The Boston Girl 

by Anita Diamant

 

Synopsis:

An unforgettable coming-of-age novel about family ties and values, friendship and feminism told through the eyes of a young Jewish woman growing up in Boston in the early twentieth century.

Addie Baum is The Boston Girl, born in 1900 to immigrant parents who were unprepared for and suspicious of America and its effect on their three daughters. Growing up in the North End, then a teeming multicultural neighborhood, Addie's intelligence and curiosity take her to a world her parents can't imagine - a world of short skirts, movies, celebrity culture and new opportunities for women. Addie wants to finish high school and dreams of going to college. She wants a career and to find true love.

Eighty-five-year-old Addie tells the story of her life to her twenty-two-year-old granddaughter, who has asked her "How did you get to be the woman you are today?" She begins in 1915, the year she found her voice and made friends who would help shape the course of her life. From the one-room tenement apartment she shared with her parents and two sisters, to the library group for girls she joins at a neighborhood settlement house, to her first, disastrous love affair, Addie recalls her adventures with compassion for the naïve girl she was and a wicked sense of humor.

Written with the same attention to historical detail and emotional resonance that made Anita Diamant's previous novels bestsellers, The Boston Girl is a moving portrait of one woman’s complicated life in twentieth-century America, and a fascinating look at a generation of women finding their places in a changing world.

My Review:

I am on such a roll with fabulous historical fiction books this month. I have yet to read one that has disappointed me. The Boston Girl is no exception. 

To put it plainly it is simply a beautiful story about the life of an Russian-American Jewish girl growing up at the beginning of the 20th century in Boston. The story is told by the Boston girl herself - Addie Baum. She is now 85 years old (in 1985) and she is telling her grand daughter Eva the story of how she became the woman she is today. We learn about the challenges of not only being a Jewish girl in the North East during a time of immigration to the U.S. from places like Russia and Europe but we also learn what it was like to simply be a girl in that time. The expectations to be married and to be seen but not heard. This posed to be a challenge for Addie as she was smart and she was inquisitive. 

The overall feeling I got from her story and from her as a character is that she absolutely loved life. It made me think about how important it is to listen to the stories of those who came before us. I know that growing up, I loved hearing my grandmother's stories and if my parents were living, I would want them to share their story with my kids. You can have all of the technology and science in the world and that is a good thing, but without those stories being passed down we as humans don't know who we are and why we are here. I loved the simplicity of Addie's story not just for its basic beauty and truth but because of its relevance and importance to every woman that came after her. I can't say enough about Anita Diamant's The Boston Girl. Throughout the book and through to the end I had a big smile on my face and that is something not every book can do.

All the Stars in the Heaven 

by Adriana Trigiani 

 

Synopsis:

 

A hypnotic tale, based on a true story—that dazzles with the signature elements of her previous work—family ties, artistry, romance, adventure—and introduces an unforgettable new heroine: Loretta Young, an ambitious starlet struggling to survive in Hollywood’s dream factory

In this spectacular saga as radiant, thrilling, and beguiling as Hollywood itself, Adriana Trigiani takes us back to Tinsel Town’s golden age—an era as brutal as it was resplendent—and into the complex and glamorous world of a young actress hungry for fame and success. With meticulous, beautiful detail, Trigiani paints a rich, historical landscape of 1930s Los Angeles, where European and American artisans flocked to pursue the ultimate dream: to tell stories on the silver screen.

The movie business is booming in 1935 when twenty-one-year-old Loretta Young meets thirty-four-year-old Clark Gable on the set of The Call of the Wild. Though he’s already married, Gable falls for the stunning and vivacious young actress instantly.

Far from the glittering lights of Hollywood, Sister Alda Ducci has been forced to leave her convent and begin a new journey that leads her to Loretta. Becoming Miss Young’s assistant, the innocent and pious young Alda must navigate the wild terrain of Hollywood with fierce determination and a moral code that derives from her Italian roots. Over the course of decades, she and Loretta encounter scandal and adventure, choose love and passion, and forge an enduring bond of love and loyalty that will be put to the test when they eventually face the greatest obstacle of their lives.

Anchored by Trigiani’s masterful storytelling that takes you on a worldwide ride of adventure from Hollywood to the shores of southern Italy, this mesmerizing epic is, at its heart, a luminous tale of the most cherished ties that bind. Brimming with larger-than-life characters both real and fictional—including stars Spencer Tracy, Myrna Loy, David Niven, Hattie McDaniel and more—it is it is the unforgettable story of one of cinema’s greatest love affairs during the golden age of American movie making.

My Review:

I loved The Shoemaker's Wife which Trigiani wrote a few years ago. The immigrant story that is full of romance, struggle, and tragedy. However, I have tried to read other Trigiani books and have not really enjoyed them as much. I was a bit reluctant to read this one so soon after it was published as there are so many others on my nightstand waiting to be read. But the fact that not only did Trigiani return to the immigrant story similar to The Shoemaker's Wife along but she incorporated another of my favorite subjects - The Golden Age of Hollywood and lives of the movie-stars of the times.

This novel focuses on the brief love affair between Loretta Young and Clark Gable which resulted in the rumored child the Young family spent most of their lives trying to keep secret. I have read many accounts of what the tabloids wrote about with regards to this very short affair between these two Hollywood greats. I think Trigiani painted Gable as much more likable than the other accounts I have read. Personally, I feel that Clark Gable was a total cad but Trigiani does tell the story in a very classy and respectful way.

Loretta Young is portrayed as the good Catholic woman she was so well-known for being and the whole sordid affair as simply that - an unfortunate love affair that was just not meant to blossom further. Fantastic book with a lot of intermingling stories to include some of Hollywood's greats - Spencer Tracy, Carole Lombard, Jean Harlow, David Niven, Don Ameche, Cary Grant, and the list goes on and on. If you love stories about the old Hollywood and its great love affairs, this is one you don't want to miss. 

The Martian 

by Andy Weir 

Synopsis:

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate the planet while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded on Mars' surface, completely alone, with no way to signal Earth that he’s alive — and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone years before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark's not ready to quit. Armed with nothing but his ingenuity and his engineering skills — and a gallows sense of humor that proves to be his greatest source of strength – he embarks on a dogged quest to stay alive, using his botany expertise to grow food and even hatching a mad plan to contact NASA back on Earth.

As he overcomes one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next, Mark begins to let himself believe he might make it off the planet alive – but Mars has plenty of surprises in store for him yet.

Grounded in real, present-day science from the first page to the last, yet propelled by a brilliantly ingenious plot that surprises the reader again and again, The Martian is a truly remarkable thriller: an impossible-to-put-down suspense novel that manages to read like a real-life survival tale.

My Review:

One of the best books I've read my entire life. As a reader, this is the kind of book you hope to have the opportunity to come across once or twice in your life. So, so good. Did I say just how good this was? Well, it was even better than that. The story is suspenseful, action packed and the author adds just enough wit and sarcasm to make it humorous too. 

You definitely have to have an appreciation for science to get through this book as the book has a great deal of scientific information that is beyond the scope of most... Unfortunately, I do not have that appreciation but although I am an everything science dunce I clung to the plot and the fantastic dialogue and characters to carry me through. After a while of the scientific lingo, you do eventually catch on and you may experience what I experienced - although fleeting, a sudden and satisfying feeling that perhaps I am not as scientifically dense as I thought I was. All joking aside, this truly is a fantastic book deserving of all the great accolades it has received so far. Kudos to Andy Weir and if I ever get stranded in Mars for 18 months or so, I feel I now have a guide for survival. I hope to perhaps further enhance my newly gained scientific knowledge by reading his future works. Hopefully, there will be many more to come!!!

The Seven Sisters 

by Lucinda Riley 

Synopsis: 

Maia D’Apliese and her five sisters gather together at their childhood home, “Atlantis”—a fabulous, secluded castle situated on the shores of Lake Geneva—having been told that their beloved father, who adopted them all as babies, has died. Each of them is handed a tantalizing clue to her true heritage—a clue which takes Maia across the world to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once there, she begins to put together the pieces of her story and its beginnings.

Eighty years earlier in Rio’s Belle Epoque of the 1920s, Izabela Bonifacio’s father has aspirations for his daughter to marry into the aristocracy. Meanwhile, architect Heitor da Silva Costa is devising plans for an enormous statue, to be called Christ the Redeemer, and will soon travel to Paris to find the right sculptor to complete his vision. Izabela—passionate and longing to see the world—convinces her father to allow her to accompany him and his family to Europe before she is married. There, at Paul Landowski’s studio and in the heady, vibrant cafes of Montparnasse, she meets ambitious young sculptor Laurent Brouilly, and knows at once that her life will never be the same again.

In this sweeping, epic tale of love and loss—the first in a unique, spellbinding series of seven novels—Lucinda Riley showcases her storytelling talent like never before. 

 

My Review:

 

Wow!!! 

 

FANTASTIC. And, what a cliffhanger at the end. Can't wait to read the next installment. 

 

This was historical fiction with a great deal of mystery, romance, and mystical intrigue. Six sisters, all adopted daughters to a Swiss magnate. Each has a unique background for why and how they came to be adopted by him. Upon his sudden death, they are each given a clue as to their origins. In this first book, we follow Maia's journey to find out about her past. Maia is the oldest of the six sisters and the one who inspired Mr. D'Apliese (known to the girls as Pa Salt because of his love of the ocean and sailing) to adopt her other five sisters. Maia leaves the comfort of the island estate (Atlantis) off the coast of Lake Geneva to travel across the world to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where she will learn her familial connection to the building of the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue atop Corcovado mountain. While in Brazil, Maia finds that her story starts in the 1920s and 1930s during the design and building of the Christ when her great-grandmother, Izabela, was a young high-society girl of 17. We learn about the love affair with the French sculptor Laurent Brouilly that turns her life around leading to the birth and adoption of Maia a couple of generations later. I have never read a book that took place in Brazil and this was an amazing experience. The descriptions of life and the scenery of Rio was incredible. This book was hard to put down as it was mesmerizing and the story and characters were so exotic. It has a great lead into the next book which tells the story of the second sister. Can't wait to read it! 

Go Set a Watchman

by Harper Lee

Synopsis:

 
Maycomb, Alabama. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch--"Scout"--returns home from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise's homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt. Featuring many of the iconic characters from To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman perfectly captures a young woman, and a world, in a painful yet necessary transition out of the illusions of the past--a journey that can be guided only by one's conscience.

My Review:

I absolutely loved it and was never disappointed as I read many of the reviewers state. This story is so well written and does not rely on what we learn about Scout and Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird (which, by the way, I absolutely loved and will remain one of my very favorite books EVER). This story stands alone and does so brilliantly. Go Set a Watchman is about what happens to us all as we get older and we are forming our own points of views and making sense of the world around us. Jean Louise (Scout) is no longer the little girl who views the world around her through her father's lessons about right and wrong. Now, she is a young woman (mid-20s) who has left Maycomb, Alabama and experienced life away at college and then established herself as an adult in New York City. Her views have broadened, but her resolve about the treatment of people as equals (regardless of race or color) is ever stronger. She is torn between a South that is still talking about blacks as "inferior" and willing to fight the efforts of the then newly established NAACP. 

One day, she finds that her father (whom she idolizes) is in attendance at a Council meeting directed at what she believes to be a rally in support of a racist agenda. Her father is likely to represent Calpurnia's (the black nanny that raised her in the absence of her own monther) grandson in a murder charge after he accidentally runs over a white man with his car. Jean-Louise starts to see that if Atticus is in support of those in the Council who want to oppose the NAACP, how could he fairly defend Cal's grandson without any racist motivations. This makes her question her own upbringing and the validity of the very lessons she felt he taught her and formed her way of thinking. She is seeing the reality of the Southern mentality first-hand, and as an adult. My favorite character in this book is Atticus' brother (Scout's uncle) who teaches Jean-Louise that to expect tolerance, one has to be tolerant of others' views even if they don't coincide with our own. Of course for the sake of keeping this review concise, I am certain I am not doing that very important interaction between Jean-Louise and her uncle the justice it deserves and the book is worth reading over and over again just for that fantastic chapter at the end of the book. 

For me, Harper Lee will forever be one of the most amazing writers of my lifetime. Not just because of To Kill a Mockingbird but because of Go Set a Watchman and the real characters she brings us in Scout, Atticus, Calpurnia and even Alexandra (a true Southern woman of her time). I would ask that when you read this book, don't hold it up to To Kill a Mockingbird. I've said this before, books are like children - they may come from the same person but they are unique and should stand alone and not be compared to each other. Each has their own merits and beauty to share with the world.

A Hundred Summers

by Beatriz Williams

Synopsys:

Memorial Day, 1938: New York socialite Lily Dane has just returned with her family to the idyllic oceanfront community of Seaview, Rhode Island, expecting another placid summer season among the familiar traditions and friendships that sustained her after heartbreak.

That is, until Greenwalds decide to take up residence in Seaview.

Nick and Budgie Greenwald are an unwelcome specter from Lily’s past: her former best friend and her former fiancé, now recently married—an event that set off a wildfire of gossip among the elite of Seaview, who have summered together for generations. Budgie’s arrival to restore her family’s old house puts her once more in the center of the community’s social scene, and she insinuates herself back into Lily's friendship with an overpowering talent for seduction...and an alluring acquaintance from their college days, Yankees pitcher Graham Pendleton. But the ties that bind Lily to Nick are too strong and intricate to ignore, and the two are drawn back into long-buried dreams, despite their uneasy secrets and many emotional obligations.

My Review:

Beatriz Williams achieves perfection once again. I just can't get enough of her wonderful characters and this book does not disappoint. Once again, it is the dialogue that drew me in and a fabulous plot that kept me reading. What I found really interesting about this novel is that I kept forgetting that it takes place in the 1930s. The situations and the drama of the story would translate equally well in a novel set in modern time. However, it is that romanticism of old times that gives BWs novels the charm and beauty which appeals to those of us who thoroughly immerse ourselves in historical fiction. This novel is about the secrets that do not evade us nor the drama we don't seems to associate with the seemingly idyllic lives of the upper crust. Summers in New Hampshire and winters in NYC is the life of privilege Lilly and her friends enjoy. But, even with great privilege and access there are the darker, not talked about situations (adultery, bigotry, debauchery, sexual abuse, black mail, manipulation, etc.) that make for gossip and drama. 

This novel has beautiful socialites, a famous Yankees player, a renown architect, rich lawyers and other very colorful characters that will keep you entertained from beginning to end. 

I am very anxious now to read The Infinite Sea and the many more (hopefully) novels Beatriz Williams will brilliantly pen.  

Release Day Blitz: Clutch

Release Day Blitz: Clutch 

by Lisa Becker 

 

About clutch: a novel

clutch: a novel is the laugh-out-loud, chick lit romance chronicling the dating misadventures of Caroline Johnson, a single purse designer who compares her unsuccessful romantic relationships to styles of handbags – the “Hobo” starving artist, the “Diaper Bag” single dad, the “Briefcase” intense businessman, etc. With her best friend, bar owner Mike by her side, the overly-accommodating Caroline drinks a lot of Chardonnay, puts her heart on the line, endures her share of unworthy suitors and finds the courage to discover the “Clutch” or someone she wants to hold onto.

Please visit CLP Blog Tours for the full tour schedule and Giveaway. 

About the Author: 

In addition to clutch: a novel, Lisa Becker is the author of the Click Trilogy, a contemporary romance series comprised ofClick: An Online Love Story, Double Click and Right Click.  She’s written bylined articles about dating and relationships for “Cupid’s Pulse,” “The Perfect Soulmate,” “GalTime,” “Single Edition,” “Healthy B Daily” and “Chick Lit Central” among others.  She lives in Manhattan Beach, California with her husband and two daughters.  To learn more, visit www.lisawbecker.com. 

Social Media Links for Lisa Becker

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Book Blitz: Unravelled in New York

Book Blitz: Unravelled in New York 

by Suzanne Nicole 

Sydney journalist Charli Cooper is making major changes in her life. She has no idea what destiny has in store for her as she moves half way around the world for a fresh start. 

Jack Manning is everything Charli shouldn't want. He is arrogant, cocky and use to getting what he wants. He has no time to deal with an inexperienced journalist who has no idea of the New York social hierarchy. 
As she unlocks the truth about Manning and his empire, she realises all is not as it seems and if she digs deep enough, she might just find the story she has been looking for. She has to make a decision between her ambition and her heart. 
Will the secrets they both hold cause their delicately poised relationship to crumble? Can one mistake unravel their lives?  

My Review:

 

What a fun book to read. The focus of this story is on Charli, a self-assured, strong, smart girl who is finding her center after ending a toxic relationship. She leaves her hometown of Australia in order to do so and ends up with her best friend and confidante Mia in New York City. Immediately after arriving in NY her paths cross with Jack Manning. He was one of those characters who you love and then hate just a few pages later just to love him again.  There are fantastic twists and turns and even a hint of mystery as we see her relationship with Jack Manning develop. There are also other great characters that you just want to cheer on because quite frankly, they are just lovable (e.g. Clark).  The story line is smart but fun and not overly complicated. Fantastic weekend read!!!

Author Bio 

With a passion for reading and writing Suzanne has been creating stories all her life through both her writing and dance teaching. Suzanne is a graduate from IMEB (Aus) and is a member of Romance Writers, Australia, she is also a qualified and registered dance and drama teacher. When she is not bombarding family and friends with story ideas she can be found in front of a class of students teaching dance or curled up with a good book. She loves romantic stories, angsty reads and dark-haired heroes. She also loves travelling, her recent highlights have been her trips to Los Angeles, New York and Boston and she dreams about going back there soon. Suzanne lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband and three gorgeous boys.

Links 

https://www.facebook.com/Suzanne-Nicole-Author-1698891897005531/timeline/

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25863173-unravelled-in-new-york 

Book Link **99 CENTS DURING TOUR**

http://www.amazon.com/Unravelled-New-York-Suzanne-Nicole-ebook/dp/B010ZGGPMK

Mademoiselle Chanel

by C.W. Gortner

Synopsis:

 
Born into rural poverty, Gabrielle Chanel and her siblings are sent to orphanage after their mother’s death. The sisters nurture Gabrielle’s exceptional sewing skills, a talent that will propel the willful young woman into a life far removed from the drudgery of her childhood.

Transforming herself into Coco—a seamstress and sometime torch singer—the petite brunette burns with ambition, an incandescence that draws a wealthy gentleman who will become the love of her life. She immerses herself in his world of money and luxury, discovering a freedom that sparks her creativity. But it is only when her lover takes her to Paris that Coco discovers her destiny.

Rejecting the frilly, corseted silhouette of the past, her sleek, minimalist styles reflect the youthful ease and confidence of the 1920s modern woman. As Coco’s reputation spreads, her couturier business explodes, taking her into rarefied society circles and bohemian salons. But her fame and fortune cannot save her from heartbreak as the years pass. And when Paris falls to the Nazis, Coco is forced to make choices that will haunt her.

An enthralling novel of an extraordinary woman who created the life she desired, Mademoiselle Chanel explores the inner world of a woman of staggering ambition whose strength, passion and artistic vision would become her trademark.

My Review:

Simply a brilliant example of excellent historical fiction. I enjoyed every page of this wonderful book. Much to my surprise, I did not care for Coco Chanel very much. Beyond her fashion savvy she was a very controversial person. She seemed to have a complicated way of approaching things which may have worked for her in her decisions towards her couturier empire but made a lot of enemies for her in the long run. I had always thought of Coco Chanel as a kind of wild, free-spirited woman who almost seemed to have been born way too early in history for her way of thinking. She endured a very tough childhood after her mother died, her father abandoned her and her siblings and the siblings were then separated. That is enough to lead someone down a not so illustrious life. However, she rose from her misfortune and created an empire that changed the face of fashion by focusing on simplicity and utility; but above all class. 

Her personal relationships were very guarded and she was known among her friends as tough and stubborn. Which from Mr. Gortner's account it seems to have been her greatest weakness. She was very supportive of those who were outcasts due to their lifestyles (primarily artists of all kinds). For herself, she despised the social expectations made of her simply because she happened to be born a woman and not a woman of the aristocracy at that.  She challenged men in business and in her personal life. She did not want to be a mother, a wife nor be reliant on anyone to support her financially nor emotionally. But the times being what they were, it proved to garner her a great deal of criticism from everyone including her closest friends. One cannot ignore her great accomplishments in her industry. I do have a great deal of respect and admiration for her for that. 

Gortner did not create a fictional character in Coco Chanel, he beautifully and eloquently took his research about the controversial Mademoiselle Chanel and created a thoroughly engrossing reading-experience for his readers. It is what every reader hopes for at the beginning of any book. 

The Knockoff

by Lucy Sykes, Jo Piazza  

 

Synopsis:

When Imogen returns to work at Glossy after six months away, she can barely recognize her own magazine. Eve, fresh out of Harvard Business School, has fired “the gray hairs,” put the managing editor in a supply closet, stopped using the landlines, and hired a bevy of manicured and questionably attired underlings who text and tweet their way through meetings. Imogen, darling of the fashion world, may have Alexander Wang and Diane von Furstenberg on speed dial, but she can’t tell Facebook from Foursquare and once got her iPhone stuck in Japanese for two days. Under Eve’s reign, Glossy is rapidly becoming a digital sweatshop—hackathons rage all night, girls who sleep get fired, and “fun” means mandatory, company-wide coordinated dances to Beyoncé. Wildly out of her depth, Imogen faces a choice—pack up her Smythson notebooks and quit, or channel her inner geek and take on Eve to save both the magazine and her career. A glittering, uproarious, sharply drawn story filled with thinly veiled fashion personalities, The Knockoff is an insider’s look at the ever-changing world of fashion and a fabulous romp for our Internet-addicted age.

My Review:

This book is so relevant. In its hilarious dialogue and witty story line is the most poignant cautionary tale I have read in a long time. My mom used to tell me when I was a kid "Be respectful of people older than you as they have traveled a long road - the same road you too will travel one day!" In a nutshell this is what this book is about. Just because there is innovation, technology and a different way of thinking and accomplishing tasks, it does not mean that those that came before us are "dinosaurs" awaiting inevitable extinction. Not to mention the importance of the often overlooked golden rule: "Do onto others as you would have them do onto you." 

Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza's brilliant depiction of how commerce has changed and is going to keep changing over time makes a brilliant statement about how disconnected we have  become in the age of connected technology where the irony is so evident it is ridiculous. We opt for technology as an exclusive means of interaction in place of genuine human interaction. Instead of pairing the two, we become so engrossed in the technology that we are no longer capable of genuine face-to-face communication. Those of us who have grown up between the two worlds of technology and a time when technology was in its inception will relate to this book. I find myself lately (now that I'm in my 40's) that everything has become about what the tech world decides it should be. I am told what I should like, how I should like it and what I should think through the fast and furious world of Twitter, FB, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. But, because this wasn't always my world, I am able to discern between what I feel is right and what I feel is wrong without always having to rely on what is posted on the Internet. Subliminal messaging seems to be a thing of the past. Messages are quite blatant and those that have been born and grown up in this way of thinking seem to take the Internet and all of its self-proclaimed purveyors of "truth" as gospel instead of as just another viewpoint that helps us analytically and intelligently formulate our OWN viewpoints and way of thinking. This, in my opinion, is what differentiates us from the technology. 

Don't get me wrong, I love, absolutely love, technology, but it is not the end-all. It is simply the result of human ingenuity born of critical thinking and human interaction. Which brings me back to Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza's brilliant book. When it is said and done, we control the role technology has in our lives. And, technology should not be the reason we forget the best qualities of humanity: kindness, warmth, companionship, friendship - human interaction. I did not give a synopsis of this book in my review because I think it would give away too much of the story unnecessarily. Also, I feel that this book will impact every reader differently and I don't want to ruin that experience for any reader. But, I will say, as I said at the beginning, this book is relevant and brilliant. 

You won't regret reading it.

Tiny Little Thing

by Beatriz Williams

Synopsis:

In the summer of 1966, Christina Hardcastle—“Tiny” to her illustrious family—stands on the brink of a breathtaking future. Of the three Schuyler sisters, she’s the one raised to marry a man destined for leadership, and with her elegance and impeccable style, she presents a perfect camera-ready image in the dawning age of television politics. Together she and her husband, Frank, make the ultimate power couple: intelligent, rich, and impossibly attractive. It seems nothing can stop Frank from rising to national office, and he’s got his sights set on a senate seat in November.

But as the season gets underway at the family estate on Cape Cod, three unwelcome visitors appear in Tiny’s perfect life: her volatile sister Pepper, an envelope containing incriminating photograph, and the intimidating figure of Frank’s cousin Vietnam-war hero Caspian, who knows more about Tiny’s rich inner life than anyone else. As she struggles to maintain the glossy façade on which the Hardcastle family’s ambitions are built, Tiny begins to suspect that Frank is hiding a reckless entanglement of his own…one that may unravel both her own ordered life and her husband’s promising career

My Review:

Beatriz Williams writes the most enjoyable books. Her characters are so lovable because of their wittiness and cheekiness.  I would highly recommend that if you enjoy audio books, pick this one up as an audio book. As with The Secret Life of Violet Grant, the narrator is fantastic in relating the right tone for each character. This book is a fun book as was TSLVG. This is the story of Tiny Schuyler, a Manhattan socialite in the mid-1960s who marries a Massachusetts up and coming politician. As with the lives of those in politics, there are secrets and scandals to be dealt with. However, little does Tiny realize that she is the subject of the secrets and scandals as a result of a moment of spontaneous living just two years before.  There are pictures being used to blackmail her and potentially ruin her husband's future bids for the White House. Or, is the real scandal not hers but rather her husband's secret life? There is also the fact that Tiny's younger, sassier sister Pepper has come to visit and is forcing Tiny to think of herself and question what seems to be an ideal life. Pepper's character is fantastic. She is honest and cheeky but considering that this is a story that takes place in an upper crust setting of the 1960s her outbursts and logic is refreshingly bold and pleasantly unexpected. 

Great book with what Beatriz Williams does best - an intelligently delightful story with witty dialogue.

Circling the Sun

by Paula McLain  

 

Synopsis: 

Paula McLain, author of the phenomenal bestseller The Paris Wife, now returns with her keenly anticipated new novel, transporting readers to colonial Kenya in the 1920s. Circling the Sun brings to life a fearless and captivating woman—Beryl Markham, a record-setting aviator caught up in a passionate love triangle with safari hunter Denys Finch Hatton and Karen Blixen, who as Isak Dinesen wrote the classic memoir Out of Africa.

Brought to Kenya from England as a child and then abandoned by her mother, Beryl is raised by both her father and the native Kipsigis tribe who share his estate. Her unconventional upbringing transforms Beryl into a bold young woman with a fierce love of all things wild and an inherent understanding of nature’s delicate balance. But even the wild child must grow up, and when everything Beryl knows and trusts dissolves, she is catapulted into a string of disastrous relationships.

Beryl forges her own path as a horse trainer, and her uncommon style attracts the eye of the Happy Valley set, a decadent, bohemian community of European expats who also live and love by their own set of rules. But it’s the ruggedly charismatic Denys Finch Hatton who ultimately helps Beryl navigate the uncharted territory of her own heart. The intensity of their love reveals Beryl’s truest self and her fate: to fly.

Set against the majestic landscape of early-twentieth-century Africa, McLain’s powerful tale reveals the extraordinary adventures of a woman before her time, the exhilaration of freedom and its cost, and the tenacity of the human spirit.

My Review:

Paula McLain is a brilliant writer. I read the Paris Wife a few years ago and it was the book that fueled my love for reading historical fiction. When I found out she had written Circling the Sun, although I knew nothing about Beryl Markham, I couldn't imagine a better story-teller to educate me about the amazing life of such a strong and admirable woman. In the 1920s and 1920s, Beryl Markham re-defined everyone's idea of what a woman can accomplish. She wore slacks, didn't wear makeup nor jewelry and didn't need the adornments women of society used to announce her social status or define herself as a woman. She was a strong, driven, confident person who happened to be a woman. Her gender did not limit her expectations of herself and that is something that even now, almost 30 years after her death, many women still struggle with. Although this book is promoted as the story of her most famous accomplishment, the first woman to make a solo transatlantic flight from Europe to the U.S., the book is more about her life in Kenya and her struggles to prove herself as an equally qualified and certified horse trainer (the first female to achieve this very difficult test of skill and aptitude). She, unfortunately, rejected education as she did not want to be molded into the "perfect" package of the good English girl. After 2 years in boarding school in Nairobi, all attempts to "tame" her stopped and she returned to her father's farm to hone her skills as a horse trainer and farmer. Also, the story puts a spotlight on her love affair with Denys Finch Hatton who was also the Karen Blixen's (a.k.a. Isak Dinesen - writer of the famous memoir Out of Africa)lover. Markham's life was tragic and full of adventure but in reading McLain's account, you can only deduct that regardless of tragedy and consequence, Beryl Markham lived an amazing life.

Excellent read for anyone but particularly for those who are interested in historical fiction that is intelligent and not overly dramatized.

Pretty Baby

by Mary Kubica

Synopsis:  

She sees the teenage girl on the train platform, standing in the pouring rain, clutching an infant in her arms. She boards a train and is whisked away. But she can't get the girl out of her head...


Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman: she works for a nonprofit, takes in stray cats. Still, her husband and daughter are horrified when Heidi returns home one day with a young woman named Willow and her four-month-old baby in tow. Disheveled and apparently homeless, this girl could be a criminal—or worse. But despite her family's objections, Heidi invites Willow and the baby to take refuge in their home.

Heidi spends the next few days helping Willow get back on her feet, but as clues into Willow's past begin to surface, Heidi is forced to decide how far she's willing to go to help a stranger. What starts as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a story far more twisted than anyone could have anticipated.

My Review:

Mary Kubica is such a great suspense writer. I was so impressed with Good Girl and so looked forward to the next book by this brilliant writer of psychological suspense. 

Pretty Baby is a totally different story from Good Girl. Here, we explore the impact of losing a child to uncontrollable circumstance. Also, the effects of child and sexual abuse. It's hard to re-cap the story without giving away any of the many twists and turns Mary Kubica has cleanly and seamlessly intertwined in the two stories of Claire and Heidi. Heidi is a product of privilege. With a seemingly perfect life, Heidi has the opportunities that Claire can't even imagine. Claire is a runaway who shows up in Chicago along the miracle mile with a baby in tow.  She's mysterious and sad. She is the image and embodiment of the life of struggle and homelessness.   But, both of their stories are riddled with bones neatly and inevitably tucked deep in the closet.  Their completely dissimilar lives become connected in ways that are greatly needed in order for each to move forward and away from frightening and life-threatening pasts. 

I read this book in 2 days and it only took me that long because I have a full-time job. Otherwise, I would have read the entire book in one sitting. It grips you from the beginning and engages you in ways that make reading so thoroughly enjoyable. The stories are both sad and disturbing but I can't help but think how lucky I am because there are people who truly experience these horrors. I appreciated Kubica's spotlight on the horrors of sexual abuse, cancer, and the loss of a child (and a parent). These are all subjects that are hard to understand and deal with but Kubica is brilliant in presenting the consequences and the unfortunate reality of its effects. The only thing I had issue with in Pretty Baby was that the ending seemed rushed and too tidy.  I don't think most of these situations are this neatly settled. But, with that said, I do have to admit that it would have been really tough to end it more realistically as we relate to stories with a tidy ending. Great read however and I would highly recommend it. 

A Touch of Stardust: A Novel

by Kate Alcott

Synopsis:

When Julie Crawford leaves Fort Wayne, Indiana, for Hollywood, she never imagines she’ll cross paths with Carole Lombard, the dazzling actress from Julie’s provincial Midwestern hometown. The young woman has dreams of becoming a screenwriter, but the only job Julie’s able to find is one in the studio publicity office of the notoriously demanding producer David O. Selznick, who is busy burning through directors, writers, and money as he films Gone with the Wind.

Although tensions run high on the set, Julie finds she can step onto the back lot, take in the smell of smoky gunpowder and the soft rustle of hoop skirts, and feel the magical world of Gone with the Wind come to life. Julie’s access to real-life magic comes when Carole Lombard hires her as an assistant and invites her into the glamorous world Carole shares with Clark Gable, who is about to move into movie history as the dashing Rhett Butler.

Carole Lombard, happily profane and uninhibited, makes no secret of her relationship with Gable, which poses something of a problem for the studio because Gable is technically still married—and the last thing the film needs is more negative publicity. Julie is there to fend off the overly curious reporters, hoping to prevent details about the affair from slipping out. But she can barely keep up with her blond employer, let alone control what comes out of Carole’s mouth, and—as their friendship grows—Julie soon finds she doesn’t want to. Carole, both wise and funny, becomes Julie’s model for breaking free of the past.

In the ever-widening scope of this story, Julie is given a front-row seat to not one but two of the greatest love affairs of all time: the undeniable on-screen chemistry between Scarlett and Rhett, and offscreen, the deepening love between Carole and Clark. Yet beneath the shiny façade, things in Hollywood are never quite what they seem, and Julie must learn to balance her career aspirations and her own budding romance with the outsized personalities and overheated drama on set. Vivid, romantic, and filled with Old Hollywood details, A Touch of Stardust will entrance, surprise, and delight.

My Review:

If you are a fan of the movie Gone with the Wind (which I am) you will sincerely enjoy this book. The book is about the filming of Gone with the Wind and all of the drama that surrounded this highly controversial attempt at film-making. The story focuses on Julie. A mid-western, starry-eyed but confident ingenue on the set of the film. She's not interested in the lights of Hollywood but she wants to be a screen writer. On her first day on the set, she meets Andy - one of David O. Selznik's right-hand men.  Andy is torn between the fact that he is a Jew prior to WWII when Jews around the world were cautious about the environment of impending war. In Hollywood, prominent Jews would hide their ancestry but Andy would not do that. Julie falls in love with Andy but understands that the fact he is Jewish would be difficult for her with her closed-minded, mid-Western family. Throughout the story, Julie becomes Carole Lombard's (Clark Gable's lover and then wife) assistant and friend. From that friendship, we see just how "normal" people like Lombard and Gable in a place like Hollywood where appearances and publicity are everything.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I'm a fan of "old" Hollywood and I absolutely love everything about Gone with the Wind. However, I could not give this book a higher rating because I was never quite clear about whose story this was. Was it about a Jew in Hollywood during hard times or was it about Gone with the Wind? There just seemed to be no to little connection between the two, yet I kept looking for that connection to be more clear.  In the end, I found it to be a simple little story using the grandeur and drama of the making of a blockbuster (Gone with the Wind) as the backdrop to drive the story. It just didn't convince me fully. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it and it was very well written with appropriately dramatic dialog accurate to the time in which the events take place. An enjoyable read, just not a blockbuster work of historical fiction for me. I will definitely read others by Kate Alcott as I did enjoy her writing style.

Thunderstruck

by Erik Larson

Synopsis:

In Thunderstruck, Erik Larson tells the interwoven stories of two men--Hawley Crippen, a very unlikely murderer, and Guglielmo Marconi, the obsessive creator of a seemingly supernatural means of communication--whose lives intersect during one of the greatest criminal chases of all time.

Set in Edwardian London and on the stormy coasts of Cornwall, Cape Cod, and Nova Scotia, Thunderstruck evokes the dynamism of those years when great shipping companies competed to build the biggest, fastest ocean liners, scientific advances dazzled the public with visions of a world transformed, and the rich outdid one another with ostentatious displays of wealth. Against this background, Marconi races against incredible odds and relentless skepticism to perfect his invention: the wireless, a prime catalyst for the emergence of the world we know today. Meanwhile, Crippen, "the kindest of men," nearly commits the perfect crime.

With his superb narrative skills, Erik Larson guides these parallel narratives toward a relentlessly suspenseful meeting on the waters of the North Atlantic. Along the way, he tells of a sad and tragic love affair that was described on the front pages of newspapers around the world, a chief inspector who found himself strangely sympathetic to the killer and his lover, and a driven and compelling inventor who transformed the way we communicate. Thunderstruck presents a vibrant portrait of an era of séances, science, and fog, inhabited by inventors, magicians, and Scotland Yard detectives, all presided over by the amiable and fun-loving Edward VII as the world slid inevitably toward the first great war of the twentieth century. Gripping from the first page, and rich with fascinating detail about the time, the people, and the new inventions that connect and divide us, Thunderstruck is splendid narrative history from a master of the form.

My Review:

Erik Larson can tell a story. Not only does he tell you the story, but he thoroughly educates you about the facts that surround that story. I was not familiar with the story of Hawley and Cora Crippen. Probably, the first truly fully unsolved mystery of its time because quite simply forensics just wasn't advanced enough to prove very much at the turn of the century. Pretty much if the circumstances of the crime scene pointed in the direction of a guilty verdict, then, so it was. Here, a mild-mannered, well-respected but highly unsuspecting man marries a kind of bully of a woman. She controls him (as much as he lets her control him of course) and after many years of "putting up with her" he decides to end it in the most gruesome mutilation murder one can't even imagine. No bones, no identifying sexual organs to be found only the viscera of what was once a human being is buried under the infamous Crippen house in London. However, Cora's friends and lavish reputation is what sets alarms that cause Scotland Yard to find Hawley Crippen and bring him to justice. This is not the whole story, however. There is the fact that had it not been for Marconi's invention and persistence about the benefits of wireless communication, the elaborate scheme not only to catch Crippen and his lover Ethel on the escape but also the ability to advance the ways by which Scotland Yard was able to track his every move it would not have been possible to thwart his otherwise sure-fire escape. Erik Larson tells the story as two separate stories that bring one of the greatest advancements of the century together with one of the most publicized crimes of the time. This was not an easy read. Even the author forewarns the reader at the onset that he provides a lot of detail about the history of the events. And, indeed, that he does. So, if you are not history buff or get lost in the overly detailed recounting of actual events, this book might prove a chore to get through. I found that it did dispense so much detail that at times, I struggled to get past Marconi's story to get to the "juicy" details of the Crippen's story. But, overall, the book was fascinating and the writing brilliant. 

Once Lost

by Ber Carroll

 

Are some things better left unfound?

 

Best friends Louise and Emma grew up next door to each other in a grim inner-city suburb of Dublin. Now Louise, an art conservator, is thousands of miles away in Sydney, restoring a beautiful old painting. She meets Dan, whose family welcome her as one of their own, but she will always feel lost until she finds her mother who walked out when she was just eight years old. 
 
Back in Dublin, Emma is stuck in a job where she is under-appreciated and underpaid, but her biggest worry is her ex-partner, Jamie. Emma has lost so much because of Jamie: her innocence, her reputation, almost her life. Now she is at risk of losing Isla, her young daughter. 
 
So where is Louise's mother? 

Will Emma ever be free of her ex? 

Both women frantically search for answers, but when the truth finally emerges it is more shattering than they had ever expected.

 

Author Bio:

Ber Carroll was born in Blarney, County Cork, and moved to Australia in 1995. Her first novel, Executive Affair, was inspired by her initial impressions of Sydney, and her exciting, dynamic work environment at the time. Ber now lives in Sydney’s northern beaches with her husband and two children.  Incidentally, Ber is short for Bernadette, but please don’t call her Bernadette: this is what her mother calls her when she is in trouble for something. Ber’s novels have been published in five countries, including Ireland. If you would like to know more about Ber and her novels, you can visit her website at www.bercarroll.com, or you can subscribe to her newsletter (Book Chat) with fellow authors Dianne Blacklock and Liane Moriarty (see Ber’s website for a link to the newsletter and to find Ber on Facebook).

My Review: 

Thank you to CLP Blog Tours for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. Ber Carroll's book Once Lost was fantastic. The story examines the struggle one can experience when a traumatic situation leaves questions unanswered and feelings unresolved. It is about the heavy weight of dealing with life when you have not had closure on  a childhood incident you were not emotionally mature enough to process but have carried into adulthood. This is the story of two best friends - Louise and Emma. Louise's mother abandons her when she is 8 years old. Even at such a young age, Louise senses that things aren't right. He mother has erratic mood swings and  is not the loving and affectionate mother Louise desperately needs. She simply ups and leaves one day for no apparent reason abandoning Louise in the care of her step father. Throughout her childhood, Louise longs to have her mother return to her but to no avail. Her neighbor and friend's mother steps in as a kind of surrogate mother to Louise and involves herself in  Louise's upbringing.  Louise and Emma grow up like sisters except that Emma feels the unconditional love and security of having a mother around at all times that puts the daughter above her own needs. The book switches from chapter to chapter between Louise's story and Emma's story. Emma has had her mother all along but she has a bout of rebellion in her teenage years and gets involved with a boy, Jamie, who brings nothing but trouble with drugs and drinking. Emma finds herself pregnant at a very young age and forever tied to the unpredictable and often dangerous consequences of having a baby with someone whose life has no direction. Louise and Emma are now in their mid twenties and are both seeking resolve - Louise wants to find the mother that left her so she can know why and Emma wants to keep Jamie - her daughter Isla's father - as far away from endangering Isla and eliminate his influence on her.  Louise restores art pieces all over the world. As such it enables her to go around the world and further her search for her mother. Both restoring art and her search for her mother become her life's work. A job in Australia takes her to Sydney where she thinks her mother might have fled to. In Australia she meets people that help her and become the support system she has always needed. Back in Ireland, Emma is doing a lot of growing up. She's a good mother, she's in a stable relationship and is doing her best to make up for the mistakes of her youth. But Jamie has a newfound desire to be a father to Isla that threatens Emma's protective hold on her daughter. I don't want to give away what happens to both Louise and Emma as they seek closure on childhood wrongs but their journey is engrossing and poignant. Ber Carroll tells a story that is real and taps into a very human need - the need for love, security and reassurance that we get from bonding, loving relationships early on in life. I not only recommend this novel but give it highest praises.