Tag Archives: marriage

2016 Book #9 – Missing Pieces by Heather Gudenkauf

Posted in 2016, Book reviews, Fiction, Pop Sugar Reading Challenge 2016 checklist, Reading Challenges, Thriller by

71QVUdo4D4LTitle: Missing Pieces
Author: Heather Gudenkauf
Date finished: 2/2/16
Genre: Fiction, thriller/suspense
Publisher: MIRA
Publication Date: February 2, 2016
Pages in book: 288
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:

Sarah Quinlan’s husband, Jack, has been haunted for decades by the untimely death of his mother when he was just a teenager, her body found in the cellar of their family farm, the circumstances a mystery. The case rocked the small farm town of Penny Gate, Iowa, where Jack was raised, and for years Jack avoided returning home. But when his beloved aunt Julia is in an accident, hospitalized in a coma, Jack and Sarah are forced to confront the past that they have long evaded.
Upon arriving in Penny Gate, Sarah and Jack are welcomed by the family Jack left behind all those years ago—barely a trace of the wounds that had once devastated them all. But as facts about Julia’s accident begin to surface, Sarah realizes that nothing about the Quinlans is what it seems. Caught in a flurry of unanswered questions, Sarah dives deep into the puzzling rabbit hole of Jack’s past. But the farther in she climbs, the harder it is for her to get out. And soon she is faced with a deadly truth she may not be prepared for.

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. This book will count towards my “PopSugar 2016 Checklist” reading challenge, marking off the “murder mystery” square, since this book had a number of murders that no one knew who committed them. I’m not going to say how many murders because that would spoil it! So this book is about Sarah Quinlan, who accompanies her husband Jack back to his hometown of Penny Gate after his aunt falls down the stairs. Sarah knows about Jack’s history with the town and why he’s hesitant to return; his dad was drunk driving when he wrecked his car twenty years ago and both Jack’s parents were killed. At least, that’s the version Sarah knows about. Once they arrive in town though, multiple people say something that piques Sarah’s interest and leads her to think there may be more to the story that Jack isn’t telling her.
Overall I really liked this book! I was finishing the book at 11:30 at night and I can’t even tell you how creeped out I was. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat for hours, I couldn’t put it down I was so desperate to find out who the killer was. I thought the author did a fantastic job of really getting the reader into the main characters head and making us as a reader question what we could and couldn’t trust of the other characters in the book. I also really loved Sarah as a character, I was so glad that she stood up to Jack when she found out he was lying to her. I love a main female character with a strong backbone and Sarah was definitely a great example of that. There weren’t many things I didn’t enjoy about this book, there were a good number and twists and turns. The only thing is that the ending ending up feeling almost anti-climactic for me, it happened so fast. It was an ending I didn’t exactly expect though so that was good! Overall though great read and everyone should go read this one!

The bottom line: I would absolutely recommend this book. I could not put it down, it was suspenseful and kept me hooked the whole time. Great book!

Link to author website

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

2015 Book #124 – The Restaurant Critic’s Wife by Elizabeth LaBan

Posted in 2015, Book reviews, Bookish Bingo Holiday 2015, Fiction, Reading Challenges, Women's fiction by

51ZVq3pdcrLTitle: The Restaurant Critic’s Wife
Author: Elizabeth LaBan
Date finished: 12/27/15
Genre: Women’s fiction
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: January 5, 2016
Pages in book: 313
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:

Lila Soto has a master’s degree that’s gathering dust, a work-obsessed husband, two kids, and lots of questions about how exactly she ended up here.
In their new city of Philadelphia, Lila’s husband, Sam, takes his job as a restaurant critic a little too seriously. To protect his professional credibility, he’s determined to remain anonymous. Soon his preoccupation with anonymity takes over their lives as he tries to limit the family’s contact with anyone who might have ties to the foodie world. Meanwhile, Lila craves adult conversation and some relief from the constraints of her homemaker role. With her patience wearing thin, she begins to question everything: her decision to get pregnant again, her break from her career, her marriage—even if leaving her ex-boyfriend was the right thing to do. As Sam becomes more and more fixated on keeping his identity secret, Lila begins to wonder if her own identity has completely disappeared—and what it will take to get it back.

My rating: 3.5 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. This book will count towards my “Holiday 2015 Bookish Bingo” reading challenge, marking off the “Free Space” square. This book tells the story of Lila Soto, who recently moved with her husband and young daughter to Philadelphia where Lila’s husband, Sam, has a job as a restaurant critic of a local newspaper. Sam had been temporarily writing as the restaurant critic in New Orleans and was able to find a permanent position in Philadelphia. He is so paranoid about keeping his identity a secret though that he doesn’t want Lila to make any friends or have a job or pretty much be seen in public at all. And when he thinks the restaurant owners start recognizing him, he begins to wear disguises when he’s going out. And while Sam is dealing with all of his paranoia issues, Lila has a new baby boy and is struggling with how to care for two young children.
So this book follows Lila’s story over the course of just about a year. During that time she has many ups and downs. Lila had been a very career-driven and successful woman before her move to Philadelphia, after which she and Sam decided that she would stay home with the kids for a while so that Sam could focus on his job. Lila ends up having more trouble with this than she thought she would though, and misses being in the work force.
Overall I liked this book. To be honest I had a lot of issues with Sam’s character. He was so unbelievably frustrating because he was constantly telling Lila that she couldn’t have any friends that are in any way involved in the restaurant industry. And she can’t work. And she has to take care of two small children with basically no help because even the babysitter will figure out who he is. About halfway through the book I just wanted to scream because Lila says repeatedly that she wants to go back to work and Sam just kept saying that they would talk about when the right time might be for that to happen but it wasn’t now and she couldn’t be interviewed at all for any reason and she couldn’t do FREAKING ANYTHING!!!! What does he want her to do just hide in the house for the next 30 years? He didn’t even want her to make friends with her neighbors. I wanted to punch him in the face, he kept talking about how she was making it impossible for him to do his job but why is his job the only one that is important? Why is his job more important than hers? Anyways, other than that one sticking point for me this was a good book. I think that mothers especially will connect with Lila’s character as most will probably identify with the struggle LaBan describes in many scenes where Lila is alone taking care of her two small children. Good book and I would recommend giving it a try!

The bottom line: I would recommend this book, it was a good story and kept me interested. I had some trouble with the husband’s character but not everyone may have my same issues. I would recommend giving it a try!

Link to author website

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

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

516YNFvZnrLTitle: 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

2015 Book #121 – Tiny Little Thing by Beatriz Williams

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

51VBdmvv70LTitle: 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

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

Posted in Book reviews, Historical fiction by

510xRpLXrWLTitle: 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

2015 Book #107 – The Good Neighbor by Amy Sue Nathan

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

51I1+dyqiNLTitle: The Good Neighbor
Author: Amy Sue Nathan
Date finished: 10/13/15
Genre: Women’s fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Publication Date: October 13, 2015
Pages in book: 272
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:

When small lies have big consequences…
Things are a little rough for Izzy Lane. Still reeling from the break-up of her marriage, the newly single mom moves back to the Philadelphia home she grew up in, five-year-old Noah in tow. The transition is difficult, but with the help of her best friends-and her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Feldman-Izzy feels like she’s stepping closer to her new normal. Until her ex-husband shows up with his girlfriend. That’s when Izzy invents a boyfriend of her own. And that’s when life gets complicated.
Blogging about her “new guy” provides Izzy with something to do when Noah’s asleep. What’s the harm in a few made-up stories? But when her friends want to meet the mysterious “Mac,” someone online suspects Izzy’s a fraud, and a guy in real life catches her eye, Izzy realizes just how high the stakes are.

My rating: 3.75 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 Izzy (Elizabeth) Lane. After her divorce from Bruce, she moves back into her childhood home with her son Noah until she can get things together. After she puts Noah to bed every night she escapes into the online world of blogging. She started a blog where she relates her dating experiences and it has become more and more popular. It is because of this that Izzy’s friend Jade asks her to become one of the new writers on her web site. Only problem is that lately Izzy has been writing more and more about her new boyfriend Mac and Jade wants her to keep writing about their dates. Unfortunately, that’s going to be a little difficult because, well, Mac doesn’t exist.
What follows is a touching story about a near forty-year old woman trying to find her way in the world now that her life has been uprooted and trying to find a new purpose. Izzy as a character I felt could have had a little more depth but she was vulnerable and generous of heart. Her monologues about her feelings regarding Noah and sharing his time with Bruce were particularly touching for me. This book really brings home the heartbreaking situation that comes with having to share a child with another parent. Each parent has a right and a desire to have time with that child (in a perfect world) but who gets to decide which parent gets more time with the child? Parents (hopefully) decide what is best for the child in this scenario but I can’t imagine having to give up weeks at a time with a child, its just a terrible no-win situation. Anyways, the other characters in the story I also felt could have had more depth but the story line was well paced and the book overall was a quick read that I enjoyed.

The bottom line: I thought this was a quick and easy read. It was a sweet and touching story, I would recommend it.

Link to author website

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

2015 Book #95 – Queen Song by Victoria Aveyard

Posted in Book reviews, Young Adult by

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Title: Queen Song
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Date finished: 9/5/15
Genre: Young adult
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: September 1, 2015
Pages in book: 45
Stand alone or series: Part of the Red Queen series, prequel to first book in series
Where I got the book from: Amazon purchase

Blurb from the cover:

In this 55-page prequel novella set in the Red Queen world, Queen Coriane, first wife of King Tiberias, keeps a secret diary—how else can she ensure that no one at the palace will use her thoughts against her? Coriane recounts her heady courtship with the crown prince, the birth of a new prince, Cal, and the potentially deadly challenges that lay ahead for her in royal life.

My rating: 3.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This novella is actually a prequel to the very popular Young Adult book Red Queen. This novella tells the story of Cal’s Mom (Cal is one of the main people in Red Queen and the prince of the kingdom) Coriane Jacos. Coriane doesn’t think she’s anyone of consequence- her family is very poor and doesn’t really have any influence in court. Then the Prince (Tibe, Cal’s father) starts taking an interest in her. Coriane is convinced they are merely friends, for what prince could be interested in an unimportant noble such as herself?
Overall I thought this was a good novella. With only 45 pages it is hard to have anything that is really going to “wow” you but I liked hearing Coriane’s story from her point of view after getting most of the basics from the Red Queen novel. There is also another novella being released in January, Steel Scars.

The bottom line: I like hearing Queen Coriane’s story from her point of view. I would definitely recommend this for fans of Red Queen.

Link to author website

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

2015 Book #90 – A Window Opens by Elisabeth Egan

Posted in ARC August, Book reviews, Fiction, Reading Challenges by

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Title: A Window Opens
Author: Elisabeth Egan
Date finished: 8/26/15
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: August 25, 2015
Pages in book: 384
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:

Fans of I Don’t Know How She Does It and Where’d You Go, Bernadette will cheer at this “fresh, funny take on the age-old struggle to have it all” (People) about what happens when a wife and mother of three leaps at the chance to fulfill her professional destiny—only to learn every opportunity comes at a price.
In A Window Opens, beloved books editor at Glamour magazine Elisabeth Egan brings us Alice Pearse, a compulsively honest, longing-to-have-it-all, sandwich generation heroine for our social-media-obsessed, lean in (or opt out) age. Like her fictional forebears Kate Reddy and Bridget Jones, Alice plays many roles (which she never refers to as “wearing many hats” and wishes you wouldn’t, either). She is a mostly-happily married mother of three, an attentive daughter, an ambivalent dog-owner, a part-time editor, a loyal neighbor and a Zen commuter. She is not: a cook, a craftswoman, a decorator, an active PTA member, a natural caretaker or the breadwinner. But when her husband makes a radical career change, Alice is ready to lean in—and she knows exactly how lucky she is to land a job at Scroll, a hip young start-up which promises to be the future of reading, with its chain of chic literary lounges and dedication to beloved classics. The Holy Grail of working mothers―an intellectually satisfying job and a happy personal life―seems suddenly within reach.
Despite the disapproval of her best friend, who owns the local bookstore, Alice is proud of her new “balancing act” (which is more like a three-ring circus) until her dad gets sick, her marriage flounders, her babysitter gets fed up, her kids start to grow up and her work takes an unexpected turn. Readers will cheer as Alice realizes the question is not whether it’s possible to have it all, but what does she―Alice Pearse―really want?

My rating: 4.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will be counting towards my goal for ARC August reading challenge, it is #11 on list from my sign up post. I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book is about Alice Pearse and her family: her husband, Nicholas, and her children, Margot, Oliver, and Georgie. Alice is a book-lover so I felt an instant connection with her character. I am not a mom yet but I hope to someday be one and a lot of the issues presented in this book are ones I have thought about many times already. When Nick leaves the law firm he’s been working at pretty much his whole career to open his own firm, Alice and Nick decide that Alice should go back to work full time until Nick’s new firm is up and running. Alice finds a job at Scroll, a company that is supposed to lead us into the book stores of the future. Unfortunately, not everything always works out the way we’d imagined at the start.
Alice’s job is time consuming and sometimes (like many jobs, mine included) it runs over into her personal time. And unfortunately (as is the case with many stressful jobs) her time with her family sometimes suffers because of her dedication to her job. I have to say this issue is one of the things that really bothered me about this book. Nick ends up with an attitude through most of the book about Alice’s dedication to her job. When he was working hard at his law firm and she was taking care of the kids, he was a dedicated worker. But when the roles are reversed Nick says that Alice is “obsessed” with her job. Just because she wants to do good work and she’s dedicated why does that make her obsessed? Also why is this a good excuse for Nick to get so drunk he ends up passing out on the couch every weekday afternoon? Alice had to take care of the kids mostly on her own for like ten years and she never had to get drunk every day. And then he has the nerve to ask her if she is the person she wants to be when he was the one who was too drunk at noon to answer the phone and pick up their sick daughter from school? Are you kidding me? So anyway suffice it to say I was not a huge fan of Nick’s character. I wanted to punch him in the face most of the time but Alice seemed to like him overall so I guess he can’t be all bad.
Overall I really liked this book. I am going to warn you there are a couple sad parts but I think those might have been the parts of the story I found the most touching. Obviously I also felt quite a bit of anger for some of the book but there was a lot of tenderness described in the story. Also a lot of the issues Alice faces through the story are ones that I will have to face sometime in the future. Alice is right, you can’t do it all. Sometimes you have to prioritize and those priorities don’t always have to be fixed, actually they shouldn’t be. Your job shouldn’t come first every day but there are days where you might need to put it first and I think that’s ok.

The bottom line: There were just so many feels. And the main character was highly relatable for me so this one really was a good one for me. I would definitely recommend.

Link to author website

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

2015 Book #87 – I Shall Be Near To You by Erin Lindsay McCabe

Posted in Book Clubs, Book reviews, Historical fiction, Terryville - Fiction Lovers by

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Title: I Shall Be Near To You
Author: Erin Lindsay McCabe
Date finished: 8/16/15
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: Crown
Publication Date: January 28, 2014
Pages in book: 297
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: Terryville Public Library

Blurb from the cover:

An extraordinary novel about a strong-willed woman who disguises herself as a man in order to fight beside her husband, inspired by the letters of a remarkable female soldier who fought in the Civil War.
Rosetta doesn’t want her new husband Jeremiah to enlist, but he joins up, hoping to make enough money that they’ll be able to afford their own farm someday. Though she’s always worked by her father’s side as the son he never had, now that Rosetta is a wife she’s told her place is inside with the other women. But Rosetta decides her true place is with Jeremiah, no matter what that means, and to be with him she cuts off her hair, hems an old pair of his pants, and signs up as a Union soldier.
With the army desperate for recruits, Rosetta has no trouble volunteering, although she faces an incredulous husband. She drills with the men, proves she can be as good a soldier as anyone, and deals with the tension as her husband comes to grips with having a fighting wife. Rosetta’s strong will clashes with Jeremiah’s while their marriage is tested by broken conventions, constant danger, and war, and she fears discovery of her secret even as they fight for their future, and for their lives. Inspired by more than 250 documented accounts of the women who fought in the Civil War while disguised as men, I Shall Be Near To You is the intimate story, in Rosetta’s powerful and gorgeous voice, of the drama of marriage, one woman’s amazing exploits, and the tender love story that can unfold when two partners face life’s challenges side by side.

My rating: 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I read this book for the Terryville Library’s Fiction Lover’s Book Discussion group discussion for this month (August). This book was actually already on my TBR list before I joined the book discussion group at the library, so I was really excited when I saw this one on their to read list. This book is about a young woman named Rosetta who marries Jeremiah Wakefield, a boy she has loved for years, before he goes off to join the Civil War. Two weeks later though, he leaves to enlist. Rosetta can’t face the idea of life without Jeremiah, living on his parents’ farm and being forced to stay inside every day doing woman’s work. And so she dresses up as a man and goes to join the army so that she can fight alongside her husband.
What follows is her story of living inside the Regiment. When she first arrived, Jeremiah was livid that she followed him and masqueraded herself as a man to join the Army. Rosetta never folded in with what was expected of her though, and that was one of the reasons Jeremiah fell in love with her in the first place. And as mad as he is, in a way he is also glad she is there and that they can be together. He doesn’t want her to be in harm’s way but she is just about as stubborn as a mule so without getting her in trouble by tattling, there isn’t much Jeremiah can do to get her sent home.
Overall I really just enjoyed this book a lot. There is such strength in Rosetta and I admire her so much for facing something that I’m not sure I would ever be able to face. Obviously being in a war is not something for the weak, and the descriptions of the battle fields and the wounded and dying that Rosetta describe would be hard for anyone to come to terms with. And also with war comes loss; loss of loved ones and loss of innocence. I loved Rosetta’s character and it warmed my heart to see how much mutual love there was between Rosetta and Jeremiah. This book was heart-wrenching and wonderful.

The bottom line: I just loved this book. It was sad, yes, but it was also a great book about what strength we as women are capable of. I would highly recommend reading this one.

Link to author website
Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2015 Book #81 – The Guilty One by Sophie Littlefield

Posted in 2015, ARC August, Book reviews, Fiction, Reading Challenges by

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Title: The Guilty One
Author: Sophie Littlefield
Date finished: 8/5/15
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: August 11, 2015
Pages in book: 304
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:

A man stands on the Golden Gate Bridge, poised to jump…if a woman on the other end of the phone tells him to.
Maris’s safe suburban world was shattered the day her daughter was found murdered, presumably at the hands of the young woman’s boyfriend. Her marriage crumbling, her routine shattered, Maris walks away from her pampered life as a Bay Area mom the day she receives a call from Ron, father of her daughter’s killer. Wracked with guilt over his son’s actions (and his own possible contribution to them), he asks Maris a single question: should he jump?
With a man’s life in her hands, Maris must decide, perhaps for the first time, what she truly wants. Retribution? Forgiveness? Or something more? Having lost everything, she’s finally free to recreate herself without the confining labels of “wife,” “mother,” or “mourner.” But will this shocking offer free her, or destroy her?

My rating: 4.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: This book will be counting towards my goal for ARC August reading challenge, it is #3 on list from my sign up post. I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book is about Maris Parker, whose daughter was murdered a year ago. As if trying to wake up each day and live with that isn’t difficult enough, her daughter’s killer’s father (Ron Isherwood) then calls her and basically offers to kill himself in a very “eye for an eye” situation where he gives up his life since his son took her daughter’s life. Plus her husband is leaving her.
Maris’ reaction to this phone call sets her (unknowingly) on a new life course. While she had planned to leave for her sister’s condo that afternoon, Ron’s call leaves her feeling unsettled and not quite ready to face the outside world. The next day she goes to Oakland to pick up a gift for her sister and its there that she meets Petra, who will help her quite a lot in the coming days actually. She ends up tagging along with Petra’s group of friends and hides herself away in a rundown apartment building in Oakland. It is there she learns that there are other people in the world who are hurting as well, if maybe in different ways. It is also in Oakland that Maris begins to find out who she is now, without the husband she’s been married to for 20 years or the child she’s raised for the past seventeen years. Maris discovers who she is as her own person again, and makes a few good friends along the way.
Overall I really did enjoy this book. There were a couple really good plot twists, both of which I actually never saw coming, and I liked Maris and Ron as main characters, they both had a lot of layers to dig through. I felt that Maris really grew as a character throughout the story. We really learned with her how to cope with the grief of losing a child, how to pick yourself up off the ground and push yourself to keep living life each and every day.

The bottom line: I really liked this book, it had a couple good shocker moments thrown in there and I thought the story line was well-paced. I was interested throughout the story and both grieved for and felt compassion for Maris’ loss. Good book, would recommend other readers to give it a try!

Favorite Quotes:
“You don’t do all of those things without building up a reserve for moments like this. Moments when the weak ones fail, the battered ones give up, the broken ones cry out for someone to take their hand.”
“How do you go back up the family tree, scrambling up the doomed bloodline, and make things right?”
“Her daughter was with her in the morning, when she stepped out of her apartment as the sun was just beginning to rise up above the distant hills.”

Link to author website
Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page