REVIEW: THE BEACH CLUB, BY ELIN HILDERBRAND

Mack Petersen, manager of the hotel, has been working at The Beach Club for 12 summers. Only this summer is different. His boss, the owner of the hotel, Bill Elliot, shows up in the spring with a new set of demands. His girlfriend Maribel is pressing Mack to get married and Vance, the African-American bellman, who has hated Mack since the day Mack stole his job 12 years ago, threatens him in a deadly scene. Mack knows something’s got to give.

Love O’Donnell, the new front desk person straight from the slopes of Aspen, is desperately searching for a stranger to father her child. The bellman, Jem Crandall, who posed as Mr. November in his college calendar, is on his way to LA to break into agenting, until he falls in love with Maribel. Emotions are at a peak when a hurricane threatens to wash away The Beach Club and all it stands for.

An engrossing, sexy novel that will sweep you away to the beach any time of the year.

 

The Beach Club brings a full cast of characters to the hotel, spotlighting the staff and the guests. Mack kept my interest up as he navigated his position while trying to decide whether or not to marry his girlfriend of twelve years. Maribel had one goal in mind: to marry her live-in lover. But would it ever happen?

Other contenders for the role of husband were other staff members, especially young Jem Crandall who is eager to step up.

Meanwhile, Love was in search of a man to impregnate her. Someone who wouldn’t want to stand in as the father…just the “sperm donor.”

Would the competitive staff at the hotel keep everyone on their toes? Would a hurricane change the dynamic as they each struggled to achieve their desires?

By the end, there were happy moments and unexpected ones that kept me turning the pages. 4.5 stars.

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REVIEW: EVERYTHING WE KEEP, BY KERRY LONSDALE

A luminous debut with unexpected twists, Everything We Keep explores the devastation of loss, the euphoria of finding love again, and the pulse-racing repercussions of discovering the truth about the ones we hold dear and the lengths they will go to protect us.

Sous chef Aimee Tierney has the perfect recipe for the perfect life: marry her childhood sweetheart, raise a family, and buy out her parents’ restaurant. But when her fiancé, James Donato, vanishes in a boating accident, her well-baked future is swept out to sea. Instead of walking down the aisle on their wedding day, Aimee is at James’s funeral—a funeral that leaves her more unsettled than at peace.

As Aimee struggles to reconstruct her life, she delves deeper into James’s disappearance. What she uncovers is an ocean of secrets that make her question everything about the life they built together. And just below the surface is a truth that may set Aimee free…or shatter her forever.

 

 

Love and loss are the primary themes in Everything We Keep, and we are thrust into the center of Aimee’s loss when the funeral for her fiancé is held on what would have been their wedding day.

As time passes, Aimee begins to question what she thought she knew about James and his family, and as secrets begin to surface, she goes on her own quest to find the truth.

Meanwhile, a new possible love interest appears in the form of Ian who is a comfort and companion for her, especially as she starts a new life with her coffee shop.

Her exploration takes her to the last place her fiancé was living, and as she untangles the secrets and lies, she is able to begin again.

A story that was a bit predictable at times, I kept reading because I wanted to see what would happen. 4 stars.

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REVIEW: PACK UP THE MOON, BY KRISTAN HIGGINS

Joshua and Lauren are the perfect couple. Newly married, they’re wildly in love, each on a successful and rewarding career path. Then Lauren is diagnosed with a terminal illness.

As Lauren’s disease progresses, Joshua struggles to make the most of the time he has left with his wife and to come to terms with his future—a future without the only woman he’s ever loved. He’s so consumed with finding a way to avoid the inevitable ending that he never imagines his life after Lauren.

But Lauren has a plan to keep her husband moving forward. A plan hidden in the letters she leaves him. In those letters, one for every month in the year after her death, Lauren leads Joshua on a journey through pain, anger, and denial. It’s a journey that will take Joshua from his attempt at a dinner party for family and friends to getting rid of their bed…from a visit with a psychic medium to a kiss with a woman who isn’t Lauren. As his grief makes room for laughter and new relationships, Joshua learns Lauren’s most valuable lesson: The path to happiness doesn’t follow a straight line.

 

 

Pack up the Moon is a perfect journey of love and loss.

I enjoyed how Lauren left letters for Josh following her death, and while I thought the story would be too sad for me, I also liked that the letters and the grief journey were mixed in with tales of their love connection. Back and forth in time, we come to know this couple and love their unique story.

As Josh begins to move forward, we still catch the occasional glimpses of the life the two had together. I wanted to see more of them, and found myself smiling a lot, too, even though I had to keep a Kleenex handy for the sad moments.

As much as I enjoyed the two of them, sometimes I felt like Lauren was almost too good to be true. But the connection between the couple felt real.

An unforgettable couple with that something special we all want in our lives, this tale earned 4.5 stars from me.

 

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REVIEW: AN ORDINARY LIFE, BY AMANDA PROWSE

 

Christmas Eve, 2019. Ninety-four-year-old Molly lies in her hospital bed. A stroke and a fall may have broken her body—but her mind is alive with memories.

London, 1940s. Molly is a bright young woman, determined to help the war effort and keep her head up despite it all. Life becomes brighter when she meets and falls in love with a man who makes her forget everything with one dance. But then war forces her to make an unforgettable sacrifice, and when she’s brought to her knees by a daring undercover mission with the French Resistance, only her sister knows the secret weighing heavily on Molly’s heart.

Now, lying in her hospital bed, Molly can’t escape the memories of what she lost all those years ago. But she is not as alone as she thinks.

Will she be able to find peace—and finally understand that what seemed to be an ordinary life was anything but?

 

 

 

 

An Ordinary Life opens on Christmas Eve, 2019, with 94-year-old Molly in hospital after a stroke and a fall. As she lies in the bed, her mind traipses back over the years and through the many memorable moments that have decorated her life.

As a teenager in the 1940s, she fell in love with a man she hoped to spend her life with, but that was not to be her destiny. A lovely treasure has come out of that love, but the war rages and leads to a choice that will change everything in ways she cannot undo.

I loved Molly’s journey through the war years and afterwards and felt a lump in my throat at the life she had lost. And for what would happen in the subsequent years. I kept hoping for peace and love for her at last…but would she find it?

I enjoyed the author’s descriptions of the settings, events, and how she brought Molly’s little cottage to life for me. A cozy place that could somehow fill in the empty places in her life.

The characters that also filled in the gaps in her life were family members, those who could substitute for some of her losses.

The book’s title “an ordinary life” might seem like a misnomer, but by the end of the tale, one could conclude that the ordinary moments were the ones to be treasured. A 5 star read.

WEEKEND MOMENTS: NETFLIX BINGEING, MOTHER’S DAY, & LOVE….

Some of you may have seen my preparations for my Day in the Life:  In the Bedroom. (Interior World Shake-Ups…When Will I Stop?)

My day began early.  Everything was ready, so I first brought in the laptop (Louisa May), and set her up.  I hooked up the TV and laptop, changed the input on the TV, and voila!  It’s all set.

Next came the breakfast tray.  You can’t really enjoy Breakfast in Bed with Netlix & Amazon Videos…without it.

First I finished watching Happy Valley, another binge-worthy show.

 

 

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Next:  Watched the rest of The Newsroom on Amazon Video:

 

 

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Finally…Grace & Frankie.  I watched all of Season II!

 

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During this long process, which didn’t seem long at all, I enjoyed food, coffee, and then a mimosa….

 

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I took a little break between shows to go online and visit some blogs.  Laptop came over to the bed….

 

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So….after lolling about in bed all day, one would think I would feel rested…but I was kind of tired.  I read a little from the book I’ve been savoring all weekend:  What We Find, by Robyn Carr.

 

 

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Guess what’s coming tomorrow?  Clouds in My Coffee, the third book in the Country Club Murders trilogy (series?).  I can’t wait to download it!

 

 

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So…my weekend continued, with Mother’s Day brunch up in the mountains, by the lake.  Here are my lovely daughter and grandson, with the boats as a backdrop:

 

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One of the gifts she gave me was this hand-carved art piece, created by one of her friends:

 

 

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Here is how it looks on my Love Wall in the office.  It is surrounded by baby pictures of my kids…and one of me back in the day:

 

 

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Finally…some lovely lilies:

 

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These were my Weekend Interior Moments.  I hope you had a wonderful weekend, too.  Do you enjoy setting up your interiors for such moments?

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REVIEW: THE IDEA OF LOVE, BY PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY

 

 

When Ella Flynn and Blake Hunter met in Watersend, South Carolina, they each had their own agenda, and they were each telling little white lies.

Ella, who was a resident of the town, had shared with Blake, who was calling himself Hunter Adderman and posing as a writer of history: “Don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story.” She had no idea that “Hunter” had already begun following that particular piece of advice.

Maybe the little white lies were harmless. But before we can answer the question of what would happen to the two story tellers, we are shown how each of them manages to keep the truth out of things…until it was no longer possible.

Why would Blake Hunter, a screen writer from LA, tell such a fabrication? And why would Ella, whose husband left her for her best friend’s sister, want to make up her own version of events?

Would the perfect love story Blake believes he has discovered put him back on the top, after two movie flops? Could Ella find love again, or must she settle for just the idea of it?

The Idea of Love: A Novel was a charming but somewhat superficial tale about all the things that can go wrong with love, and how trying and persevering can make all the difference. Along the way, we get to watch Ella redefine what she wants in life, including a life in which she is a wedding dress designer. She gets to reassess everything she thought she knew and believed about love…and friendship. The story was a fun and quick read. 4.0 stars.

REVIEW: THE LOOK OF LOVE, BY SARAH JIO

 

This story of love in all its forms sweeps across time, from a flower cart in Paris, in 1893, with a woman named Elodie, to The Flower Lady, a Pike Place flower shop in Seattle, in 2012, and its owner Jane Williams.

Our current rendering of the story begins with a woman named Colette DuBois, who meets with Jane to talk about her wonderful gift, the one that allows her to see love in all its forms. Born on Christmas Day, Jane is warned by Colette that she must complete her journey of discovery, writing about the forms of love, before her thirtieth birthday in one year.

And so begins the journey. The Look of Love: A Novel was a delightful story that had its ups and downs, as lovers connected and parted, and revealed the various obstacles they had to overcome.

We learn about Lo, Jane’s assistant, and her obsession with love; she has a need to fill the empty spaces inside with one lover after another. We spent time with her on her houseboat on Lake Union.

Flynn, Jane’s brother, has many loves as well, but is drawn to a fantasy love with a woman in a neighboring apartment. A woman he views only through their windows.

When Jane meets Flynn’s friend Cameron Collins, a medical writer, she fears that he may not be her true love, even though she feels the love. He is too focused on the scientific. But their journey will be a surprising one.

Will each of the characters find the right love for themselves? What will happen to Jane and her gift? And who will she pass it on to? How will their stories end, and who will have a happy ending?

My favorite aspects of the story showed me many sections of Seattle, a city I love, and I felt as though I were right there with the characters. I also enjoyed how the six kinds of love were brought out and shown as they corresponded to each character: Pragma, Agape, Mania, Storge, Eros, and Ludus. Some might find this book overly sugary in comparison to other books by this author, but for me, it was just what I needed. 5.0 stars.

REVIEW: AND THEN I FOUND YOU, BY PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY

Kate Vaughn and Jack Adams have loved each other for as long as they can remember. But life, college, jobs…all kinds of things seemed to get in the way. Separate them.

Then one week together in Birmingham would change everything about their lives. But would it bring them together? Or separate them?

And Then I Found You: A Novel is a wonderfully layered story of the choices we make, the events that keep us apart, and how we sometimes can find our way back to each other. But even though we can’t change the past, can we pick up the pieces and begin again? Can we embrace and accept it, despite the pain that lingers?

The author has created wonderful characters I could root for and situations that resonate with me. I loved the settings, feeling as though I were walking along with the characters. While I had my own wishes for them all, I hung in there to find out what the characters would choose to do, and what their hopes and dreams would bring. In the end, the story left me with a wonderful feeling of satisfaction. 4.0 stars.

HUMP DAY THOUGHTS FROM THE INTERIOR: WAITING FOR “THE ONE AND ONLY”

 

It’s that wonderful time again when we all gather together to share our eager anticipation for upcoming releases.  Check over at Breaking the Spine to see what everyone is excited about.

The One and Only, by Emily Giffin, is a story about love and loyalty, coming to readers on May 20.

 

 

In her eagerly awaited new novel, beloved New York Times bestselling author Emily Giffin returns with an extraordinary story of love and loyalty—and an unconventional heroine struggling to reconcile both.

Thirty-three-year-old Shea Rigsby has spent her entire life in Walker, Texas—a small college town that lives and dies by football, a passion she unabashedly shares. Raised alongside her best friend, Lucy, the daughter of Walker’s legendary head coach, Clive Carr, Shea was too devoted to her hometown team to leave. Instead she stayed in Walker for college, even taking a job in the university athletic department after graduation, where she has remained for more than a decade.

But when an unexpected tragedy strikes the tight-knit Walker community, Shea’s comfortable world is upended, and she begins to wonder if the life she’s chosen is really enough for her. As she finally gives up her safety net to set out on an unexpected path, Shea discovers unsettling truths about the people and things she has always trusted most—and is forced to confront her deepest desires, fears, and secrets.

Thoughtful, funny, and brilliantly observed, The One & Only is a luminous novel about finding your passion, following your heart, and, most of all, believing in something bigger than yourself . . . the one and only thing that truly makes life worth living.

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I love the sound of this one…I plan to savor it!  What are you waiting for?

 

 

 

 

LETTING GO SO LOVE CAN THRIVE — A REVIEW

 

 

 

In the lilting narrative voice of Grace Barnum, we follow her journey to love.

We meet her first when she is an editor for a textbook company: boring, predictable, responsible. Living with her equally predictable boyfriend Steven. Her life is pretty much all figured out.

And then she meets handsome, charming, responsibility-challenged Tyler Wilkie when he is walking the neighbor’s dogs. And something subtly begins to change for Grace.

But she fights it. How can she possibly feel what she’s feeling for this musician? This man who shortly begins to develop a following, with groupies.

Throughout Grace Grows, we come to root for Grace and Ty, even when they don’t believe in themselves. Then Ty does believe in the two of them, but Grace doubts it.

What will it take for Grace to grow? She must make choices, givie up old ideas, and let go so she can love. Will she finally find what has eluded her for her whole life?

Very enjoyable and charming tale set in New York, with funny and quirky characters that made me care about them. A little predictable. But a fun four star read.