6.28.2025 - Our Last Vineyard Summer

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster | Gallery Books for gifting me the sophomore novel by Brooke Lea Foster, author of Summer Darlings, which I also loved.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

Set in dual timelines of 1964 and 1978, we follow a family of women at their family summer house on Martha's Vineyard.  In 1965, the story is mostly focused on Virgie and her relationship and marriage to Charlie, and their 3 daughters.  In 1978, the youngest daughter, Betsy, is struggling with grad school and has come back to the summer house along with her sisters after Virgie announces they must sell the house to pay off their father's debts.  What they find are family secrets, strained relationships, and facing the complicated legacy of both parents.

Well, no sophomore slump here.  I liked this one even more than her debut.  The setting is once again on the Cape Cod islands, and focuses on the strength of these women within their family and in the larger context of the times.  I really enjoyed the look back at women's rights and feminism in both of these timelines - some of it is eye-opening!  But where the book really shines is in its characters.  I so enjoyed getting to spend time with these women, as they held secrets within so as not to hurt the others.  One line really spoke to me about family relationships - "...my story is not your story.  You could write a different version of the same exact events, and they would still be true."  It was nostalgic, atmospheric, emotional and I thought it was wonderful.  It's the perfect book to pack along on your beach vacation!

6.25.2025 - El Dorado Drive

 

Many thanks to NetGalley, and Penguin Random House | Putnam Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by Megan Abbott.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Harper is forced to move back in with her sister, Pam, because of financial issues.  Once there, she's surprised to see that Pam seems to be doing so well financially after a nasty divorce and her husband cleaning out their bank accounts and even the kids' money.  Pam shares her secret - a women's group called the Wheel, whose function is to lift each other up.  But when Harper and their other sister join, the sisters unleash a darkness within the group.

This is a slow burn thriller that leads up to quite the ending!  I liked the timeframe - in the 70s and 80s in Detroit after the crash of the car industry there.  It had a gritty, desperate feeling throughout when opportunities were few and people suddenly had to do without.  And just what would some people do to get money?  It was the perfect setup for groups such as Mary Kay, Amway, and the Wheel to come in and promise the world.  I liked the interaction between the sisters and Pam's daughter Vivian's storyline as well.  

6.25.2025 - All the Words We Know

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster | Atria Books for gifting me a digital ARC of All the Words We Know by Bruch Nash.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Rose is in her 80s, living in an assisted living facility, but she is still full of life.  She just can't always remember it.  When her friend is found dead after an apparent fall from a window, Rose is determined to uncover the truth.

Don't go into this thinking it's going to be a cozy mystery, because that's a small part of the book.  This is more a look at dementia from the inside, when someone just can't come up with the right word, so tries quite a few.  It will make you smile as Rose tries to understand the world around her, including her somewhat detached children and grandchildren.  She remembers love but not all the details.  As someone dealing with a parent with Alzheimer's, it seemed familiar in many ways, bringing some dignity to this illness, making the patient feel real and valued.  There were times when I was reading when I thought, Oh, I need to be mindful of saying things a certain way.  Creative and thoughtful.

6.25.2025 - Party of Liars

 

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press | Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the debut novel by Kelsey Cox.  The audiobook was fantastic because of the perfect narration by the full cast of Dan Bittner, Kate Handford, Pearl Hewitt, Saskia Maarleveld, and Suzy Jackson.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own – 4.5 stars rounded up!

Today is Sophie Matthews’s sixteenth birthday party, an exclusive black-tie bash in the heart of the Texas Hill Country.  Sophie’s dad has spared no expense, and his renovated cliffside mansion—once thought haunted—is now hosting the event of the season. Then, just before the candles on the three-tiered red velvet cake are blown out, a body falls from the balcony onto the starlit dance floor below.

Bravo for a wonderful debut novel and fabulous audiobook production!  I was instantly intrigued by this story, told in different POV from Sophie’s mother, stepmother, her best friend, and the nanny for Sophie’s new stepsister, as well as in an 11-hour timeline of before, during, and after the party.  These women are all keeping secrets from each other and themselves, and none is a reliable narrator.  It’s a locked-room mystery that left me questioning so many and I never saw the ending coming.  There’s even a touch of superstition and folklore, as the house has the reputation of being haunted.  I can’t wait to read more from this author!

6.24.2025 - I'll Be Right Here

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest novel by Amy Bloom.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 3.5 stars!

In 1942 Gazala, seventeen, works for  Colette, a writer.  She immigrates alone from Paris to New York after WWII, and becomes friends with sisters Anne and Alma Cohen. Gazala’s adopted brother, Samir, later joins her and the two become lovers. These four characters become life long friends and a family to each other.

I have really liked all of the books by Amy Bloom that I have read, so I was very anxious to read her latest.  As expected, the writing was gorgeous but I struggled a bit to keep up with so many characters and many different timelines and locations.  At its heart, it's a beautiful story of found family and love in all forms.  There was a bit of a feeling though that there was a checklist nearby to include all forms that love may appear, which seemed a bit forced.  It was a short book, but felt longer because I struggled some.  It's getting good reviews, so be sure and read them as well.

6.24.2025 - The Homemade God

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House | The Dial Press for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest novel by Rachel Joyce.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

Famous artist Vic Kemp has relied on his four children since their mother died when they were young.  Netta, the oldest, is a lawyer and pseudo-parent to her siblings; Susan, married with two stepchildren who cooks and cleans for both her husband and father; Goose, a wanna-be artist who is relegated to working a menial job in Vic's studio; and Iris, the baby, who will do whatever Vic asks.  When Vic calls to announce he's getting remarried to a mysterious younger woman, Bella-Mae, things don't go well and he is soon found dead.  The siblings gather at the house on Lake Orta to figure out what happened.

This is a multi-layered family saga that is touching, emotional, and familiar to anyone with siblings.  It's a dysfunctional family, for sure, but I believe all families are dysfunctional in their own way.  It explores the notion that are parents are always right and we are always destined to fit neatly in the slots allotted to us in childhood.  It's a look at grief, in all its forms, and how we are always looking for answers when someone dies.  The writing is wonderful and atmospheric, and draws the reader in to another world, with characters that began to feel like family.

6.23.2025 - The Accidental Favorite

 

Many thanks to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the sophomore novel by Fran Littlewood, author of Amazing Grace Adams.  The audiobook was perfectly narrated by Fiona Button, especially when considering there were a lot of characters in this book!  All opinions expressed in this review are my own – 4.5 stars!

 

Vivienne and Patrick Fisher have done an excellent job raising their three daughters, Alex, Nancy, and Eva. They’re well-adjusted women with impressive careers, caring partners, exciting hobbies, and sweet children.   The three generations gather at a beautiful glass rental home for a weeklong celebration of Vivienne’s 70^th birthday.  But when Patrick’s reaction to a freak accident on the first day of the trip inadvertently reveals that he has a favorite daughter, no one is prepared for the shockwaves it sends through the family.

This book really made me wish I had sisters (although I do have lots of sisters-in-law!) because these three women had such a complicated but unbreakable bond to each other.  I like books with a domestic/family theme, because it’s a good reminder that all families are messy in their own ways.  That was certainly the case here with everyone having secrets and issues.  I also liked the theme of family birth order and how that affects personalities.  This is definitely a character-driven story and I loved this look into the Fisher family.