Author: ondbookshelf

Title: Did You Ever Have a Family
Author: Bill Clegg
Published: September 1, 2015 by Gallery/Scout Press
Pages: 304
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4/5
Goodreads

On the eve of her daughter’s wedding, June Reid’s life is completely devastated when a shocking disaster takes the lives of her daughter, her daughter’s fiancé, her ex-husband, and her boyfriend, Luke—her entire family, all gone in a moment. And June is the only survivor.

Alone and directionless, June drives across the country, away from her small Connecticut town. In her wake, a community emerges, weaving a beautiful and surprising web of connections through shared heartbreak.

From the couple running a motel on the Pacific Ocean where June eventually settles into a quiet half-life, to the wedding’s caterer whose bill has been forgotten, to Luke’s mother, the shattered outcast of the town—everyone touched by the tragedy is changed as truths about their near and far histories finally come to light.

Elegant and heartrending, and one of the most accomplished fiction debuts of the year, Did You Ever Have a Family is an absorbing, unforgettable tale that reveals humanity at its best through forgiveness and hope. At its core is a celebration of family—the ones we are born with and the ones we create.

My review:

Wow! This book packs in some of the most beautiful writing I've come across! Such an abundance of wonderful quotes it would not be possible to list them all, but here is one of my favorites:

Rough as life can be, I know in my bones we are supposed to stick around and play our part. Even if that part is coughing to death from cigarettes, or being blown up young in a house with your mother watching. And even if it's to be that mother. Someone down the line might need to know you got through it.

Such wonderful writing, and yet I had to give it 4 stars for the fact that there were so many characters introduced that I never felt connected to any of them. This was such a tragic story, and I'm a crier when it comes to books, yet I never cried during this book. We are introduced to a new character in each chapter for the first half of the book, and throughout the chapters we sometimes weave back and forth in time. I highly recommend writing down who is connected to who, I think it will help immensely once those characters are reintroduced down the line. Even though I didn't truly connect with any of the characters, I still felt completely drawn into their lives (once I got them straightened out), and was rooting for all to make their peace within themselves and the world.

This is a stunning work, and I would highly recommend it. Do not get frustrated with the amount of characters, it is so worth the read.

Title: The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs
Author: Matthew Dicks
Published: September 8, 2015 by St. Martin's Press
Pages: 224
Source: Purchased
Rating: 3.5/5
Goodreads

Caroline Jacobs is a wimp, someone who specializes in the suffering of tiny indignities in silence. And the big ones, too. But when the twinset wearing president of the local Parent Teacher Organization steps out of line one too many times, Caroline musters the courage to assert herself. With a four-letter word, no less.

Caroline's outburst has awakened something in her. Not just gumption, but a realization that the roots of her tirade can be traced back to something that happened to her as a teenager, when her best friend very publicly betrayed her. So, with a little bit of bravery, Caroline decides to go back to her home town and tell off her childhood friend. She busts her daughter out of school, and the two set off to deliver the perfect comeback . . . some twenty-five years later. But nothing goes as planned. Long buried secrets rise to the surface, and Caroline finds she has to face much more than one old, bad best friend.

The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs is an enchanting novel about the ways in which our childhood experiences reverberate through our lives. It's the story of a woman looking to fix her life through an act of bravery, and of a mother and daughter learning to understand one another. Deceptively simple and highly engaging, this latest novel by Matthew Dicks is perfect for those of us who were last to be picked at sports, and for everyone who is thrilled not to be in high school any more.

My review:

I really liked the premise of this book. Who hasn't been wronged by someone in their past that they'd love to go back and even the score with? In this case though, Caroline Jacobs sets out with good intentions, but she gets cold feet, and her daughter has to come through for her. Great plot idea, good mother-daughter relationship mending, and a look into how something in our past can effect our entire life without our realizing it is happening. I was more impressed with the first part of the book, than when Caroline actually confronts her nemesis. While I could understand why things were unfolding as they did, I was not as engaged with the characters as I was at the beginning. Having said that, I did love the building comraderie between mother and daughter from beginning to end, although perhaps a bit far fetched in spots.

This is a short read, and brings up questions from our own past. Who would you go back and confront, and could you do it? Are any of those past relationships having any impact on the person you are today?

Title: The Summer's End (Lowcountry Summer #3)
Author: Mary Alice Monroe
Published: May 19,2015 by Gallery Books
Pages: 432
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4/5
Goodreads

It is summer’s end and Sea Breeze, the family’s beloved estate on Sullivan’s Island, must be sold. It is an emotional time of transition as Mamaw and the three sisters each must face loss and find a new place in the world.

Harper, the youngest sister, arrived at Sea Breeze intending to stay only a weekend, but a rift with her wealthy, influential mother left her without direction or a home. During this remarkable summer, free from her mother’s tyranny and with the help of her half sisters, Harper discovered her talents and independent spirit.

But summer is ending, and the fate of Sea Breeze hinges on Harper’s courage to decide the course of her own life. To do so she must release her insecurities and recognize her newfound strengths. She must accept love fully into her life—the love of Mamaw, Carson, and Dora, the love of Sea Breeze and the lowcountry, and most of all, the love of a Wounded Warrior who has claimed her heart.

My review:

The final book in the Lowcountry trilogy, this one focuses mainly on my favorite of the three sisters, Harper. I really loved all the parts focusing on Harper, especially that she ends up being a writer. Her past catches up with her with the arrival of her other grandmother from England. This whole part of the book was so entertaining and kept me turning pages to find out the ending (even though it was fairly easy to see where the plot was going). Unfortunately there was still way too much Carson in this book, and it almost caused me to reduce my rating to a 3.5. I really disliked this sister, and her whiny jealous personality did not improve for me, even if we were supposed to buy into her transformation by the ending. Speaking of the ending, I thought the author did a great job tying up loose ends (as best she could since the characters obviously will live on), and created nice closure when you finished the book. Still a bit irked by why everyone had to be paired off, but I guess that's what you get when you read this type of romance novel 🙂

My favorite of the trilogy, and a nice ending to a good group of beach reads.

Title: Delicious
Author: Ruth Reichl, narrated by Julia Whelan
Published: May 6, 21014 by Random House Audio
Pages: 12 hours 58 min
Source: Library Overdrive
Rating: 4/5
Goodreads

Billie Breslin has traveled far from her California home to take a job at Delicious, the most iconic food magazine in New York and, thus, the world. When the publication is summarily shut down, the colorful staff, who have become an extended family for Billie, must pick up their lives and move on. Not Billie, though. She is offered a new job: staying behind in the magazine's deserted downtown mansion offices to uphold the "Delicious Guarantee"-a public relations hotline for complaints and recipe inquiries-until further notice. What she doesn't know is that this boring, lonely job will be the portal to a life-changing discovery.

Delicious! carries the reader to the colorful world of downtown New York restaurateurs and artisanal purveyors, and from the lively food shop in Little Italy where Billie works on weekends to a hidden room in the magazine's library where she discovers the letters of Lulu Swan, a plucky twelve-year-old, who wrote to the legendary chef James Beard during World War II. Lulu's letters lead Billie to a deeper understanding of history (and the history of food), but most important, Lulu's courage in the face of loss inspires Billie to come to terms with her own issues-the panic attacks that occur every time she even thinks about cooking, the truth about the big sister she adored, and her ability to open her heart to love.

My review:

Take a combination of New York City, an Italian deli, mouth watering descriptions of food, a series of mysterious clues leading to letters from WWII, and a colorful cast of characters, and what's not to love about this book? It was in a word.....well.......delicious! So many great characters to love, even down to the secondary ones like the husband and wife team who own the shop where Billie works on weekends, and of course Sam (the best friend and super sleuth). The store customer labeled "Mr. Complainer", fun to see how that plays out. The interwoven theme with the letters from fictionalized Lulu to the great chef James Beard added a nice parallel plot, and a bit of history. The food descriptions were superb, I wouldn't recommend reading this if you are hungry 🙂 The parts about Billie and her sister were not all that engaging to me, but while they have an effect on Billie's life, they don't take up a great deal of the story.

The narration on this was well done, especially the voices of the Italian shop owners and Sam.

A good book for someone who is not a "foodie", a great book for those who are.

Title: In the Unlikely Event
Author: Judy Blume, narrated by Kathleen McInerney
Published: June 2, 2015 by Random House Audio
Length: 14 hours 4 minutes
Source: Publisher at BEA
Rating: 4/5
Goodreads

In 1987, Miri Ammerman returns to her hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey, to attend a commemoration of the worst year of her life. Thirty-five years earlier, when Miri was fifteen, and in love for the first time, a succession of airplanes fell from the sky, leaving a community reeling. Against this backdrop of actual events that Blume experienced in the early 1950s, when airline travel was new and exciting and everyone dreamed of going somewhere, she paints a vivid portrait of a particular time and place—Nat King Cole singing “Unforgettable,” Elizabeth Taylor haircuts, young (and not-so-young) love, explosive friendships, A-bomb hysteria, rumors of Communist threat. And a young journalist who makes his name reporting tragedy. Through it all, one generation reminds another that life goes on.

In the Unlikely Event is vintage Judy Blume, with all the hallmarks of Judy Blume’s unparalleled storytelling, and full of memorable characters who cope with loss, remember the good times and, finally, wonder at the joy that keeps them going.

My review:

I'm embarrassed to admit that this is my first Judy Blume book. I should have read Are You There God since that was published when I was a pre-teen, but somehow I didn't. Most of her later works I was out of the targeted age range. I think my girls may have read one or two of her books, but they were reading on their own by that point, so I did not experience them. I'm only mentioning this because I went into this book blind, with no expectations of the author's previous works. I've read a few reviews where this expectation from reading the children's books has translated into a bit of a letdown with this adult novel. I really liked the book, although I did have a few issues with the writing style (maybe a bit simplistic in parts for an adult novel), and SO SO many characters. Keep in mind that I listened to this on audio, so there was no going back to figure out all the characters that are thrown out in the first quarter of the book. I found that as I kept going and the characters repeated in the story, it all came together, but it is a bit troublesome at first. So apart from that, I loved the character of Miri, she was wonderfully portrayed (not surprising as she is around the age of Blume's former characters). The story about the plane crashes was compelling and very factual. Ms. Blume lived through them in her hometown so there are interesting anecdotes from the local paper (real articles as well as the fictionalized ones written by Miri's uncle). Why have we never heard of these in history? I even asked my mother-in-law who lived in NYC at the time, and she doesn't remember it. I enjoyed many of the side stories, particularly those of Christina and Henry.

I listened to this on audio, and I thought the narrator did a good job, especially with the huge numbers of characters she was dealing with voicing.

A book worth picking up if you like fictionalized accounts of historical events, with lots of intermingling side stories. Just go with the flow at the beginning and the characters will all fall into place.

Title: The Rumor
Author: Elin Hilderbrand
Published: June 16, 2015 by Little, Brown and Company
Pages: 384
Source: Publisher at BEA
Rating: 4/5
Goodreads

Madeline King and Grace Pancik are best friends and the envy of Nantucket for their perfect marriages, their beautiful kids, their Sunday night double dates with their devoted husbands. But this summer, something's changed, and if there's anything Nantucket likes better than cocktails on the beach at sunset, it's a good rumor.

And rumor has it...

...that Madeline, a novelist, is battling writer's block, with a deadline looming, bills piling up, and blank pages driving her to desperation--and a desperately bad decision;

...that Grace, hard at work to transform her backyard into a garden paradise, has been collaborating a bit more closely that necessary with her ruggedly handsome landscape architect;

...that Grace's husband, successful island real estate developer "Fast Eddie" Pancik, has embarked on quite an unusual side project;

...that the storybook romance between Madeline's son, Brick, and Grace's daughter Allegra is on the rocks, heading for disaster.

As the gossip escalates, and they face the possible loss of the happy lives they've worked so hard to create, Grace and Madeline try mightily to set the record straight--but the truth might be even worse than rumor has it.

My review:

Let me say first off that I don't begin reading a novel by Elin Hilderbrand expecting the literary equivalent of a prize winning book. I read her books because they always have an engaging plot, lots of characters that give you a choice about who to root for, and they just make me want to go to Nantucket! The Rumor did not let me down on any of these things. The plot was fun.....who hasn't engaged in, or been the subject of a rumor? As with all rumors, some were legit, and some were not. I also really liked the idea of a novelist as one of the main characters, it was a fun insight into the trials that can sometimes occur leading up to a completed story. Madeline and Grace's husband were probably my favorite characters, but there was a little something for everyone. As in all of her books, the author (who lives on Nantucket) does such a wonderful job of describing the island life. The people (tourists, summer people and year round dwellers), the food and local businesses, the beaches, and the weather. I've never been to Nantucket (although I have been to neighboring Martha's Vineyard), but I always want to go after reading one of these books. Kudos to the lovely cover as well!

A quick, light read, I really enjoyed The Rumor. I had the pleasure of hearing Elin Hilderbrand speak at the Triangle Reads event (as part of the Southern Independent Bookseller's Association conference), and she was delightful!

Title: Surface
Author: Stacy Robinson
Published: February 24, 2015 by Kensington
Pages: 352
Source: Publisher via BookSparks
Rating: 3/5
Goodreads

In this powerfully written and insightful novel, author Stacy Robinson explores the consequences of flawed choices, the complex nature of betrayal and forgiveness--and the intriguing possibility of second acts. . . Claire Montgomery has a lifetime of sensible decisions behind her. Yet all it takes is one impulsive indiscretion to bring everything crashing down--her marriage to a wealthy entrepreneur, her status as half of one of Denver society's power couples, and the future she dreamed of for their seventeen-year-old son, Nick. Claire's husband, Michael, angrily blames her for the recklessness that has left Nick's life in the balance, though not nearly as much as Claire blames herself. But as Nick struggles to move forward, Claire too begins inching toward a reimagined future. Along with a fresh perspective come new questions. Are there other reasons for her fractured relationship and Michael's increasingly erratic behavior? Has he, too, been harboring painful secrets? And does Claire dare to find the real truth, when her seamlessly decorated world of privilege and security is at stake?

My review:

After reading the first few pages of this book, which deal with an act of infidelity, I wasn't sure if this was going to be a book for me to read. However, I did continue, and I'm glad that I did. While infidelity is not typically something I like to read about in my novels, this act and its repercussions, was the platform for the rest of the book. I did end up liking the character of Claire, and found many moments to empathize with her plight. I felt that the characters, while not necessarily likable, were written in a way that you could understand why they were acting the way they did. I enjoyed the medical aspects as I used to work in the medical field (although not doing anything particularly related to this topic). I approved of the ending, if it had gone a different way I think my review would not have been as positive. This book will most definitely make you stop and ponder how one act can have life altering consequences. A few things (beside the opening scene) that kept me from really liking this book were the fact that no one blames the son for his stupid reaction to the situation (ugh, teens), it was a bit slow during the first half, and the cover is awful (I know, not a valid reason, but hey......it does matter to me when I pick up a book). A good start for this debut author, I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

A good story if you enjoy family dramas, and following the consequences of an impetuous decision.

Title: Biglaw
Author: Lindsay Cameron
Published: September 7, 2015 by Ankerwycke
Pages: 304
Source: Publisher via BookSparks
Rating: 4/5
Goodreads

Mackenzie Corbett has always dreamed of living in New York City. Now, almost two years into her job as an associate at a premier Manhattan law firm, she's living her fantasy--big salary, high profile deals, cute boyfriend, designer bag on her arm. The giant bags under her eyes from lack of sleep don't fit into the fantasy, though. To make matters worse, she's being tormented by a bitter, bitchy senior associate, her cute boyfriend is annoyed she never has time for him, and now she's stuck on the deal from hell with a partner whose biggest claim to fame is throwing a stapler at a cleaning lady because she touched his ficus plant.

With the opportunity to secure a prestigious secondment on line, the overachiever in her is determined to endure whatever it takes to close the biggest deal in the firm's history. But when Mackenzie finds herself the focus of a devastating investigation her dream job begins spiraling into a nightmare.

In this pitch perfect, frightening accurate novel, Lindsay Cameron throws back the curtain to this intriguing world exposing the truth about life in Biglaw.

My review:

This was a fascinating look into the workings of a huge conglomerate big city law firm (referred to as Biglaw). Mackenzie is one of a very few women in her firm, which of course makes her plight even more difficult. She is a very likable character, and I couldn't help but think how can she take all this crap? Of course there is some sinister stuff going on behind the scenes (which I did figure out before the end but it in no way ruined the story for me), and you are anticipating when the ax will fall. There were some great supporting characters, most notably Rita. This is the debut for this author, who was a lawyer before giving it up to write. I'm going to assume that this stuff really does go on, and I'm happy to say that I'm glad I'm not a lawyer at one of these firms.

I'm not a fan of law shows on tv, nor do I read many books dealing with lawyers, but this one was really interesting, and a very eye opening look at these large powerhouse firms.

I read this as part of the BookSparks University Fall Reading Challenge. You can read more about it by clicking on this link.

Title: A Window Opens
Author: Elisabeth Egan
Published: August 25, 2015 by Simon and Schuster
Pages: 384
Source: Publisher at BEA
Rating: 4/5
Goodreads

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 review:

I've read several "woman trying to have it all" type stories this year, and this one is certainly one of the best! The characters in this were very well done, I particularly loved the storyline involving Alice's father. Alice was a character that completely immerses you into her world, and you feel every emotion right along with her. I also loved the part that books played in this novel. We had the best friend who owns a struggling bookstore, the job as book reviewer for a magazine that Alice has at the book's beginning, and the new start-up company focusing on books where Alice is eventually employed. I could not stop reading as Alice juggles so many balls in the air, to find out how things end. The only nit picking I would give would be the way her husband handles his addiction (not believable to me that he would not need some type of help), and the company Scroll was so unusual that at times I got a bit bored with the work processes. These are very minor faults, because overall this book was a treat.

You might think this subject has been done to death, but you would be missing out on a great read by not picking this book up. Alice Pearse is a character not to be forgotten.

This book is part of the BookSparks summer reading challenge. While I did not receive my copy from them, I will still link my review to the challenge.