2016 Book #51 – People Who Knew Me by Kim Hooper

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, Women's fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: People Who Knew Me
Author: Kim Hooper
Date finished: 5/24/16
Genre: Fiction, women’s fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: May 24, 2016
Pages in book: 294
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: The Reading Room NOTE: I received this book for free from The Reading Room in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Everything was fine fourteen years after she left New York.
Until suddenly, one day, it wasn’t.
Emily Morris got her happily-ever-after earlier than most. Married at a young age to a man she loved passionately, she was building the life she always wanted. But when enormous stress threatened her marriage, Emily made some rash decisions. That’s when she fell in love with someone else. That’s when she got pregnant.
Resolved to tell her husband of the affair and to leave him for the father of her child, Emily’s plans are thwarted when the world is suddenly split open on 9/11. It’s amid terrible tragedy that she finds her freedom, as she leaves New York City to start a new life. It’s not easy, but Emily—now Connie Prynne―forges a new happily-ever-after in California. But when a life-threatening diagnosis upends her life, she is forced to rethink her life for the good of her thirteen-year-old daughter.
A riveting debut in which a woman must confront her own past in order to secure the future of her daughter, Kim Hooper’s People Who Knew Me asks: “What would you do?”

My rating: 4.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. Reading the description of this book I was intrigued, and while not dying to read this book at first, I definitely wanted to know more. This book hooks you right from page one though and sucks you in for the rest of the story, only spitting you out at the end feeling lost and a little heart-broken. I couldn’t put this book down, the story line really progresses masterfully by alternating between the past and the present, consistently only giving the reader enough of a glimpse so that you’re dying to learn the rest of what happened. This book was about Emily Morris, who disappeared from New York a week after the tragedy of 9/11 without telling any of her family or even her husband that she was still alive. As a reader, when I first heard that she had done this I was appalled. How could she abandon her life and her loved ones without a word? What about the pain she was causing them? These are questions, I have to be honest, I struggled with through most of the book. As we learn more about Emily/Connie’s background, there is a certain understanding of why she took the path she did, but it is still heart-breaking. When Emily/Connie learns that she has cancer though, she has to start thinking about where her thirteen year old daughter Claire would go if she died. And with these thoughts come the realization that she must tell her daughter Claire the truth about her past and Claire’s parentage.
Overall I liked this book a lot. Like I said, I couldn’t put it down and I was hooked on the story from the very beginning. Some of the subject matter was tough for me since I could not at all imagine myself doing what Emily/Connie did. At the same time though, put in that extreme situation I couldn’t help but wonder, who can say what I would actually do? Emily had to deal with way too much stress on her young marriage and its no wonder that her unhappiness from that situation manifested in such an extreme way and that she walked away without looking back. That is one of the things that I ended up really liking about this book: even though some of the decisions that Emily/Connie made really turned my stomach, I couldn’t help but really think about what I would have done put in the same situation. It is easy to say I would be noble and honest when I’m not faced with making that choice and dealing with the consequences of that choice. But it is hard not to wonder if I might end up taking the easy way out. Who can say what any one of us would have done in Emily’s shoes.

The bottom line: This book had a couple of great plot twists included and even beyond the excitement of those I just couldn’t put this book down. It was like when you’re watching a video of a car crash and you know the crash is coming but you want to see really just how much the car caught on fire in the end. This book was heart-wrenching, scandalous and for me was really thought provoking psychologically. I would say this one is a must-read for this summer!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

4May2016

2016 Book #42 – The Blue Bath by Mary Waters-Sayer

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, Women's fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: The Blue Bath
Author: Mary Waters-Sayer
Date finished: 5/3/16
Genre: Fiction, literary fiction, women’s fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: May 3, 2016
Pages in book: 320
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE:I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Kat Lind, an American expatriate living in London with her entrepreneur husband and their young son, attends an opening at a prestigious Mayfair art gallery and is astonished to find her own face on the walls. The portraits are evidence of a long-ago love affair with the artist, Daniel Blake. Unbeknownst to her, he has continued to paint her ever since. Kat is seduced by her reflection on canvas and when Daniel appears in London, she finds herself drawn back into the sins and solace of a past that suddenly no longer seems so far away.
When the portraits catch the attention of the public, threatening to reveal not only her identity, but all that lies beyond the edges of the canvases, Kat comes face to face with the true price of their beauty and with all that she now could lose.
Moving between the glamour of the London art world and the sensuous days of a love affair in a dusty Paris studio, life and art bleed together as Daniel and Kat’s lives spin out of control, leading to a conclusion that is anything but inevitable.

My rating: 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. Also just as a side note, I did an author interview with Mary Waters-Sayer (author of The Blue Bath) which you can check out here! This book was about Kat Lind, who is currently living in London with her husband Jonathan and her son Will. The book alternates between present day and Kat’s memories of what happened 20 years ago when she was studying abroad in Paris. There were a few different interwoven topics being dealt with in this book: unconditional love of mother and child, death and loss, and, of course, overall there was a great deal of love. Kat hasn’t seen Daniel Blake since she left him in Paris twenty years ago but when she sees him again at his gallery show, it is almost like no time has passed. Kat had an intense and almost violent passion for Daniel, one that encompassed her whole life. Since leaving him though, she has moved on and found a new love with Jonathan and her son Will. But can anything really replace that first young love? Kat discovers that even though they have aged since, her and Daniel still have a reckless passion that can not be ignored. But how much is she really willing to sacrifice to be with him again?
Overall I really enjoyed this book a lot. The writing was in itself almost like a painting, the author strung the words together in a way that painted a vivid picture for the reader and made me feel like I could almost reach out and touch the scene. The chemistry between Daniel and Kat is tangible and the description of Kat’s love for Will is everything I would expect, unconditional and as encompassing as her (different kind obviously) love for Daniel once was. I had a few questions pop up as I got towards the end with some of the goings-on, but it didn’t hinder the story for me, instead it almost added to the feeling of being in a haze that Kat must have felt at those times. I felt as if I was really able to put myself in Kat’s character. And there was a twist ending that was indeed satisfying. Great read and definitely one that should be on everyone’s TBR!

The bottom line: I found this story captivating, I couldn’t put it down. I was trying to read it during every second of free time I had. Vivid imagery brings the story alive for the reader, the words are strung together in an almost lyrical prose that surrounds the reader with beauty. A must read!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

20Apr2016

2016 Book #36 – The Year We Turned Forty by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

Posted in 2016, Book reviews, Fiction, Pop Sugar Reading Challenge 2016 checklist, Reading Challenges, Women's fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: The Year We Turned Forty
Author: Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke
Date finished: 4/19/16
Genre: Fiction, women’s fiction
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Publication Date: April 26, 2016
Pages in book: 319
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: Author/publisher NOTE: I received this book for free from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

If you could repeat one year of your life, what would you do differently? This heartwarming and hilarious novel from the authors of The Status of All Things and Your Perfect Life features three best friends who get the chance to return to the year they turned forty—the year that altered all of their lives, in ways big and small—and also get the opportunity to change their future.
Jessie loves her son Lucas more than anything, but it tears her up inside that he was conceived in an affair that ended her marriage to a man she still loves, a man who just told her he’s getting remarried. This time around, she’s determined to bury the secret of Lucas’ paternity, and to repair the fissures that sent her wandering the first time.
Gabriela regrets that she wasted her most fertile years in hot pursuit of a publishing career. Yes, she’s one of the biggest authors in the world, but maybe what she really wanted to create was a family. With a chance to do it again, she’s focused on convincing her husband, Colin, to give her the baby she desires.
Claire is the only one who has made peace with her past: her twenty-two year old daughter, Emily, is finally on track after the turmoil of adolescence, and she’s recently gotten engaged, with the two carat diamond on her finger to prove it. But if she’s being honest, Claire still fantasizes about her own missed opportunities: a chance to bond with her mother before it was too late, and the possibility of preventing her daughter from years of anguish. Plus, there’s the man who got away—the man who may have been her one true love.
But it doesn’t take long for all three women to learn that re-living a life and making different decisions only leads to new problems and consequences—and that the mistakes they made may, in fact, have been the best choices of all…

My rating: 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. I actually won a free copy of the ARC by entering a contest on their Facebook site and was so excited to read it! Also, this book will count towards my “PopSugar 2016 Checklist” reading challenge, marking off the “a book with a blue cover” since this book has a blue cover. This book was about three best friends: Gabriela, Claire, and Jessie. In some way or another their lives all change on their fortieth birthday that affects them for the next ten years. We next meet them in Las Vegas on their fiftieth birthday when they are offered the chance to travel back in time and relive their fortieth year, thereby possibly changing things for the better by doing things differently this time around.
Things don’t go quite as they expected though. Gabriela, who always wished she had a baby, has trouble conceiving. Claire repairs her relationship with her daughter but comes close to losing her again. And Jessie has managed to hold onto her husband Grant but only by keeping a huge secret from him, and how long can she really expect to keep him in the dark? The three friends journey through their fortieth year (for the second time) hoping that the mistakes their making this time somehow turn out better for them than the mistakes they made the first time. It almost reminds me (very loosely) of when you’re taking a multiple choice test and you have the option of a, b, c, or d and you have no idea which one it is. So the first time you guess a and get it wrong so the next time you guess b and hope its right but have no way of knowing. Gabriela, Claire, and Jessie had no way of knowing how their actions would affect not only themselves this time but all the loved ones that surrounded them as well.
Overall I really enjoyed this book a lot. I thought the plot line was immensely creative. It was heart-wrenching to see the characters struggle through the challenges in their relived lives but at the same time it allows the reader to connect more with the characters and their emotions. The ending was heart-warming and moving and I didn’t want to put the book down until I found out what happened. I also thought that this book dealt well with a variety of relationship issues, including husband and wife and parent and child in many different forms. I loved one of Jessie’s “lessons” from her relived life, that you should learn to love and appreciate what you have instead of always looking for the next thing that will help you be happy. I think that is an important thought since many people are continually trying to buy the next released phone or the next gaming system or the next whatever to gain some sort of happiness. But happiness is something that comes from being content in who you are and what you have and who is in your life. An important concept for people to think on nowadays.

The bottom line: I really liked this book, this one was definitely a tear-jerker and hit me hard in the feels. Definitely have a couple tissues handy. This was such a moving book though and was such a creative plot idea. Great book and a definite must read for summer!!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

8Apr2016

2016 Book #31 – The Rivals of Versailles by Sally Christie

Posted in 2016, Book reviews, Book Riot Read Harder Reading Challenge 2016, Fiction, Historical fiction, Reading Challenges by rebeccabook17

Title: The Rivals of Versailles
Author: Sally Christie
Date finished: 4/8/16
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: April 5, 2016
Pages in book: 448
Stand alone or series: #2 in Mistresses of Versailles Trilogy
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE:I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

And you thought sisters were a thing to fear. In this captivating follow-up to Sally Christie’s clever and absorbing debut, we meet none other than the Marquise de Pompadour, one of the greatest beauties of her generation and the first bourgeois mistress ever to grace the hallowed halls of Versailles.
The year is 1745 and King Louis XV’s bed is once again empty. Enter Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, a beautiful girl from the middle classes. As a child, a fortune teller had told young Jeanne’s destiny: she would become the lover of a king and the most powerful woman in the land. Eventually connections, luck, and a little scheming pave her way to Versailles and into the King’s arms.
All too soon, conniving politicians and hopeful beauties seek to replace the bourgeois interloper with a more suitable mistress. As Jeanne, now the Marquise de Pompadour, takes on her many rivals—including a lustful lady-in-waiting, a precocious fourteen-year-old prostitute, and even a cousin of the notorious Nesle sisters—she helps the king give himself over to a life of luxury and depravity. Around them, war rages, discontent grows, and France inches ever closer to the Revolution.
Told in Christie’s celebrated witty and modern style, The Rivals of Versailles will delight and entrance fans as it brings to life the court of Louis XV in all its pride, pestilence, and glory.

My rating: 4.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. I read the first book in this trilogy last year (also through NetGalley) and you can see my review of that one here. I really enjoyed reading the first book so I was excited when I saw the second book available recently on NetGalley! Also, this book will count towards my Book Riot 2016 Read Harder reading challenge, marking off the “read a book of historical fiction set before 1900″ since this book is set in the mid 1700’s. This book continues where The Sisters of Versailles left off, following Marie-Ann’s death. This book focuses around Jeanne -Antoinette Poisson, a commoner who is told by a fortune teller when she is young that she will someday be mistress to the king. Ever since that fateful day, her mother has focused on preparing Jeanne for one day meeting the king and becoming ensconced in his world. This means learning about this above their station, some of which Jeanne learns from her tutor Bernis after the king invites her to live at Versailles.
Unfortunately, Jeanne’s miscarriages make her sick and after 4 years of being King Louis XV’s mistress she is advised against getting pregnant again because it might kill her. Every one thinks that this means the end of Jeanne’s reign over the king’s heart but she somehow manages to stay the center of his life for the next 15 years, arranging ways for the king to exercise his lust (with others) without her losing her importance in his life. And while there are a number of threats over the years and no shortage of plotting on manipulation that must occur on her part, in the end she is the victor every time and maintains her friendship with the king. She becomes one of the most powerful women in the history of France because even though she isn’t physically intimate with the king he continues to use her as his most trusted adviser throughout their friendship.
Overall I really liked this book. I think that it is especially interesting because these books are based on real events. And I just love that the author’s site has pages talking about each of the characters in the book that reference where the information on their character came from and what historical basis exists for the events that happen in the book. Same as with the first novel, I didn’t want to put this book down. Everything that you could want in a book is in this story: sex, betrayal, intrigue, war, love, sickness, and death. The author did a great job in this novel of switching between points of view and she really brought the characters to life. I felt bad for Jeanne for most of the book, she spent her whole childhood with this idea that she would be mistress to the king and she loved him so much but she wasn’t able to be close to him in all the ways she wanted. Her character evolves in an interesting way through the course of the novel, she definitely changes and hardens over her life and the reader can see that clearly. Towards the end Louis’ tastes in girls become embarrassingly young and Jeanne is understandingly uncomfortable with the things she has to do to keep her position in Louis’ life secured but she does it anyways. I thought that was a strong example of how changed she is by her life at Versailles. Just overall an engrossing read.

The bottom line: Just an awesome read with everything a reader could want from a novel. I didn’t want to stop reading this one for even a minute, can’t wait for the third book in the trilogy to be released! Great read!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

3Apr2016

2016 Book #28 – A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction, Historical fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: A Certain Age
Author: Beatriz Williams
Date finished: 4/3/16
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: June 28, 2016
Pages in book: 324
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: BookBrowse NOTE: I received this book for free from BookBrowse in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

The bestselling author of A Hundred Summers brings the Roaring Twenties brilliantly to life in this enchanting and compulsively readable tale of intrigue, romance, and scandal in New York Society, brimming with lush atmosphere, striking characters, and irresistible charm.
As the freedom of the Jazz Age transforms New York City, the iridescent Mrs. Theresa Marshall of Fifth Avenue and Southampton, Long Island, has done the unthinkable: she’s fallen in love with her young paramour, Captain Octavian Rofrano, a handsome aviator and hero of the Great War. An intense and deeply honorable man, Octavian is devoted to the beautiful socialite of a certain age and wants to marry her. While times are changing and she does adore the Boy, divorce for a woman of Theresa’s wealth and social standing is out of the question, and there is no need; she has an understanding with Sylvo, her generous and well-respected philanderer husband.
But their relationship subtly shifts when her bachelor brother, Ox, decides to tie the knot with the sweet younger daughter of a newly wealthy inventor. Engaging a longstanding family tradition, Theresa enlists the Boy to act as her brother’s cavalier, presenting the family’s diamond rose ring to Ox’s intended, Miss Sophie Fortescue—and to check into the background of the little-known Fortescue family. When Octavian meets Sophie, he falls under the spell of the pretty ingénue, even as he uncovers a shocking family secret. As the love triangle of Theresa, Octavian, and Sophie progresses, it transforms into a saga of divided loyalties, dangerous revelations, and surprising twists that will lead to a shocking transgression . . . and eventually force Theresa to make a bittersweet choice.
Full of the glamour, wit and delicious twists that are the hallmarks of Beatriz Williams’ fiction and alternating between Sophie’s spirited voice and Theresa’s vibrant timbre, A Certain Age is a beguiling reinterpretation of Richard Strauss’s comic opera Der Rosenkavalier, set against the sweeping decadence of Gatsby’s New York.

My rating: 4.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. I read a few of Beatriz Williams’ other books last year (Along the Infinite Sea and Tiny Little Thing) and I just loved them so when I saw that her new book was available on Book Browse I hoped that I would be selected to receive a copy, and my prayers were answered! First I have to say that I just love the cover of this book, its glitz and glamour and it really calls out to readers. The girl on the cover I think is Sophie, she is described at one of the parties in the books wearing a dress similar to the one on the cover. This book has a varied cast of characters but mostly centers around Theresa Marshall, her brother “Ox” (Jay), his fiancee Sophie Fortescue, and Theresa’s lover Octavian (“the Boy”). Theresa’s character reminded me a lot of Babe from Swans of Fifth Avenue and Tiny from Tiny Little Thing and I really connected with her character the most. After Jay becomes engaged to Sophie, Theresa asks Octavian to dig into Sophie’s family just to make sure there aren’t any huge skeletons that would mar the family name. Unfortunately this opens a can of worms that will end up drastically changing all of their lives.
Overall I really liked this book. The author did an amazing job of transporting the reader; her description of the scene at the horse track was so well done I felt like I was there with Theresa and Octavian. Honestly I could almost smell the horses. The characters were also very complex and interesting. I really felt bad for Theresa through most of the story. She may have been a difficult person but she was so in love with Octavian and I could just feel her sadness emanating from the book when Octavian started to fall for Sophie. The story line was riveting and had a couple of good twists and turns. I didn’t want to put the book down, the story really just draws the reader in. I’m not really sure yet how I feel about the ending. I think that it fit with the story line and it was a touching ending but it left me feeling a little empty I think. I actually feel very similar to how I felt about the ending of Along the Infinite Sea, I’m left feeling a little adrift. Really good story though and a great book. This is definitely going to be a summer must read!

The bottom line: This was a really great book! There were some great twists and turns and I’m not 100% sure how I feel about the ending but I couldn’t put it down! I would definitely recommend!!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

23Dec2015

2015 Book #123 – The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Posted in 2015, Book reviews, Bookish Bingo Holiday 2015, Fiction, Reading Challenges, Thriller by rebeccabook17

Title: The Girl on the Train
Author: Paula Hawkins
Date finished: 12/22/15
Genre: Fiction, Thriller
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Publication Date: January 13, 2015
Pages in book: 323
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: My friend Val from work

Blurb from the cover:

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?
Compulsively readable, The Girl on the Train is an emotionally immersive, Hitchcockian thriller and an electrifying debut.

My rating: 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Holiday 2015 Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “Thriller” square, since, well, it was very thrilling. I was on the edge of my seat for a good part of this book! Anyways, this book tells a number of stories but I found that the main focus was on Rachel Watson through the book. The chapters are told from three different points of view: Rachel, Anna (Rachel’s replacement) and finally Megan, a woman who is missing for most of Rachel and Anna’s chapters. Rachel is an alcoholic who has lost her job but still rides the train into London each morning and back in the evening so that she can fool her roommate into thinking she still has a job. Rachel also hasn’t gotten over her ex-husband, who was cheating on her at the end of their marriage and has since moved in with his mistress and had a baby with her.
One night Rachel gets so drunk that she blacks out, though she does remember getting off the train at the station where her ex-husband, and coincidentally the missing woman, lives. Rachel wakes up the next morning with cuts and bruises all over, and she can’t remember what happened or how she got home. All she knows is that something very bad has happened. She spends the next few weeks trying to piece together what has happened to Megan and also trying to remember what happened that night to see if maybe she had some involvement in Megan’s disappearance.
Overall I really liked this book. A couple of the plot twists I did see coming but most of them I did not expect, and the book 10)% did not end how I would have expected it to end. This was a fast-paced thrilling read that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. All of the characters in this story are seriously flawed and have staggering issues that they’re dealing with. It is interesting that in the beginning of the story Rachel watches Megan, who she calls “Jess” at the time, through the train window and imagines the perfect life that she has, when Megan’s life is very far from perfect. I’m interested to see how this book is going to translate to film, it is currently scheduled to be released in movie theaters in October 2016. I would definitely put this one on your to read list (if you haven’t read it already)!

The bottom line: This book has had a lot of hype during 2015 and I can understand why. It was a great, fast-paced read. I would definitely recommend!!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

9Dec2015

2015 Book #121 – Tiny Little Thing by Beatriz Williams

Posted in 2015, Book reviews, Bookish Bingo Holiday 2015, Fiction, Historical fiction, Reading Challenges by rebeccabook17

Title: Tiny Little Thing
Author: Beatriz Williams
Date finished: 12/8/15
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Publication Date: June 23, 2015
Pages in book: 354
Stand alone or series: Can be read as a stand alone but there are other novels starring characters in this book (Along the Infinite Sea is about Tiny’s sister Pepper and The Secret Life of Violet Grant tells Vivian’s story somewhat I think)
Where I got the book from: Terryville Public Library

Blurb from the cover:

In the summer of 1966, Christina Hardcastle—“Tiny” to her illustrious family—stands on the brink of a breathtaking future. Of the three Schuyler sisters, she’s the one raised to marry a man destined for leadership, and with her elegance and impeccable style, she presents a perfect camera-ready image in the dawning age of television politics. Together she and her husband, Frank, make the ultimate power couple: intelligent, rich, and impossibly attractive. It seems nothing can stop Frank from rising to national office, and he’s got his sights set on a senate seat in November.
But as the season gets underway at the family estate on Cape Cod, three unwelcome visitors appear in Tiny’s perfect life: her volatile sister Pepper, an envelope containing incriminating photograph, and the intimidating figure of Frank’s cousin Vietnam-war hero Caspian, who knows more about Tiny’s rich inner life than anyone else. As she struggles to maintain the glossy façade on which the Hardcastle family’s ambitions are built, Tiny begins to suspect that Frank is hiding a reckless entanglement of his own…one that may unravel both her own ordered life and her husband’s promising career.

My rating: 3.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Holiday 2015 Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “Multiple POV” square, since this book is told alternating between Tiny and Caspian’s points of view. I really wanted to read this book after reading Along the Infinite Sea recently by this author, I wanted to see what more I could get of a background story on the Schuyler sisters. Tiny (Christina Schuyler) has always done the right thing, she’s always been the perfect daughter and the now she’s the perfect wife. But she’s tired of being perfect, and what she really wants is just to be herself, whoever that might be. When on a chance encounter she meets Captain Caspian Harrison, she asks him to help her disappear. The story line alternated between 1964 when Tiny asks Caspian to help her escape from her fiance and her family and 1966 where Tiny is obviously married so as the story unravels between the two time periods the reader is left to wonder what exactly ended up going down in 1964. And also what the hell is going on in 1966 because there is some shady stuff going on behind the scenes! In 1966 Tiny is married to Frank Hardcastle, who is running for Senator. And now here to help him is his handsome cousin Caspian who recently lost one of his legs in the Vietnam War.
I really did enjoy this book. I didn’t give it as great of a rating only because I found it to be slow in the beginning of the book. I can’t tell if it was the book (pretty sure it wasn’t) or my crazy schedule that only allows me to read for 10 minutes at a time while trying not to get distracted (most likely the reason) but whatever the case I just had trouble getting into the book and it didn’t give me a ton of enjoyment. Once I got mid-way and the story picked up for me though it was better and the end had a great twist that I never saw coming which I always love. Overall this was a solid, good book for me and I would definitely recommend reading it!

The bottom line: This book was a little slow to get into for me, most likely because of my limited available reading time and less likely because of the book. The ending really was quite riveting though, I didn’t want to put it down! Would recommend this one!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

10Nov2015

2015 Book #114 – Along the Infinite Sea by Beatriz Williams

Posted in Book reviews, Historical fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: Along the Infinite Sea
Author: Beatriz Williams
Date finished: 11/10/15
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: G.P. Putnam Son’s
Publication Date: November 3, 2015
Pages in book: 461
Stand alone or series: Can be read as a stand alone but there are other novels starring characters in this book (Tiny Pretty Things = Pepper’s sister Tiny and The Secret Life of Violet Grant tells Vivian’s story somewhat I think)
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

Each of the three Schuyler sisters has her own world-class problems, but in the autumn of 1966, Pepper Schuyler’s problems are in a class of their own. When Pepper fixes up a beautiful and rare vintage Mercedes and sells it at auction, she thinks she’s finally found a way to take care of herself and the baby she carries, the result of an affair with a married, legendary politician.
But the car’s new owner turns out to have secrets of her own, and as the glamorous and mysterious Annabelle Dommerich takes pregnant Pepper under her wing, the startling provenance of this car comes to light: a Nazi husband, a Jewish lover, a flight from Europe, and a love so profound it transcends decades. As the many threads of Annabelle’s life from World War II stretch out to entangle Pepper in 1960s America, and the father of her unborn baby tracks her down to a remote town in coastal Georgia, the two women must come together to face down the shadows of their complicated pasts.
Indomitable heroines, a dazzling world of secrets, champagne at the Paris Ritz, and a sweeping love story for the ages, in New York Times bestselling author Beatriz William’s final book about the Schuyler sisters.

My rating: 4.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. First of all, I just have to say Wow. This book really gets your heart pumping and just keeps you right on the edge of your seat. This book tells the story of Pepper Schuyler, who is pregnant and trying to hide out so the baby’s father won’t find her. Which sounds bad but is actually pretty reasonable considering the father is is being, lets call it forcefully persuasive, for her to get rid of the baby. But Pepper wants to keep the baby, she just doesn’t want any involvement from the father, she wants the baby all for herself. Pepper’s story becomes involved with Annabelle Dommerich’s story when Annabelle pays Pepper an exorbitant amount of money for a refurbished classic car that it appears used to belong to her. Annabelle fled Germany in that car in 1938 and it brings a wealth of memories rushing back to her. The book alternates between the late 1930’s and 1966, between Annabelle’s story in Europe and Pepper (and Annabelle’s) story in the present day.
Pepper comes to stay with Annabelle after they meet. Annabelle feels a connection to Pepper even though they don’t know that much about each other because Annabelle was once pregnant and unwed too. And she can tell that Pepper is hiding out so she decides to help. But then all of a sudden Annabelle disappears and then her son Florian shows up looking for her. So Pepper tags along while Florian goes to look for his mother. Back in the late 1930’s we hear about Annabelle’s life in Paris and then in Germany during the rise of Hitler’s power. We hear of the horrible things that are beginning to happen as a result of Nazi power and we see Annabelle’s fear for her son and her son’s father.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. I feel like I should have seen the ending coming but I had no idea and to be honest I am not 100% sure how I feel about the ending. I don’t want to say too much about it because I think it is a great twist of fate in the book and I don’t want to ruin it for anyone reading this book in the future but a part of me was so mad about the ending and another part of me thinks I liked it better that way. In a way I think the ending actually fit better with the story line even if it wasn’t necessarily my first choice. And all through the book I was thinking about what a heart-breaking and beautiful love story it was and it ended in a heart-breaking-ly beautiful way so I can’t decide how I feel exactly. Other than that though the story line once you get into it is riveting and I didn’t want to put the book down. The last 50 pages I think too I was on the edge of my seat with my heart pounding screaming “RUN” over and over again in my head so get ready for some good action with this book.

The bottom line: I really liked this book a lot a lot. It was thrilling and heart-wrenching and just great. Would definitely recommend and I can’t wait to read this author’s other books!!!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2Nov2015

2015 Book #112 – The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

Posted in Book reviews, Fiction by rebeccabook17

Title: The Japanese Lover
Author: Isabel Allende
Date finished: 11/1/15
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: November 3, 2015
Pages in book: 336
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

In 1939, as Poland falls under the shadow of the Nazis, young Alma Belasco’s parents send her away to live in safety with an aunt and uncle in their opulent mansion in San Francisco. There, as the rest of the world goes to war, she encounters Ichimei Fukuda, the quiet and gentle son of the family’s Japanese gardener. Unnoticed by those around them, a tender love affair begins to blossom. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the two are cruelly pulled apart as Ichimei and his family—like thousands of other Japanese Americans—are declared enemies and forcibly relocated to internment camps run by the United States government. Throughout their lifetimes, Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, but theirs is a love that they are forever forced to hide from the world.
Decades later, Alma is nearing the end of her long and eventful life. Irina Bazili, a care worker struggling to come to terms with her own troubled past, meets the elderly woman and her grandson, Seth, at San Francisco’s charmingly eccentric Lark House nursing home. As Irina and Seth forge a friendship, they become intrigued by a series of mysterious gifts and letters sent to Alma, eventually learning about Ichimei and this extraordinary secret passion that has endured for nearly seventy years.
Sweeping through time and spanning generations and continents, The Japanese Lover explores questions of identity, abandonment, redemption, and the unknowable impact of fate on our lives. Written with the same attention to historical detail and keen understanding of her characters that Isabel Allende has been known for since her landmark first novel The House of the Spirits, The Japanese Lover is a profoundly moving tribute to the constancy of the human heart in a world of unceasing change.

My rating: 3.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book tells the story of Alma Belasco and her family. Alma’s spent her first 8 years in Poland but her parents sent her to live with her aunt and uncle in San Francisco, CA to keep her safe from what was happening politically in Europe (Hitler). Thankfully they had the foresight to do this and Alma was spared the horrors of being sent to a Jewish concentration camp, but unfortunately they didn’t have the same urging to escape themselves. Alma was then raised by her aunt and uncle and her cousin Nathaniel, who was only a few years older than her. The book alternates between the past and Alma’s life growing up and then through adulthood with the present day where Alma is living in an assisted living community. It is there that Alma encounters and befriends Irina Bazili. Irina also becomes close friends with Alma’s grandson Seth, and together they begin to document Alma’s memoirs.
Seth and Irina become more and more interested in Alma’s life story, and they begin to notice signs pointing towards the fact that Alma is having an affair: gardenias arriving each week, a secret letter being delivered regularly, and that Alma will suddenly disappear for a couple days at a time having packed her nice silk lingerie. Both Irina and Seth become extremely curious as to who Alma is meeting with, and they start to delve into the part of Alma’s life she hasn’t yet fully divulged, that of her and Ichimei.
Overall I have to say this was not my favorite book. While the story line was interesting at times, I couldn’t get emotionally invested in the characters or in the story. It was hard for me to get a read on the story line, every time I thought I had it figured out like where the book was going, a new facet to the story line would pop up that leads the reader in a completely different direction. While it definitely kept me on my toes, it made it harder for me personally to get involved in the story. I did find the concurrent story of Alma’s parents’ fate at the concentration camp and Ichimei’s own experience in the US concentration camps to be interesting, the comparison between the two experiences was stark but the fact that there was still a valid connection makes you really think about the fear and drastic measures that were taken during that time period.

The bottom line: I would say if you want to read it then go for it. Not my favorite but it was a good book.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

17Mar2015

2015 Book #20 – Tribute by Nora Roberts

Posted in Book reviews, Bookish Bingo: Jan-March 2015, Reading Challenges, Romantic suspense by rebeccabook17

Title: Tribute
Author: Nora Roberts
Date finished: 3/16/15
Genre: Romantic suspense
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Publication Date: July 8, 2008
Pages in book: 451
Stand alone or series: Stand alone

Blurb from the cover:

Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, is a long way from Hollywood. And that’s exactly how Cilla McGowan likes it. Cilla, a former child star, has found a more satisfying life working with her hands to restore homes from floor to ceiling – and has come here to her grandmother’s farmhouse, tools at her side, to rescue it from ruin. Sadly, no one had been able to save her grandmother, the legendary Janet Hardy. An actress with a golden voice and a tumultuous life, Janet entertained glamorous guests and engaged in decadent affairs – but died of an overdose in this very house more than thirty years ago. To this day, Janet haunts Cilla’s dreams. And during her waking hours, Cilla is haunted by her melodramatic, five-times-married mother, who carried on in the public spotlight and never gave her a chance at a normal childhood. By coming to the East Coast, rolling up her sleeves, and rehabbing this wreck of a house, Cilla intends to take a shot at finding some kind of normalcy for herself. Cilla has her work cut out for her – the house, once a place of comfort and simple rural beauty, is long neglected, crumbling, the grounds choked by weeds. Plunging into the project with gusto, she’s almost too busy and exhausted to notice her neighbor, graphic novelist Ford Sawyer – but his lanky form, green eyes, and easy, unflappable humor (not to mention his delightfully ugly dog, Spock) are hard to ignore. Determined not to carry on the family tradition of ill-fated romances, Cilla steels herself against Ford’s quirky charm, but she can’t help indulging in a little fantasy. But love and a peaceful life may not be in the cards for Cilla. In the house’s cluttered attic, she has found a cache of unsigned letters, tied with a faded red ribbon, suggesting that Janet Hardy was pregnant when she died – and that the father of her child was a local married man. Cilla can’t help but wonder what really happened all those years ago. The mystery only deepens with a series of cruel and intimidating acts and a frightening, violent assault. And if Cilla and Ford are unable to sort out who is targeting her and why, she may, like her world-famous grandmother, be cut down in the prime of her life.

My rating: 3.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will count towards my “Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “Gold Lettering” square. So Cilla, a child star now grown up and trying to find her place in the world, has purchased her grandmother’s homestead from her mother. Ford is attracted to Cilla right off the bat and he immediately can picture her as the star of a new series for his graphic novels (like comic books). Someone is threatening Cilla though, leaving her mutilated dolls of herself from when she was a child star, destroying her house, even attacking her friend Steve. Ford will do anything to protect her.
I didn’t especially love this book. There were entertaining parts but overall I didn’t love the plot line and I didn’t especially jive with the plot twist of who ended up being the bad guy at the end. I guess the book was ok.

The bottom line: This book was ok, I wasn’t thrilled but it kept me entertained for the most point.

Link to author website
Link to Amazon