perfect, just perfect.

It’s a whirlwind romance. And when our dream home falls through just before our wedding, we decide to move in with his parents. He says his mother, Evelyn, is the sweetest person. But I’m not so sure.

She’s obsessively protective over Sam. She wants to know where he is all the time. She wakes us up in the morning, bustling into our room like he’s a small child, not a grown man. She doesn’t want me to be alone with him. And with every day that passes – as I keep having accidents I can’t believe are coincidental – I start to fear more that she doesn’t want me to marry her son.

That she wants to be the only person he will ever love.

Then I overhear an argument between her and Sam’s dad. Evelyn has a secret. And it changes everything I thought I knew about the family I’m marrying into.

From that moment, I know that if I want to make it to my wedding day alive, I will need to be very, very careful…

I was so intrigued by the description of this book, and it didn’t disappoint. There are twists and turns, and a few surprises that keep you guessing.

4 stars – mostly because I became so frustrated with Dana, the bride to be. She seems hopelessly naive at times. Sam, her fiancé, was equally annoying. He believed his mother over her and seemed to always manipulate Dana (for example, moving into his parent’s house)…I was very frustrated with both of them.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advance reader copy. Look for The Mother In Law July 29, 2022.

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Update and Another Book Review

We’ve been busy around here. Besides a few house projects, I bought a bunch of used furniture and painted it for…P’s new apartment! We got her moved in about 3 weeks ago.

(Seems very apropos right now, right?)

Because we’ve been so busy around here, I haven’t been reading much. BUT! I just finished The Resemblance by Lauren Nossett, and !!!

I was quite intrigued by this one when I read the description…

On a chilly November morning at the University of Georgia, a fraternity brother steps off a busy crosswalk and is struck dead by an oncoming car. More than a dozen witnesses all agree on two things: the driver looked identical to the victim, and he was smiling.

Detective Marlitt Kaplan is first on the scene. An Athens native and the daughter of a UGA professor, she knows all its shameful histories, from the skull discovered under the foundations of Baldwin Hall to the hushed-up murder-suicide in Waddel. But in the course of investigating this hit-and-run, she will uncover more chilling secrets as she explores the sprawling, interconnected Greek system that entertains and delights the university’s most elite and connected students.

The lines between Marlitt’s police work and her own past increasingly blur as Marlitt seeks to bring to justice an institution that took something precious from her many years ago. When threats against her escalate, and some long-buried secrets threaten to come to the surface, she can’t help questioning whether the corruption in Athens has run off campus and into the force and how far these brotherhoods will go to protect their own.

The Resemblance did not disappoint. I was captivated from the first page. It’s fast paced (but not too fast), and the mystery of who killed the fraternity brother in a hit and run continued to evolve throughout the story. Just when I thought I’d figured it out, there was a twist, and then another and another.

The main character, Marlitt, is likable and sympathetic…although there’s another mystery concerning her lurking beneath the surface. The fraternity brothers, university president, and police chief are complicated characters; both intriguing and, at times, villainous.

I found the setting, Athens and the University of Georgia, fascinating as well. Lauren Nossett has written a riveting and compelling mystery and I highly recommend it. 5 stars!

Thank you NetGalley & FlatIron Books for the ARC. Look for The Resemblance November 8, 2022.

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One of the Girls (book review)

Synopsis:

It was supposed to be the perfect weekend away. Six very different women travel to a sun-soaked Greek island for a bachelorette trip, to celebrate Lexi’s upcoming wedding. From the glorious ocean views to the quaint tavernas and whitewashed streets, the vacation seems too good to be true. But dangerous undercurrents run beneath the sunset swims and midnight cocktails – because each of the women is hiding a secret. Someone is determined to make sure that Lexi’s marriage never happens – and that one of them doesn’t leave the island alive.

I received a free copy of this ebook from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed One of the Girls by Lucy Clarke. The first chapter reveals that someone dies on the hen weekend to Greece, and you’re left wondering who it is throughout the rest of the book – and trying to figure it out. Each chapter is from a different character’s point of view, which I’m not usually a fan of, but in this case it works (at least for me.) Every character has a secret, and they’re slowly exposed throughout the book…which makes the mystery of who dies even more mystifying.

I was intrigued and enthralled throughout the book. It’s an easy read, with a satisfying conclusion.

Five stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC. Look for One of the Girls June 28, 2022.

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Spells for Forgetting (book review)

Description

Emery Blackwood’s life changed forever the night her best friend was found dead and the love of her life, August Salt, was accused of murdering her. Years later, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would: living a quiet existence on the misty, remote shores of Saoirse Island and running the family’s business, Blackwood’s Tea Shoppe Herbal Tonics & Tea Leaf Readings. But when the island, rooted in folklore and magic, begins to show signs of strange happenings, Emery knows that something is coming. The morning she wakes to find that every single tree on Saoirse has turned color in a single night, August returns for the first time in fourteen years and unearths the past that the town has tried desperately to forget.

August knows he is not welcome on Saiorse, not after the night everything changed. As a fire raged on at the Salt family orchard, Lily Morgan was found dead in the dark woods, shaking the bedrock of their tight-knit community and branding August a murderer. When he returns to bury his mother’s ashes, he must confront the people who turned their backs on him and face the one wound from his past that has never healed—Emery. But the town has more than one reason to want August gone, and the emergence of deep betrayals and hidden promises spanning generations threaten to reveal the truth behind Lily’s mysterious death once and for all.

I received an advance reader copy of Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young and wow! I LOVED this book! Definitely 5 stars.

The writing is evocative and eloquent, the characters are interesting, and the setting, Saiorse Island, is mysterious and intriguing. I found myself completely engrossed in August and Emery’s stories, both current and past. They overlapped gracefully and seamlessly, smoothly describing the tragedy of Saiorse.

I loved, loved, loved this and am so grateful for NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read this before the publication date of September 27, 2022. Special thanks to Adrienne Young for writing such a fabulous book.

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Built to Last (book review)

I received an advance reader copy of Built to Last by Erin Hahn…and really enjoyed it!

The Description:

Shelby Springfield has spent the last ten years trying to overcome her past, sanding it away like she does the rough spots on the vintage furniture finds she makes over. But as a former child star, it’s hard to forget a mediocre pop career, a meltdown widely documented by the paparazzi, and a huge public break with her former co-star Lyle Jessup. It’s also hard to forget her other co-star and childhood sweetheart, Cameron Riggs — the one who got away.

Anytime Shelby has called, Cameron has come running… And then he runs right off again to chase stories around the world by making documentaries, too scared to admit what he really wants. But when Lyle stirs the pot, getting the two back in the spotlight with a home renovation show, Cameron can’t help but come on board.

There’s something in it for everyone — almost. Cameron wants to come home and set down some roots. Shelby wants to prove to the world she’s not the messy party girl anymore. And Lyle wants to twist the screws on his two childhood friends who had more chemistry than he could dream of with anyone. Sparks and sawdust fly as Shelby and Cameron film the pilot for “Homemade” and battle Lyle’s shenanigans at every turn.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this! It’s a fun, easy read. I love how both of the former child stars have moved on and found new careers. They’ve matured, but both still care for each other. When they reconnect through an HGTV-like renovation show, the sparks are still there, but they focus on their friendship first.

The main characters were very likable, engaging and believable, as were most of the supporting characters (with the exception of the sleazy Lyle). It’s well written, without grammatical errors or typos with an intriguing story.

Sometimes you just need a light, pleasant read and Built to Last fits the bill perfectly. Built to Last will be published October 18, 2022.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

5 stars.

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