Author: ondbookshelf
Blogging my way through my extensive to be read pile of books.
The Last Romantics
The Last Romantics
Fiction
HarperCollins
February 5, 2019
Advanced reader copy
368
Free from publisher
The New York Times bestselling author of The House Girl explores the lives of four siblings in this ambitious and absorbing novel in the vein of Commonwealth and The Interestings. “The greatest works of poetry, what makes each of us a poet, are the stories we tell about ourselves. We create them out of family and blood and friends and love and hate and what we’ve read and watched and witnessed. Longing and regret, illness, broken bones, broken hearts, achievements, money won and lost, palm readings and visions. We tell these stories until we believe them.” When the renowned poet Fiona Skinner is asked about the inspiration behind her iconic work, The Love Poem, she tells her audience a story about her family and a betrayal that reverberates through time. It begins in a big yellow house with a funeral, an iron poker, and a brief variation forever known as the Pause: a free and feral summer in a middle-class Connecticut town. Caught between the predictable life they once led and an uncertain future that stretches before them, the Skinner siblings—fierce Renee, sensitive Caroline, golden boy Joe and watchful Fiona—emerge from the Pause staunchly loyal and deeply connected. Two decades later, the siblings find themselves once again confronted with a family crisis that tests the strength of these bonds and forces them to question the life choices they’ve made and ask what, exactly, they will do for love. A sweeping yet intimate epic about one American family, The Last Romantics is an unforgettable exploration of the ties that bind us together, the responsibilities we embrace and the duties we resent, and how we can lose—and sometimes rescue—the ones we love. A novel that pierces the heart and lingers in the mind, it is also a beautiful meditation on the power of stories—how they navigate us through difficult times, help us understand the past, and point the way toward our future.
The Girls at 17 Swann Street
The Girls at 17 Swann Street
Fiction
St. Martin's Press
February 5, 2019
Advanced reader copy
384
Free from publisher via Bookish First
Anna Roux was a professional dancer who followed the man of her dreams from Paris to Missouri. There, alone with her biggest fears – imperfection, failure, loneliness – she spirals down anorexia and depression till she weighs a mere eighty-eight pounds. Forced to seek treatment, she is admitted as a patient at 17 Swann Street, a peach pink house where pale, fragile women with life-threatening eating disorders live. Women like Emm, the veteran; quiet Valerie; Julia, always hungry. Together, they must fight their diseases and face six meals a day.
Yara Zgheib's poetic and poignant debut novel is a haunting, intimate journey of a young woman's struggle to reclaim her life. Every bite causes anxiety. Every flavor induces guilt. And every step Anna takes toward recovery will require strength, endurance, and the support of the girls at 17 Swann Street.
This was an intense look at the lives of those with eating disorders. Although I do not personally know of anyone who has ever had this disease, I thought this book was a heartbreaking account of what these sufferers go through. The characters were very real to me, and I wanted to reach into the book and help them. The statistic toward the end of the book says it all:
Only 33% of women with anorexia nervosa maintain full recovery after nine months. Of those, approximately one third will relapse after the nine month mark!
That is just staggering to me! I found myself on the verge of tears several times during my reading as I ached for Anna and the girls at the treatment house. The descriptions of what was going through her mind just while trying to get through a container of yogurt were crushing! The interactions between Anna and her ever patient and loving husband Matthias were heartbreaking at times, yet you knew that his love and strength were what she needed to break through. This is not a book for the faint of heart,and especially if eating disorders are a trigger for you. However, if you want to know more about this devastating disease, I would highly recommend.
This book will stay with me a long time, and I will think about the characters (as though they were real), and worry about their futures!
99 Percent Mine
The Gown & Bridge of Clay
Watching You
Watching You
Fiction
Atria Books
December 26, 2018
Advanced Reader Copy
336
Free from publisher
The instant New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the “riveting thriller” (PopSugar) Then She Was Gone delivers another suspenseful page-turner about a shocking murder in a picturesque and well-to-do English town, perfect “for fans of Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, and Luckiest Girl Alive” (Library Journal). Melville Heights is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Bristol, England; home to doctors and lawyers and old-money academics. It’s not the sort of place where people are brutally murdered in their own kitchens. But it is the sort of place where everyone has a secret. And everyone is watching you. As the headmaster credited with turning around the local school, Tom Fitzwilliam is beloved by one and all—including Joey Mullen, his new neighbor, who quickly develops an intense infatuation with this thoroughly charming yet unavailable man. Joey thinks her crush is a secret, but Tom’s teenaged son Freddie—a prodigy with aspirations of becoming a spy for MI5—excels in observing people and has witnessed Joey behaving strangely around his father. One of Tom’s students, Jenna Tripp, also lives on the same street, and she’s not convinced her teacher is as squeaky clean as he seems. For one thing, he has taken a particular liking to her best friend and fellow classmate, and Jenna’s mother—whose mental health has admittedly been deteriorating in recent years—is convinced that Mr. Fitzwilliam is stalking her. Meanwhile, twenty years earlier, a schoolgirl writes in her diary, charting her doomed obsession with a handsome young English teacher named Mr. Fitzwilliam… In Lisa Jewell’s latest brilliant “bone-chilling suspense” (People) no one is who they seem—and everyone is hiding something. Who has been murdered—and who would have wanted one of their neighbors dead? As “Jewell teases out her twisty plot at just the right pace” (Booklist, starred review), you will be kept guessing until the startling revelation on the very last page.
Another riveting, page turner of a novel from Ms. Jewell! Before my review, I would like to point out my favorite book from this author, that is not in the same style as her most recent work. If you enjoy her writing, and are open to a more character driven plot, please pick up The House We Grew Up In! As much as I enjoy her latest books, this one is still my favorite. Now on to this review. The title of this one is spot on! Throughout the story, there are multiple people all watching others. The crazy mom who thinks she is being stalked, the young teenage boy spying on girls of interest in the neighborhood, and even the newly married woman who can't seem to stop watching the new school admin. We know right from the beginning that someone is murdered, and then the story goes back and gives us the details of how we got there. I loved the snippets of police interviews thrown in as the reader is trying to make up their mind 'who dunnit'. The writing is crisp, the chapters are short and broken up into various characters telling their story, and there was a twist at the end (of course). I have to say that the end was the only thing that didn't work for me. It was a bit too convenient that things fell into place the way they did, but I honestly didn't mind because the rest of the book was engrossing enough to overlook such a small fault.
Another winner from Lisa Jewell, this one will keep you guessing until the very end. Definitely an author who can write engrossing material no matter what genre she is in.
The Accidental Beauty Queen
Christmas on the Island
Once A Midwife
Winter in Paradise
Winter in Paradise
Fiction
Little, Brown
October 9, 2018
Hardcover
320
Purchased myself
A husband's secret life, a wife's new beginning: escape to the Caribbean with New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand. Irene Steele shares her idyllic life in a beautiful Iowa City Victorian house with a husband who loves her to sky-writing, sentimental extremes. But as she rings in the new year one cold and snowy night, everything she thought she knew falls to pieces with a shocking phone call: her beloved husband, away on business, has been killed in a plane crash. Before Irene can even process the news, she must first confront the perplexing details of her husband's death on the distant Caribbean island of St. John. After Irene and her sons arrive at this faraway paradise, they make yet another shocking discovery: her husband had been living a secret life. As Irene untangles a web of intrigue and deceit, and as she and her sons find themselves drawn into the vibrant island culture, they have to face the truth about their family, and about their own futures. Rich with the lush beauty of the tropics and the drama, romance, and intrigue only Elin Hilderbrand can deliver, Winter in Paradise is a truly transporting novel, and the exciting start to a new series.
My review:
I must admit to a bit of trepidation to starting this new series by Ms. Hilderbrand. I loved her winter series spanning the last four years, and was afraid to be let down by this new holiday series. I had no need to worry because while I'm still not as sold on this one yet, it was plenty entertaining and enjoyable! The style was pure Hilderbrand, so if you've read any of her numerous other novels, you can rest assured that this one delivers the same great quality of characters, settings and angst. The fact that it takes place on an idyllic island was equally wonderful and problematic at times. I've taken several vacations over the winter holidays to warm climates, and I live in NC which doesn't really see much in the way of snow (especially not that early in the winter). While I loved all the descriptions of the sand and sun, I still missed an element of the blustery snow that comes with most holiday stories. While I may not actually want to see snow, I do think it adds that festive touch to my holiday reads. Barring that inconsequential to the plot hiccup, this book really delivers on readability and sucks you right into these character's lives. Side note: I'm calling it right now that the husband isn't really dead and is going to show up long about book three! We shall see if I am way off (which I usually am)!
Another winner in true Hilderbrand form, this is a great start to a holiday series set in a warm climate. Just know before you get sucked in that you are going to have to wait an entire year for the next installment (and yes, it does leave you hanging!).