Month: March 2020

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Books On Tour (Review): The Lilac House by Barbara Josselsohn

This book had me at “ballet,” but held me through exceptional writing and likable characters in thoroughly realistic situations. Equal parts emotional and inspirational, Barbara Josselsohn has written a charming, winning novel.

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I liked how each of the main characters had something in their past that was keeping them from future happiness. The author did a fantastic job of creating unique situations for each character. I especially appreciated how she wove them all together into a holistic message of hope and the importance of second chances and recognizing kindred spirits.

I related to both Hope and Anna, mostly through their dance backgrounds. Like Anna, I was on my way to being a professional until I, too, injured my ankle onstage. It took me a while to be able to dance again (both physically and emotionally), but the love and appreciation for the art never disappeared. I felt Anna’s pull to the studio as much as I felt my own pull back to the stage.

At the same time, I followed Hope’s trajectory. When I couldn’t dance professionally, I found a niche in local theaters, which led to choreography and directing jobs. I fell in love with the creation of dances from the artistic side, which gave my performance side a huge boost as well. Hope’s desire to be a mentor to the college students, even at the expense of them taking advantage of her, was (unfortunately) also familiar.

The author captured small-town politics and close-knit communities perfectly as well. Lake Summers came to life, as did its residents, and I found myself wanting to visit. I love it when an author creates an atmosphere so realistic that I can picture walking down the streets and patronizing the stores.

Honestly, there wasn’t anything I disliked about this book. Lyrical writing (that reminded me of ballet) and realistic emotions and motivations make this one of my favorites this year. Please don’t miss it!

Author Bio

Barbara Josselsohn is novelist and journalist. Her articles and essays appear in a range of publications including New York Magazine, American Baby, The New York Times, Parents Magazine, and Writers’ Digest. Online, you can see her work on WorkingMother.com, NextAvenue.org, and GrownandFlown.com. She teaches novel writing and creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y., and other venues. 

Website: http://www.barbarasolomonjosselsohn.com/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraSolomonJosselsohnAuthor
Twitter: @barbarajoss  
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Books On Tour (Review): The Man I Loved Before by Anna Mansell

I wanted to like this book. The premise was promising, and the tagline was intriguing.

Unfortunately, everything mentioned in the blurb occurred in the first quarter of the book. After that, things seemed to drag on for much too long.

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That’s not to say that there weren’t good things in the book. I liked the relationship between Jem and her mom. I could relate to Jem’s realization that she needed to be strong for her mom (instead of always relying on her mom for strength). That’s something that I think every adult deals with as their parents age. Several touching moments between the two of them made me think of my relationship with my mother.

I also thought that Jem and Leanne had some good moments. Their friendship was close, and Leanne served as a sort of Jiminy Cricket/conscience to Jem (which Jem badly needed). However, not all of Leanne’s advice was helpful.

Enter Mitch. The best thing I can say about him is “Beware of Tinder – even if you know the person from school.”

I don’t have a lot to say about Ben either. I thought at the beginning that he might be the smartest of the group, having escaped Jem’s toxicity. But I was wrong about that, too.

I think my real challenge is that Jem wasn’t exactly likable, and her reliance on alcohol  (without judgment) became annoying. It was pretty apparent that alcohol was a crutch, making her a functional alcoholic, yet everyone around her seemed to enable her. That was bothersome.

I also never got a good grasp of where the story wanted to go. From the tagline, I was expecting something a little more “angst-y.” While there were moments of pure emotion, those were more between Jem and her mom, not either of the men Jem was involved with (which seemed odd). I also thought that Jem and Leanne verged on rom-com best friend banter sometimes, which threw me off-kilter.

I was happy to see some resolutions, but overall this book just didn’t do it for me. Other readers may have a different experience, however.

Author Bio

Anna had a brush with ‘fame’ as a magician’s assistant back in 1977. She later decided that being sawn in half by her magical performing father, at barely 6 months old, was too submissive a role. She vowed to channel the trauma into something much more pro-actively creative. Having failed at acting, singing and professional murder mystery parties (she was ALWAYs the one to die!), she fell to something much more solitary: writing. Anna lives on a dairy farm in Cornwall with her two children, her husband, and her ex-racing greyhound, Olive Dog.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnaMansellWriter/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/AnnaMansell
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Blog Tour w/Review: The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

Time for another entry in the Harlequin Trade Publishing 2020 Spring Reads Blog Tour. We’ve already had one great read in The Grace Kelly Dress; I’m happy to report that The Henna Artist continues the trend.

Beautifully described with vibrant details, this book follows a woman in 1950s India as she navigates the political and social landmines of the period. It sucked me in immediately and held me enthralled to the very end.

Lakshmi ran away from an arranged marriage at age 15 to pursue a life of her choosing – but is it really what she thought it would all be? She learns how to play the games of the upper caste as a henna artist, decorating the hands and feet of some of the most powerful women in society. She is also known for her herbal remedies.

However, when her life is upended (not going to give away how in this review), she realizes just how precarious her accomplishments and reputation are, forcing her to make tough choices.

I found Lakshmi to be an interesting main character. On the one hand, she seems to be about female empowerment and acknowledging the importance of women’s voices in a turbulent time (the decade immediately following the withdrawal of the British).

On the other hand, she turns a blind eye to the true natures of the men she does business with as well. It takes a tragedy that hits very close to home for her to realize the harm she has done over the years and come to the realization that she may not have chosen the best path (even though she thought she did along the way).

The other main characters were just as vivid, as were the secondary and even tertiary characters. Nobody got short-shrift when it came to descriptions and motivations; everyone was fully fleshed-out and realistic.

I thought that the author did an excellent job describing the caste system and societal beliefs of the time. I learned a lot about both, but I never felt that it was a lecture. Everything was woven into the narrative in an informative and natural way. I especially appreciated that she tackled the topics of misogyny and sexism in the context of the period (it would have been easy to allow a more contemporary point of view sneak in – I’m glad she kept it time-specific).

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book, as the author was obviously knowledgable about the subject matter and relayed it entertainingly. As I mentioned at the outset of this review, the details are plentiful and highly descriptive. There were times that I could feel the heat and dust of the streets and smell the frangipani and herbs Lakshmi was preparing.

(One quick note: a character relates that they saw “Some Like it Hot” in color – it was filmed in black and white. Just a small pet peeve because it is one of my all-time favorite movies).

I highly recommend picking up this book about family, personal choices, and doing the right thing. I am sure you will enjoy your visit to India.

SOCIAL:
Author Website: https://thehennaartist.com/
FB: @alkajoshi2019
Insta: @thealkajoshi
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18257842.Alka_Joshi

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Books On Tour (Review): My Perfect Wife by Clare Boyd

Let’s start simple: this was one of the biggest mindscrews I have ever read.

I have read domestic suspense with tight and twisty plots, but I can’t remember one where I was so off-balance.

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The author did a fantastic job of keeping me guessing the characters’ motives throughout the entire book. In some books, some revelations make things clear even as there are more twists to come. Not the case here; everything stayed murky, and the story was that much better for it.

I liked how the author dropped hints about past events, but always with something else still waiting in the wings.

(By the way, I know this is cryptic, but it’s challenging to write a review on a book like this without giving anything away – and this is one that you definitely need to experience for yourself).

I thought the characters were well-described, and most of them seemed realistic. I did think that the American couple (Bo and Walt) verged on caricatures, but perhaps that was purposeful. It didn’t detract from the story; it was just noticeable.

I also thought that Heather’s parents were a little under-developed. I didn’t feel like I got a good grasp on them (Salvation Army volunteers, gardeners, and…what else?) There were times that it seemed as if they were supposed to be Bible-thumpers, but others where they were “normalized.” I think that is why the revelations about them in the latter part of the book were a little harder to take.

The same goes for Heather’s relationship with Jason. It didn’t seem as solid of a plotline as other parts, and almost seemed more as just a convenience to get Heather away from the drama at Copper Lodge.

I did think that the heart of the plot, the relationship between Elizabeth and Lucas, was exceptionally well-done. I switched back and forth as to whose story I believed, and that is what ultimately drove the tension and all of the twists. Right up until the end, I still didn’t know who was in the right.

There were a few loose ends, or at least a couple of plot points that I think deserved better endings (Agata and Piotr are mostly left hanging, for example). But when I finished the book, I literally asked myself, “What the hell did I just read?” And I like that in a suspense/ thriller story.

If you pick this one up, be prepared to be UNprepared as you read. Sometimes things don’t have to make perfect sense; they just have to happen. That is certainly the case with this book.

Author Bio

Clare lives with her husband and their two daughters in Surrey, where her little green shed at the bottom of the garden provides a haven for her writing life. Before becoming a writer, she enjoyed a career in television, as a researcher in documentaries and then as a script editor in drama at the BBC and Channel Four, where her love of storytelling took hold.

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/clareboydclark
FACEBOOK: clare.boyd.14
TWITTER: @ClareBoydClark
INSTAGRAM: claresboyd
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Blog Tour (Review): The Grace Kelly Dress by Brenda Janowitz

I’m very excited to be a part of the Harlequin Trade Publishing 2020 Spring Reads Blog Tours.

First up is The Grace Kelly Dress by Brenda Janowitz.

Spanning three generations and covering nearly 65 years, this charming book pulled me in from the very start. The story unfolds gradually, beginning with Rocky in 2020, flashes back to her mom, Joanie, in 1982 and then back further to Rose in 1958. The chapters are consistent in rotating through these three points of view in order, making it easy to follow each storyline.

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I was swept up most by Rose’s story. The setting of the Parisian bridal atelier was unique and informative. The author did some homework on how those types of shops ran at the time. I also liked the intrigue of this plotline. The characters and situation seemed the most real to me.

There were parts of Joanie’s story that I liked as well, mainly the 80s references. I understood the Long Island/NYC setting and the attraction that a “good girl” might have to the punk scene of the early 80s. I did not, however, get a strong feeling for the relationships and felt that the connections between Joanie and the friends that she eventually made were tenuous, even as they proved to be more serious.

I related least to Rocky, but most to her fiance, Drew. (How’s that for an odd one?) Rocky came across as a spoiled millennial who was determined to be anti-establishment (as personified by her disagreements with her mom). While she did mature some throughout her storyline, I still didn’t care for her that much.

Drew, however, I could completely relate to, both as an adoptee and the mother to an international adoptee. His situation felt a little force, to add drama to his and Rocky’s arc, but his emotions and realizations felt natural, and I could think of a few personal instances that were similar.

There were even a few surprises along the way to resolution. However, there was one thing that I was not clear on (mini spoiler alert), and that had to do with Rocky’s dad. I wasn’t sure if I missed something, or if I was supposed to infer from other descriptions, but that whole part of the plot seemed murky to me.

The three storylines converged nicely by the end, and most of the relationships are clarified. I did like the overall message of the importance of balancing family and traditions with forging one’s path. That came across in each of the character’s stories as well as the overarching plot itself. You won’t be disappointed with this one; it’s a lovely book that is perfect for spring.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brenda Janowitz is the author of five novels, including The Dinner Party and Recipe for a Happy Life. She is the Books Correspondent for PopSugar. Brenda’s work has also appeared in The New York Times,USA Today, The Washington Post, Salon, Redbook, and the New York Post. She lives in New York.

Author website: http://www.brendajanowitz.com/
Facebook: @BrendaJanowitz
Twitter: @BrendaJanowitz
Instagram: @brendajanowitzwriter
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/241404.Brenda_Janowitz
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Book Review: Keep Me Afloat by Jennifer Gold

Having read this author’s The Ingredients of Us, I knew I was in for a study in relationships, and some emotional moments of self-recognition. I wasn’t disappointed in that regard, but I learned a lot from this book, and not all in the way I expected to.

I had a difficult time getting behind Abby at first. She was full of self-pity, and the author took a long time to unravel her backstory, which was both good and bad. It was bad because I didn’t get a feel for Abby until much later in the book and, therefore, couldn’t relate to any of her thoughts or feelings.

On the other hand, it worked because the author drew the reader along by letting out little bits of the story here and there. There was almost as much of a build to the past events as there were to the current ones. The author did an admirable job switching back and forth between the past and present.

Several moments had me second-guessing what I assumed to be true. Not that this was a suspenseful novel in the pure meaning of the genre, but there were a few places that I realized the author had cleverly drawn my thinking in one direction, while the opposite was more exact. One “reveal” even made me gasp and re-evaluate all previous clues.

I didn’t feel like the set up for Abby’s love for the ocean was obvious, but it became apparent that it was her passion and what ultimately drove most of her decisions. At the point where I realized this, I instantly could relate to her being stuck in a job and a place where she wasn’t able to follow her calling.

Her guilt over the past drove most of the narrative, and (as mentioned) only became more evident the further in the book I read. I did appreciate that the author did not wrap everything up neatly with a traditional HEA or “everything will be fine.” It was not that kind of feel-good story.

It was, however, incredibly realistic. The positive affirmation of how the past does not have to define the present was very clear.  And I especially liked that Abby’s growth led her to a place where she could be optimistic about the future. That kind of realism is often missing.

As for Abby’s marine biology background, the detail and care given to the descriptions showed the author’s love for the subject (which she then gave to Abby). Having grown up in Northern California, it reminded me of days at nature camps at the coast, trips to Point Reyes to learn about elephant seals and whale watching off the Farallon Islands and Half Moon Bay. These sections of the narrative spoke to me personally.

Ultimately, Abby’s journey brings her to a place of peace, and I could feel her growing contentment by the end of the book. It was a pleasant trip to take with her, and I would highly recommend doing so. It’s another winner from this author.

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Books On Tour (Review): The Magnolia Sisters by Alys Murray

I came into this book expecting it to be about sisters (not much of a reach, given the title). While there were moments of sisterhood, this ultimately was more of a romance with the focus on one sister in particular, and that wasn’t a bad thing.

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There was still a lot of emphasis on family throughout the book. Both Luke and Harper always had their sisters’ best interests in mind, even as they ignored what was right in front of them. This made them realistic and not typical romance novel stereotypes. Their reactions were natural and entirely in tune with people just too stubborn to see outside of their bubbles.

That being said, the author did a nice job of building the tension between the two of them. I especially liked that Harper was a strong, dedicated woman without being a raging feminist. Her description of why she loved flowers, and what they meant to her, was heartfelt and stirring. And her devotion to the traditions of the farm and her family were well-described.

I did not care for her youngest sister May. I know that she was an important character and the catalyst for more than one plot point. However, I found her to be selfish and spoiled. Again, I know that this was vital to the story, but it wasn’t in any way endearing. Annie and Rose, however, were a hoot.

As to the setting, I loved it. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. My parents and I used to take Sunday drives around the Bay, finding backroads and small towns. The descriptions of both the town and the people of Hillsboro reminded me of those towns. It was a sweet memory to revisit. And the flower farm was unique and intriguing.

All in all, it was a pleasant read with natural emotion and realistic characters…and a perfect rom-com ending (no spoiler, you know it’s coming). Take the emotional journey with Luke and Harper. You’ll enjoy it.

Author Bio

Alys Murray is an author who writes for the romantic in all of us. Though she graduated with a degree in Drama from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a Master’s in Film Studies from King’s College London, her irrepressible love of romance led her to a career as an author, and she couldn’t be happier to write these stories! Currently splitting time between her home state of Louisiana and London, she enjoys kissing books, Star Wars, and creating original pie recipes for all of her books. Tobey Maguire is her Spider-Man. 

Social Media Links

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Blog Tour w/Review: Avenge the Dead by Jackie Baldwin

I have often written about my hesitation to come into a series in the middle. Sometimes authors create a story that is a complete standalone, but other times, there are several references to previous books that make understanding the current situation more complicated. This book falls squarely in the latter category.

That’s not to say that there isn’t a lot to like in this book. The characters are realistic and very accurate to law enforcement (at least in my experiences). I particularly liked the way the author gave the main characters particular traits while also allowing them to have a shared perspective. That sounds weird.

I don’t want to give the plot away, so I will be vague. Members of the unit have been affected by a previous incident. As a group, they deal professionally (some better than others). But personally, they each cope in their own manner. I appreciated this attention to the individual characters.

But herein also lies the problem that I had with the book, and this is solely on me. The references to past books were numerous, and I felt like I was missing a considerable section of understanding. The background is key to the current situations of the unit members, and without it, I had to “take their word for it,” which left me with only a superficial feeling.

Again, that is on me. The author does an admirable job of using references to set the scenes, but it’s just not the same as having “experienced” the events along with the characters.

The crime itself is unusual. I liked how the past affected the present.  I also appreciated how the clues were revealed naturally in the course of the investigation. It allowed me to follow along and try to solve it with the detectives (and I love books that present in that manner).

It’s a good read, but I am certain I would have enjoyed it much more if I had read the first two books in the series. I will be trying to remedy that shortly by grabbing them. To get the full depth of where DI Frank Farrell’s mindset is, read the first two books before picking this one up.

About Jackie Baldwin: Jackie Baldwin is a Scottish crime writer. Her debut crime novel, Dead Man’s Prayer, was published by Killer Reads on 2nd September 2016. The second in the series, Perfect Dead was published on 15th June 2018. For most of her working life, she has been a solicitor specialising in Family and Criminal Law. She later retrained as a hypnotherapist. Married with a grown family, she recently moved from Dumfries to East Lothian.

Social Media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackieMBaldwin1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JackieBaldwinAuthor/
Website: http://jackiebaldwin.co.uk/
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