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Published on Leave a comment on If the Shoe Fits
If the Shoe Fits Book Cover If the Shoe Fits
Meant to Be
Julie Murphy
Fiction
Hyperion Avenue
August 3, 2021
Hardcover
304
Purchased

After having just graduated with a degree in shoe design, and trying to get her feet on the ground, Cindy is working for her stepmother, who happens to be the executive producer of America's favorite reality show, Before Midnight. When a spot on the show needs filling ASAP, Cindy volunteers, hoping it might help jump-start her fashion career, or at least give her something to do while her peers land jobs in the world of high fashion.

Turns out being the only plus size woman on a reality dating competition makes a splash, and soon Cindy becomes a body positivity icon for women everywhere. What she doesn't expect? That she may just find inspiration-and love-in the process. Ultimately, Cindy learns that if the shoe doesn't fit, maybe it's time to design your own.

This book was a Disney princess dream come true! I had read a couple of this author's young adult titles, and while they were good, that genre just isn't really for me. What I did love about them though was that the protagonist was a plus size girl, and they radiated plus size positivity, SO important especially in the YA community. I loved the premise of this new adult series based on fairy tales, in this case Cinderella. It was so fun to interpret the different nods to the original story, I won't spoil them all here in case you want to find them yourself. The fact that this story is once again based on a facsimile of The Bachelor makes it the perfect fit for finding Prince Charming. Side note that this is the third book I've read loosely based on the popular tv reality show, and I've given them all five stars! I watched the show way back when it first aired, but haven't seen it for years, yet here I am gravitating and giving all the stars to books with this theme. I'm wondering if it's because the book follows a really linear timeline as each week is planned out and the timelines don't skip around? I honestly don't know, but I can tell you I was all in for Cindy and whatever outcome she had, I just wanted her to be successful and happy. I absolutely adored Cindy, and there are a couple other characters who also had standout roles. One of my favorite parts of the book was when Cindy ends up at a designer clothing studio, where there is (of course) nothing in her size. I loved this quote:

Yes, clothes can be art, but they're also a necessity. So many people in this industry act like clothing is for everyone, but fashion is only for a select few. The truth, though, is that clothing is fashion and fashion should be for everyone because clothing should be for everyone. And clothing for everyone is a first, small step to equality for everyone.

As a plus size woman, I say AMEN to that!

This is such a heartwarming story, I can't imagine anyone not enjoying it. With a heroine to root for, little nods to Cinderella, and plus size positivity throughout, I highly recommend you pick up this lighthearted read.

Published on Leave a comment on The Turnout
The Turnout Book Cover The Turnout
Megan Abbott
Fiction
Penguin
August 3, 2021
Hardcover
352
Purchased

Ballet flows through their veins. Dara and Marie Durant were dancers since birth, with their long necks and matching buns and pink tights, homeschooled and trained by their mother. Decades later the Durant School of Dance is theirs. The two sisters, together with Charlie, Dara's husband and once their mother's prize student, inherited the school after their parents died in a tragic accident nearly a dozen years ago. Marie, warm and soft, teaches the younger students; Dara, with her precision, trains the older ones; and Charlie, back broken after years of injuries, rules over the back office. Circling around each other, the three have perfected a dance, six days a week, that keeps the studio thriving. But when a suspicious accident occurs, just at the onset of the school's annual performance of The Nutcracker, a season of competition, anxiety, and exhilaration, an interloper arrives and threatens the delicate balance of everything they've worked for.

3.5 stars

I had a hard time rating this book, so I'm settling on half way between good and really good. I wasn't a huge fan of the first half. While I did enjoy all the dance school parts, the plot points surrounding sister Marie were just icky and I didn't enjoy her character at all. By the end of the book you realize why she acts as she does, but it took the second half for that to manifest itself. The second half of the book was a complete turnaround. It was fast paced, the flaws of all the characters come to light, and I was fully immersed in the whole story. The ending was fantastic, and I never saw any of the twists coming! Overall the writing was good, I just wish the pacing in the front half could have been better, but I fully understand that the beginning had to be written that way to set up the ending. I did fully enjoy the dark uncomfortable vibe felt throughout the book with regards to the family dynamic. And the descriptions of the ballet world were a nice reminder (especially as I read this during the Olympics) of the sacrifices all athletes make to be good at their sport. Plus, I now know what a ballet turnout really is, and what it takes to achieve one (ooooff)!

This book is definitely a slow buildup to an implosive ending! If you can muddle through the first half, I think you will enjoy the last part.

Published on Leave a comment on We Are the Brennans
We Are the Brennans Book Cover We Are the Brennans
Tracey Lange
Fiction
Celadon Books
August 3, 2021
Advance reader copy
288
Free from publisher

When twenty-nine-year-old Sunday Brennan wakes up in a Los Angeles hospital, bruised and battered after a drunk driving accident she caused, she swallows her pride and goes home to her family in New York. But it's not easy. She deserted them all—and her high school sweetheart—five years before with little explanation, and they've got questions.

Sunday is determined to rebuild her life back on the east coast, even if it does mean tiptoeing around resentful brothers and an ex-fiancé. The longer she stays, however, the more she realizes they need her just as much as she needs them. When a dangerous man from her past brings her family's pub business to the brink of financial ruin, the only way to protect them is to upend all their secrets—secrets that have damaged the family for generations and will threaten everything they know about their lives. In the aftermath, the Brennan family is forced to confront painful mistakes—and ultimately find a way forward, together.

This book was compared to Ask Again Yes, and while I don't usually take much stock in those (think of the myriad misses with Gone Girl wannabes), I think in this case I can definitely see it. Both books deal with families, and the fallout of secrets within them. In the case of this book, the big question is why Sunday Brennan ran away from her family five years ago, and has had minimal contact since? Now she's back to help her brothers with their families' Irish pub, and Sunday isn't the only one with a secret. I loved the family drama in this book, and the characters were well written and seemed authentic. The youngest sibling has a disability, and I always appreciate a book that can be inclusive like that. Of course the Irish pub was fun to read about, especially given the behind the scenes look we have of the day to day running operations, and the fact that it was located in a place where I worked for a time. I thought the family dynamic was well portrayed, everyone was flawed, but they didn't want to talk to each other about their problems. The chapters were well set up, each one narrated by one of the characters. As a chapter ended, the person interacting with the narrator, takes up the next chapter, leading to the perfect segue between them, and providing a seamless reading experience. I definitely found myself rooting for this family, even though lots of communications mistakes are made along the way.

Just an enjoyable family drama, set amidst the running of a pub in New York. This one has relatable characters, and the hope that things work out for all in the end.

2

Published on 2 Comments on 56 Days
56 Days Book Cover 56 Days
Catherine Ryan Howard
Fiction
Blackstone Publishing
August 17, 2021
Advance reader copy
305
Free from publisher

No one knew they'd moved in together. Now one of them is dead. Could this be the perfect murder?

56 DAYS AGO
Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket queue in Dublin the same week Covid-19 reaches Irish shores.

35 DAYS AGO
When lockdown threatens to keep them apart, Oliver suggests that Ciara move in with him. She sees a unique opportunity for a new relationship to flourish without the pressure of scrutiny of family and friends. He sees it as an opportunity to hide who - and what - he really is.

TODAY
Detectives arrive at Oliver's apartment to discover a decomposing body inside.

Will they be able to determine what really happened, or has lockdown provided someone with the opportunity to commit the perfect crime?

There has been lots of discussion in the book world about whether it's too soon for a Covid book? When I read the synopsis for this one, I immediately knew that I was here for it! Be aware that this is not really about the horrific realities of the disease or death toll, but actually focuses more on the lockdown aspect (so more circumstance vs. depressing statistics). I loved the fact that you never really know who to trust in this book. Both of the main characters seem to be normal people who are in the early stage of a relationship when lockdown happens, but you know there are secrets hidden in Ollie's past. You are left wondering what these secrets are, and would they cause him to kill someone? And what about Ciara? She seems like an innocent caught up in the throes of romance, but then her motives start to get sketchy. Meanwhile we know from the get go that someone has been murdered, so we have the detective working the case with not a lot to go on (no one knows who was living in that apartment.......hello, lockdown!). I will admit that the timeline drove me a bit crazy. We have the story told starting from 56 days ago in both Ollie and Ciara's words, as well as the present day with the detective after the body is found. Sometimes it wasn't even in chronological order. I could definitely follow it, but if bouncing timelines are an issue for you, this may effect your enjoyment. There were some major twists in this that I didn't see coming, and the ending was really eery and unsettling.

I flew through this book, and I think the author did an outstanding job of capturing a story based off a lockdown situation! I think thriller aficionados are really going to enjoy this one.

Published on Leave a comment on The Husbands
The Husbands Book Cover The Husbands
Chandler Baker
Fiction
Flatiron Books
August 3, 2021
Purchased
352
Purchased

Nora Spangler is a successful attorney but when it comes to domestic life, she packs the lunches, schedules the doctor appointments, knows where the extra paper towel rolls are, and designs and orders the holiday cards. Her husband works hard, too... but why does it seem like she is always working so much harder?

When the Spanglers go house hunting in Dynasty Ranch, an exclusive suburban neighborhood, Nora meets a group of high-powered women--a tech CEO, a neurosurgeon, an award-winning therapist, a bestselling author--with enviably supportive husbands. When she agrees to help with a resident's wrongful death case, she is pulled into the lives of the women there. She finds the air is different in Dynasty Ranch. The women aren't hanging on by a thread.

But as the case unravels, Nora uncovers a plot that may explain the secret to having-it-all. One that's worth killing for. Calling to mind a Stepford Wives gender-swap, The Husbands imagines a world where the burden of the "second shift" is equally shared--and what it may take to get there.

I'm not exactly sure how to classify this book. It's got a lot of moving parts. First, there is the generic story of a family looking to purchase a house and finding one in a desirable neighborhood, with a somewhat interesting HOA pre-approval policy. Second, it's a social commentary on the extra work of moms with careers outside the home, and the husbands who could volunteer to do more (but don't). Third, it's a mystery about what happened at the house in Dynasty Ranch that burns down one night killing one of the residents. Was there something nefarious going on, or an accident? His wife wants to know, and hires our main protagonist to be the lawyer on the case. All of these facets are written in a cohesive way to propel the story along. I loved the articles included as chapter breaks that explore the women's issues in the home, especially the comments included. They formed a nice segue into the next segment of the plot. It does get a little messy toward the end, in fact I had to go back and reread the ending as I was listening to the audiobook and thought I missed something. The weird ending threw me at first, but upon further reflection I've decided that I liked the ambiguity of leaving some things to the readers imagination. It also fit with the uncomfortable feeling that permeates the entire novel.

This was an impressive undertaking into the inequalities of parenthood, with a creepy vibe thrown in. It should appeal to most readers who are looking for something a bit different that incorporates several genres in one package.

Published on Leave a comment on Float Plan
Float Plan Book Cover Float Plan
Trish Doller
Fiction
St. Martin's Griffin
March 2, 2021
Paperback
272
Purchased

Since the loss of her fiancé, Anna has been shipwrecked by grief—until a reminder goes off about a trip they were supposed to take together. Impulsively, Anna goes to sea in their sailboat, intending to complete the voyage alone.

But after a treacherous night’s sail, she realizes she can’t do it by herself and hires Keane, a professional sailor, to help. Much like Anna, Keane is struggling with a very different future than the one he had planned. As romance rises with the tide, they discover that it’s never too late to chart a new course.

In Trish Doller’s unforgettable Float Plan, starting over doesn't mean letting go of your past, it means making room for your future.

This cover screams summer read, doesn't it? I knew going in that this was a romance book, but several reviews said it was much more than that, which convinced me to give it a try. It was definitely much more than a romance, so I was very happy that the reviewers were right! My favorite part was that this is a slow burn romance, in that it takes three fourths of the book before the characters decide to get together as a couple. That's my kind of romance, insta love is an insta turnoff for me! I loved the two main characters, who both have some heavy baggage brought on board the boat (and not the kind of baggage that adds weight to the lower deck). I was also so impressed that Keane had a prosthetic leg, I'm all about disability inclusivity when it comes to novels! I sailed a tiny bit when I was in my early twenties, and I certainly learned a lot more about sailing and sailboats while reading. However, it was not boring sailing manual facts, but details incorporated in a seamless way into the day to day life of the characters as they sailed. Also, some great descriptions of several ports of call including Bimini, Puerto Rico, and several Caribbean islands. For a debut novel, I thought the writing and pacing were indicative of someone who has been a multi book published author.

A great summer read with some substance other than just romance. Sailors delight! Trigger warning for suicide.

Published on Leave a comment on The Reading List
The Reading List Book Cover The Reading List
Sara Nisha Adams
Fiction
William Morrow
August 3, 2021
Advance reader copy
384
Free from publisher

Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life in the London Borough of Ealing after losing his beloved wife. He shops every Wednesday, goes to Temple, and worries about his granddaughter, Priya, who hides in her room reading while he spends his evenings watching nature documentaries.

Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager working at the local library for the summer when she discovers a crumpled-up piece of paper in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s a list of novels that she’s never heard of before. Intrigued, and a little bored with her slow job at the checkout desk, she impulsively decides to read every book on the list, one after the other. As each story gives up its magic, the books transport Aleisha from the painful realities she’s facing at home.

When Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to forge a connection with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha passes along the reading list…hoping that it will be a lifeline for him too. Slowly, the shared books create a connection between two lonely souls, as fiction helps them escape their grief and everyday troubles and find joy again.

First off, can I get a wallpaper or lithograph in the pattern of this book cover? As a bibliophile, if you weren't interested by seeing the cover, you surely would be after reading the premise. A book about books will capture my interest every time. Some of these type of reads are better than others, but this one was a great fit for me. The character of Mukesh was yet another example of my love for old men in books! I loved him, and the dynamic with his daughters calling him everyday to remind him of mundane things like trash day was just heartwarming. I loved the way the characters interacted with the books on the mysterious list, and their discussions of them. The fact that the books were well known helped in my understanding around the discussions, but you don't need to have read them (I haven't read the last two) to get the takeaway from each. The timeline does bounce around a bit in the beginning, which made it a bit harder to get into, but once the main characters are established, it got easier. Not only was this a great story centered on how reading can bring people together with a shared experience, it was also a nod to libraries. I loved that the character of Aleisha thinks her summer library job is just something to power through, until she discovers the books and people that change her life for the better. The campaign to save their small library was one that I'm sure will resonate with many, as library funding is always an issue no matter where you live. The somewhat improbable coincidence toward the end was one that I saw coming from a mile away, but that and the timeline issue were my only negative takeaways.

What a lovely tribute to the power of reading, the connections we make through reading (both physically with people, and mentally within ourselves). Add in an ode to libraries and you have the perfect book about books!

Published on Leave a comment on One Two Three
One Two Three Book Cover One Two Three
Laurie Frankel
Fiction
Henry Holt and Company
June 8, 2021
Hardcover/Audio
416
Purchased/Free ALC via Libro-fm

Everyone knows everyone in the tiny town of Bourne, but the Mitchell triplets are especially beloved. Mirabel is the smartest person anyone knows, and no one doubts it just because she can’t speak. Monday is the town’s purveyor of books now that the library’s closed―tell her the book you think you want, and she’ll pull the one you actually do from the microwave or her sock drawer. Mab’s job is hardest of all: get good grades, get into college, get out of Bourne.

For a few weeks seventeen years ago, Bourne was national news when its water turned green. The girls have come of age watching their mother’s endless fight for justice. But just when it seems life might go on the same forever, the first moving truck anyone’s seen in years pulls up and unloads new residents and old secrets. Soon, the Mitchell sisters are taking on a system stacked against them and uncovering mysteries buried longer than they’ve been alive. Because it's hard to let go of the past when the past won't let go of you.

Three unforgettable narrators join together here to tell a spellbinding story with wit, wonder, and deep affection. As she did in This Is How It Always Is, Laurie Frankel has written a laugh-out-loud-on-one-page-grab-a-tissue-the-next novel, as only she can, about how expanding our notions of normal makes the world a better place for everyone and how when days are darkest, it’s our daughters who will save us all.

A story about triplets, given names of one (Mabs), two (Monday), and three (Mirabel) syllables. The story is told in alternating chapters from each of their perspective (as one two or three). Each of the siblings has a unique personality and two of the three have special needs. The oldest bears the guilt of being the "normal" one, and they all feel responsible for taking up the cause their mother has been fighting since shortly before their birth. A chemical plant in their small town sent pollution into the water supply, and the residents have a much higher incidence of anomalies and diseases as a result. Once the chemical plant decides to return to production, things escalate for the triplets' mom and her devotion to keep the plant closed. Lots of things come into play though, including the fact that the plant will create much needed jobs and growth for the area, so not all residents can afford to fight this. Add to it that the plant creator's grandson is befriended by the Mitchell triplets, and he may be more on their side than his grandad, and things get interesting. The girls were really well characterized, particularly Mirabel, who is confined to a wheelchair and needs the use of a robotic speech synthesizer to communicate. They each are sympathetic to their mother's efforts, but at the same time questioning how/if they can ever leave her and their small town behind them. My only complaint would be the actions at the very end, which seemed to veer into a bit unbelievable spy kids territory, but I'm going to let that slide since it was a tiny portion of the plot.

I listened to this book on audio, and can highly recommend this format. The three sisters are all voiced by different narrators to give them distinct voices as well as personalities, and the AAC parts sound like an automated speech device.

An excellent story of the fight against chemical pollution, told from three of the best narrators you will ever meet. It covers the ideas of family, community, young love, and what is "normal".

Published on Leave a comment on Count the Ways
Count the Ways Book Cover Count the Ways
Joyce Maynard
Fiction
William Morrow
July 13, 2021
Hardcover
464
Free from publisher

After falling in love in the last years of the 1970s, Eleanor and Cam follow their dream of raising three children on a New Hampshire farm. Theirs is a seemingly idyllic life of summer softball games and Labor Day cookouts, snow days and skating on the pond. But when a tragic accident permanently injures the family’s youngest child, Eleanor blames Cam. Her inability to forgive him leads to a devastating betrayal: an affair with the family babysitter that brings about the end of their marriage.

Over the decades that follow, the five members of this fractured family—and the many others who make up their world—make surprising discoveries and decisions that occasionally bring them together, and often tear them apart. As we follow the family from the days of illegal abortion and the draft through the early computer age, the Challenger explosion, the AIDS epidemic, the early awakenings of the #MeToo era, and beyond,through the gender transition of one of the children and another’s choice to cease communication with her mother,we witness a family forced to confront essential, painful truths of its past, and find redemption in the face of unanticipated disaster.

With endearingly flawed characters and a keen eye for detail, Joyce Maynard transforms the territory she knows best—home, family, parenthood, love, and loss—into the stuff of a page-turning thriller. In this achingly beautiful novel, she reminds us how great sorrow and great joy may coexist—and frequently do.

Firstly, stunning cover! I listened to an interview with the author who said she wanted to put the cork people on the cover (you'll get this reference if you read the book). While I get the symbolism, and it probably would relate the cover more with the content, I'm glad she was overruled. This is a favorite book trope of mine, family sagas with dysfunctional aspects aplenty, and goodness that is definitely present here. I absolutely thought the author did an amazing job of depicting the setting for this book, and the characters were really well drawn. I sometimes feel like plot points get thrown into books just to tick off boxes, such as the token gay, the person of color, the (as I like to call it) obligatory romance. I was worried that this might be the case with the oldest daughter's plot line, but I didn't feel that at all, it was one of the best storylines in the book! This story takes you on a ride with your emotions. While ultimately it ends on a hopeful note, you have to go through a lot of sadness and turmoil to get there. The only thing keeping this from a higher rating was my nagging issue with Eleanor. It's hard to put into words without giving away a lot of the plot, but she makes a decision that no matter how many times she tries to justify it to herself, I think her whole life (and that of her family) could have taken a different trajectory if she told the truth. She was a bit of a doormat, which I understand from a character point of view, but one that there is no way I could get on board with. Other than my own feelings being projected onto a fictional character, this book had everything I could hope for in a family saga.

A well written story about hope and forgiveness, loneliness and life choices, this is Maynard at her finest. If you like decade long family sagas, I highly recommend you pick this one up.

Published on Leave a comment on The Other Passenger
The Other Passenger Book Cover The Other Passenger
Louise Candlish
Fiction
Atria
July 20, 2021
Advance reader copy
400
Free from publisher

It all happens so quickly. One day you’re living the dream, commuting to work by ferry with your charismatic neighbor Kit in the seat beside you. The next, Kit hasn’t turned up for the boat and his wife, Melia, has reported him missing.

When you get off at your stop, the police are waiting. Another passenger saw you and Kit arguing on the boat home the night before and the police say that you had a reason to want him dead. You protest. You and Kit are friends—ask Melia, she’ll vouch for you. And who exactly is this other passenger pointing the finger? What do they know about your lives?

No, whatever danger followed you home last night, you are innocent, totally innocent.

Aren’t you?

3.5 stars

Whoever wrote the synopsis for this one did a great job, the hype for me to pick this one up was real! For the most part I wasn't disappointed. I really liked the way the characters were written. While some are definitely unlikable, we are left wobbling back and forth with whether we like any of them. The story is told from Jamie's point of view, and takes place both in present time and in the year leading up to Kit's disappearance. Jamie's long time love interest Claire was given a posh place to live from her parents. Jamie strikes up a friendship with Kit as they ride the ferry to and from their jobs each day. The two couples become friends despite their disparate ages and lifestyles. Kit and his wife Melia are living paycheck to paycheck (mostly from their own doing). This creates a bit of tension between the haves and have nots, and comes into play more and more as the story progresses. There are lots of secrets and twists in this book, with a major one I never saw coming! While I enjoyed the writing, I did think that the book dragged a bit in the middle. However, the last third is a wild ride and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough!

Despite the slow down in the middle, I really liked this book that asks the question, how well do you know your neighbors? You won't be sorry you read it when you reach the fantastic conclusion. This book does contain infidelity, so if that bothers you, probably give it a pass.