Skip to content

Published on Leave a comment on When We Were Bright and Beautiful
When We Were Bright and Beautiful Book Cover When We Were Bright and Beautiful
Jillian Medoff
Fiction
Harper
July 5, 2022
Hardcover
352
Purchased

You can have everything, and still not have enough.

Cassie Quinn may only be twenty-three, but she knows a few things. One: money can't buy happiness, but it's certainly better to have it. Two: family matters most. Three: her younger brother Billy is not a rapist.

When Billy, a junior at Princeton, is arrested for assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Cassie races home to Manhattan to join forces with her big brother Nate and their parents, Lawrence and Eleanor. The Quinns scramble to hire the best legal minds money can buy, but Billy fits the all-too-familiar sex-offender profile--white, athletic, and privileged--that makes headlines and sways juries.

Meanwhile, Cassie struggles to understand why Billy's ex Diana would go this far, even if the breakup was painful. And she knows how the end of first love can destroy someone: Her own years-long affair with a powerful, charismatic man left her shattered, and she's only recently regained her footing.

As reporters converge outside their Upper East Side landmark building, the Quinns gird themselves for a media-saturated trial, and Cassie vows she'll do whatever it takes to save Billy. But what if that means exposing her own darkest secrets to the world?

My review:

If you are at the point where you've exhausted all the summer beach reads and want something with more grit, you've come to the right book. In the shadow of the #metoo movement, this novel follows a wealthy Manhattan family whose son is accused of raping his ex-girlfriend. The story is told from the adopted sister Cassie and chronicles the events from the accusation, to the family coming together to stand by their brother/son, and ultimately to the trial. It's pretty dark in scope, especially with one of the twists that occurs late in the story, but it's a page turner because you just can't wait to find out if Billy is guilty. This has all the trappings of privilege, class, race, and appearance that you would expect, and none of the characters are particularly likable, which makes reading about them even more enticing. The bigger picture was that of loyalty to the family and how that plays out throughout the story. The writing was on point, there were not any slow parts even though the trial doesn't start until roughly 60% of the way in. I do love a good courtroom drama in a book, this one did a superb job of fulfilling that.

Definite trigger warning for sexual violence, and a pretty dark tale, but if those things are not a deterrent for you, this is a good family drama with a bonus trial that should be a satisfying read.

Published on Leave a comment on The It Girl
The It Girl Book Cover The It Girl
Ruth Ware
Fiction
Simon and Schuster
July 12, 2022
Hardcover
432
Purchased

April Coutts-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford.

Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends—Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily—during their first term. By the end of the second, April was dead.

Now, a decade later, Hannah and Will are expecting their first child, and the man convicted of killing April, former Oxford porter John Neville, has died in prison. Relieved to have finally put the past behind her, Hannah’s world is rocked when a young journalist comes knocking and presents new evidence that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of April’s death, she realizes that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide…including a murder.

My review:

3.5 stars

This was an enjoyable and solid thriller that has some buzz worthy details, dark academia and murder. At the heart of the story is the woman whose testimony put an Oxford porter behind bars. Now there is a journalist who has theories ten years later (after the man has died in prison) that he may not have been responsible. All of this adds up to Hannah getting in touch with her old college friends to figure out what really happened the night April died. Did she jump to the wrong conclusion? I was invested in the story throughout. Ware does a good job of writing the back and forth past and present chapters, as well as keeping you guessing as to who dunnit? I did think it was a tad too long for a thriller, it seemed to take forever to find out the answers. It was fun going back to Hannah's college year with April (the It girl), who really did take a liking to her underprivileged roommate.

A good thriller that probably won't stick with me, but certainly kept me entertained while reading. My favorite of Ware's books is The Death of Mrs. Westaway, but that is not the favorite of most readers, I think that honor goes to The Turn of the Key. If you like this author's previous books, I think you will enjoy this one. If you've read from her before and not enjoyed her writing, this is probably not going to change your mind.

Published on Leave a comment on The Bodyguard
The Bodyguard Book Cover The Bodyguard
Katherine Center
Fiction
St. Martin's Press
July 19, 2022
Hardcover
320
Purchased

She’s got his back.
Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindgerten teacher than somebody who could kill you with a wine bottle opener. Or a ballpoint pen. Or a dinner napkin. But the truth is, she’s an Executive Protection Agent (aka "bodyguard"), and she just got hired to protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton from his middle-aged, corgi-breeding stalker.

He’s got her heart.
Jack Stapleton’s a household name—captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, famous for, among other things, rising out of the waves in all manner of clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity. But a few years back, in the wake of a family tragedy, he dropped from the public eye and went off the grid.

They’ve got a secret.
When Jack’s mom gets sick, he comes home to the family’s Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn’t want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. And so Hannah—against her will and her better judgment—finds herself pretending to be Jack’s girlfriend as a cover. Even though her ex, like a jerk, says no one will believe it.

What could possibly go wrong???
Hannah hardly believes it, herself. But the more time she spends with Jack, the more real it all starts to seem. And there lies the heartbreak. Because it’s easy for Hannah to protect Jack. But protecting her own, long-neglected heart? That’s the hardest thing she’s ever done.

My review:

3.5 stars

I'm a big fan of this author's romance books because they are what is commonly known as closed door. When I'm reading a romance I don't need to be reading (or worse yet, listening) to smutty sex scenes. I am perfectly capable of connecting the dots in the bedroom myself thank you. I have a list of romance authors who I will read repeat books from, and Katherine Center is definitely one of them! This story was really sweet. I loved the predicament Hannah found herself in while trying to do her job undercover. The rapport between Hannah and Jack was very well done, and I loved the characters. There were some issues dealt with that made this more than just a romance, which I'm always looking for. Both characters had growth throughout the story, and the ending was typical, but gratifying. It was super fun to have the female protagonist be a strong, formidable woman bodyguard. I think it would have added even more to the story had we been able to glimpse her really in action!

Loved the writing and characters, and even though the plot was maybe just a tad over the top, I was there for it all. Pick this one up if you want a sweet romance (with no sex scenes!).

Published on Leave a comment on The Displacements
The Displacements Book Cover The Displacements
Bruce Holsinger
Fiction
Penguin
July 5, 2022
Audiobook
448
Library loan

An adrenaline-fueled story of lives upended and transformed by an unprecedented catastrophe.

To all appearances, the Larsen-Hall family has everything: healthy children, a stable marriage, a lucrative career for Brantley, and the means for Daphne to pursue her art full-time. Their deluxe new Miami life has just clicked into place when Luna--the world's first category 6 hurricane--upends everything they have taken for granted.

When the storm makes landfall, it triggers a descent of another sort. Their home destroyed, two of its members missing, and finances abruptly cut off, the family finds everything they assumed about their lives now up for grabs. Swept into a mass rush of evacuees from across the American South, they are transported hundreds of miles to a FEMA megashelter where their new community includes an insurance-agent-turned-drug dealer, a group of vulnerable children, and a dedicated relief worker trying to keep the peace. Will "normal" ever return?

A suspenseful read plotted on a vast national tapestry, The Displacements thrillingly explores what happens when privilege is lost and resilience is tested in a swiftly changing world.

My review:

As someone who now lives on the southeast coast, this one hit close to home! I've stayed put through a category 1 hurricane, but I think that may have been enough for me. This story starts when a category 5 (or possibly an unknown entity 6) hurricane is bearing down on the family's multi million dollar home. In their hast to pack up and leave, the family mistakenly leaves the mother's purse behind, rendering the family without any funds in the middle of a disaster. The family is brought to a tent city FEMA camp, where they must stay while they attempt to get things sorted out. What follows is the effects of homelessness on this affluent family. Really engaging and well written, I was lost in the story of each of the family members. It felt very realistic, and I loved the story arc of what happens to the "haves" when they become "have nots". Lots of interesting turns in this one that kept the story churning forward to its satisfying conclusion.

A great family drama encapsulated within a natural catastrophe, this is one you won't want to miss. However, here's hoping all the hurricanes miss my area this season!

Published on Leave a comment on The Measure
The Measure Book Cover The Measure
Nikki Erlick
Fiction
William Morrow
June 28, 2022
Hardcover
368
Purchased

Eight ordinary people. One extraordinary choice.

It seems like any other day. You wake up, pour a cup of coffee, and head out.

But today, when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. This box holds your fate inside: the answer to the exact number of years you will live.

From suburban doorsteps to desert tents, every person on every continent receives the same box. In an instant, the world is thrust into a collective frenzy. Where did these boxes come from? What do they mean? Is there truth to what they promise?

As society comes together and pulls apart, everyone faces the same shocking choice: Do they wish to know how long they’ll live? And, if so, what will they do with that knowledge?

The Measure charts the dawn of this new world through an unforgettable cast of characters whose decisions and fates interweave with one another: best friends whose dreams are forever entwined, pen pals finding refuge in the unknown, a couple who thought they didn’t have to rush, a doctor who cannot save himself, and a politician whose box becomes the powder keg that ultimately changes everything.

My review:

A new favorite of the year! This book was amazing and I flew through it waiting to see how it would play out for the people we follow. This has a huge moral dilemma at its core, would you open your box to see how long you had left to live? How would you live your life differently if you knew how long you had left? Obviously you need to suspend belief a bit in how these boxes all came to be in the possession of every person on the planet at the same time (bear with me, you believed in Santa didn't you?). I fleetingly thought about this, but it went completely out of my mind once I got caught up in the resulting stories. There is all sorts of commentary within these pages other than the personal question. There are political stories facing candidates for President, also how some countries dealt with their citizen's boxes. There are employment questions, do you get to ask how long someone has to live before hiring them? Support groups spring up for those who are "short stringers", begging the question who do you tell of your fate (if you chose to open your box)? Are people being discriminated against, what about those in hospitals? So many questions to mull over, making this such an engrossing story! There is a twist at the end that I never saw coming, and I definitely shed a few tears. This is a debut novel, and I couldn't tell by the writing style or cohesiveness of the story.

Interestingly when I linked this post to Goodreads, I read some reviews for this book that were not as complimentary as I have been. If you are on the fence, perhaps seek out more reviews than mine, because I'm giving this all the stars! It will definitely make my best books of the year list!

Published on Leave a comment on Vacationland
Vacationland Book Cover Vacationland
Meg Mitchell Moore
Fiction
William Morrow
June 14, 2022
Hardcover
384
Free from publisher

Louisa has come to her parents' house in Maine this summer with all three of her kids, a barely written book, and a trunkful of resentment. Left behind in Brooklyn is her husband, who has promised that after this final round of fundraising at his startup he will once again pick up his share of the household responsibilities. Louisa is hoping that the crisp breeze off Penobscot Bay will blow away the irritation she is feeling with her life choices and replace it with enthusiasm for both her family and her work.

But all isn't well in Maine. Louisa's father, a retired judge and pillar of the community, is suffering from Alzheimer's. Louisa's mother is alternately pretending everything is fine and not pretending at all. And one of Louisa's children happens upon a very confusing and heartfelt letter referring to something Louisa doesn't think her father could possibly have done.

Louisa's not the only one searching for something in Maine this summer. Kristie took the Greyhound bus from Pennsylvania with one small suitcase, $761, and a lot of baggage. She's got a past she's trying to outrun, a secret she's trying to unpack, and a new boyfriend who's so impossibly kind she can't figure out what she did to deserve him. But she can't keep her various lives from colliding forever.

As June turns to July turns to August, secrets will be unearthed, betrayals will come to light, and both Louisa and Kristie will ask themselves what they are owed and what they owe others.

My review:

I'm back with a review of another family story, which are some of my favorite tropes. This one takes place in Maine, which holds a special place in my memory since that is where my family would vacation every summer for two decades. I think the actual place this story is about may be fictional, but there is still the general vibe of coastal Maine (I especially remember how cold the ocean is up there, I live in SC now so it doesn't even compare!). As most family stories do, this one is loaded with lots of secrets that come to light over the course of three months, particularly ones revolving around the family patriarch who is in the grip of Alzheimers. I have enjoyed many of this author's previous works, I find her writing to be engrossing, and she does a great job developing her characters to make you feel fully immersed in the story. Since the book encompasses three generations, I think there is something for everyone to relate to. Whether it be young love, finding family, trying and failing to engage with your work, or dealing with the loss of a loved one in mind not body. I thought the ending was perhaps a bit cliche, and I did figure out the deal with Kristie very early on, but I still really enjoyed being with these characters.

If you are one to enjoy well written and characterized family stories, I think you should give this one a look. A bonus if you've ever been to coastal Maine.

Published on Leave a comment on The Lies I Tell
The Lies I Tell Book Cover The Lies I Tell
Julie Clark
Fiction
Sourcebooks Landmark
June 21, 2022
Hardcover
320
Purchased

Meg Williams. Maggie Littleton. Melody Wilde. Different names for the same person, depending on the town, depending on the job. She's a con artist who erases herself to become whoever you need her to be—a college student. A life coach. A real estate agent. Nothing about her is real. She slides alongside you and tells you exactly what you need to hear, and by the time she's done, you've likely lost everything.

Kat Roberts has been waiting ten years for the woman who upended her life to return. And now that she has, Kat is determined to be the one to expose her. But as the two women grow closer, Kat's long-held assumptions begin to crumble, leaving Kat to wonder who Meg's true target is.

The Lies I Tell is a twisted domestic thriller that dives deep into the psyches and motivations of two women and their unwavering quest to seek justice for the past and rewrite the future.

My review:

This was riveting!! I really enjoyed this author's previous novel The Last Flight (that one comes highly recommended also), however in my opinion this one even topped that! Learning about the life of a conwoman was absolutely fascinating, and I can't even imagine the amount of research the author likely had to do to make this character's life so believable! There really wasn't any part where I thought "this could never really happen, it's too coincidental", which happens often in thriller books. Every aspect of how the main protagonist worked to dupe people was described, and I was totally along for the ride! The other protagonist is a woman who as a journalist she indirectly wronged, and is now out to expose her. The pacing was spot on, the twists and turns were plentiful and sprinkled throughout (which I love), and the writing was great with no unnecessary verbiage. I can't talk about the ending without spoilers, but let's just say it was unexpected and one I won't soon forget. I would be remiss if I didn't point out that toward the very end of the book there is an Easter egg hidden about the previous book. If you've read it, I think you'll catch it right away and smile 🙂

Keep in mind that this is not a thriller with tons of jaw dropping twists, but it was such a perfectly crafted story. If you are in the mood for a believable story about a woman con artist, settle in for a great ride! I loved this book and can't wait to see what this author cooks up next!

Published on Leave a comment on The Book Woman’s Daughter
The Book Woman's Daughter Book Cover The Book Woman's Daughter
Kim Michele Richardson
Fiction
Sourcebooks Landmark
May 3, 2022
Paperback
352
Purchased

In the ruggedness of the beautiful Kentucky mountains, Honey Lovett has always known that the old ways can make a hard life harder. As the daughter of the famed blue-skinned, Troublesome Creek packhorse librarian, Honey and her family have been hiding from the law all her life. But when her mother and father are imprisoned, Honey realizes she must fight to stay free, or risk being sent away for good.

Picking up her mother’s old packhorse library route, Honey begins to deliver books to the remote hollers of Appalachia. Honey is looking to prove that she doesn’t need anyone telling her how to survive, but the route can be treacherous, and some folks aren’t as keen to let a woman pave her own way. If Honey wants to bring the freedom that books provide to the families who need it most, she’s going to have to fight for her place, and along the way, learn that the extraordinary women who run the hills and hollers can make all the difference in the world.

My review:

This book is the sequel to The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. While I do think you could read this as a standalone novel, I think you will get more context for the characters and setting if you read the first one before this. I liked the first one, but didn't love it as much as most people who read it (including my book group). The things that I was not as enamored of in that first book were not as present in this one, and so I ended up enjoying this one more. One of my favorite parts of this one was the friendship between main protagonist Honey (the book woman's daughter) and a new woman in town who is the fire tower watcher. I also felt that we got a little more about the secondary characters, who didn't seem as fleshed out in the first book, and a lot less romance (and we all know how I feel about obligatory romances!). We do still get the glimpses into the lives of the people Honey delivers books to as part of the Packhorse Library project, but it's not the main focus of the book. Also not the main focus is the blue skin Honey inherits from her mother or the romance she develops in the latter half of the book. Both of these things were present, but not the main plot points, which for me personally made this a better reading experience. The survival aspects, the way women were treated and how they triumphed over obstacles, and the female friendship were the parts of the book that pulled me in and kept me engaged.

A well written and satisfying sequel with great emphasis on setting, characters, and perseverance. If you enjoyed the previous novel you will love this one, and if you were lukewarm about it, you may be as surprised by it as I was.

Published on Leave a comment on The Hotel Nantucket
The Hotel Nantucket Book Cover The Hotel Nantucket
Elin Hilderbrand
Fiction
Little, Brown and Company
June 14, 2022
Advance reader E-book
416
Free from publisher via NetGalley

After a tragic fire in 1922 that killed 19-year-old chambermaid, Grace Hadley, The Hotel Nantucket descended from a gilded age gem to a mediocre budget-friendly lodge to inevitably an abandoned eyesore — until it's purchased and renovated top to bottom by London billionaire, Xavier Darling. Xavier hires Nantucket sweetheart Lizbet Keaton as his general manager, and Lizbet, in turn, pulls together a charismatic, if inexperienced, staff who share the vision of turning the fate of the hotel around. They face challenges in getting along with one another (and with the guests), in overcoming the hotel's bad reputation, and in surviving the (mostly) harmless shenanigans of Grace Hadley herself — who won't stop haunting the hotel until her murder is acknowledged.

My review:

I honestly don't know what we are all going to do when summer doesn't begin with an Elin Hilderbrand novel (the author has said she will only be writing them for a couple more years)! Most of her novels take place on Nantucket, and although I've been to the Cape and Martha's Vineyard, I've yet to make it to this island off the coast of MA. I don't know of any author who can create the sense of place better than Elin. From the beaches, to the food, to the shopping, and this time to a hotel. We follow a cast of characters who have all been hired to run the newly refurbished Hotel Nantucket. The new billionaire owner wants to receive a highly sought after 5 keys from a hotel reviewer, which leaves the staff with impossibly high standards to maintain (and put up with a lot of rude behavior from some guests, as you can imagine). We follow these characters, who all have their own backstories and secrets, as they aim to give the perfect hotel stay experience. One of the characters we also follow is the ghost of Grace, a woman intent on "haunting" the hotel until someone discovers the true story surrounding her death in 1922. While I understood that Grace was a perfect method for the reader to spy on some of the secretive behavior we might not have otherwise been privy to, I'm still not a fan of ghosts in my novels. Despite that small quibble, this was a highly entertaining and engaging read. I was rooting for all of these characters (even the ones who were a bit unlikable) and couldn't wait to see if they would get their 5 key review. I absolutely loved that at the end of the book the author wrote her own blue book (given to all the hotel guests to help them plan their stay on the island) which includes references to Nantucket places (and where some of her previous books took place). I'll definitely be keeping this guide in case I ever make it to Nantucket.

Another perfect summer read, with memorable characters, food, and places. While I could have done without the ghost, it honestly was a small dip in my enjoyment of this story. Definitely a book to tuck in your beach or travel bag.

Published on Leave a comment on Meant to be Mine
Meant to Be Mine Book Cover Meant to Be Mine
Hannah Orenstein
Fiction
Simon and Schuster
June 7, 2022
Advance E-reader copy
288
Free from publisher via NetGalley

What if you knew exactly when you’d meet the love of your life? Edie Meyer knows. When her Grandma Gloria was a young woman, she had a vision of the exact day she would meet her soul mate—and then Grandpa Ray showed up.

Since then, Gloria has accurately predicted the day every single member of the family has met their match. Edie’s day arrives on June 24, 2022, when she’s twenty-nine years old. She has been waiting for it half her life. That morning, she boards an airplane to her twin sister’s surprise engagement, and when a handsome musician sits beside her, she knows it’s meant to be.

But fate comes with more complications than Edie expected and she can’t fight the nagging suspicion that her perfect guy doesn’t have perfect timing. After a tragedy and a shocking revelation rock Edie’s carefully constructed world, she’s forced to consider whether love chooses us, as simple as destiny, or if we choose it ourselves.

My review:

3.5 stars

This book was fun and engaging. The best thing about it was that it really makes you think how would you live your life (or a portion of it) if you knew the exact date something momentous was to happen? I remember this question coming up in a book from a few years ago (The Immortalists) where the date was when each of the siblings would die. This book is not as grim as that, but it still makes you think the same thoughts, would you want to know? How would it effect your choices? Edie knows the date when she will meet her forever love. She has fun with dating, but ultimately breaks up with any guy she really starts to have feelings for, because she knows they did not meet on the specified date. Then she meets "the guy" on the day, and starts her path of happily ever after. Of course she ends up questioning all the past and present relationships in her life, remaining strong in her belief that no one in her family has not found their true love from Grandma Gloria's prophecy. There is no question that I would never personally buy into this whole idea, but this was still a well rounded, well written story that I really enjoyed. And the whole idea does make you think about the possibilities, even if you don't believe in the concept. There is also a side story about a woman running for Congress, the main protagonist is hired as a stylist for her, while her sister's best man is the campaign manager.

I really liked this one. It's a light read, but it still makes you think. The interesting twist near the end is very satisfying, yet muddles the prediction idea even more. This one will make a perfect summer beach/pool read. I have another title on my backlist of books by this author, and I'm excited to give that one a look sooner rather than later.