6.29.2017 - Everything We Left Behind

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Kerry Lonsdale for the opportunity to read and review this book - I loved it!

This is the sequel to a favorite of mine from last year, Everything We Keep. It's a somewhat complicated story - James is engaged to marry Aimee. Two months before the wedding, he discovers his brother Phil is laundering money and endangering the family business. He takes off to Mexico where he is lost at sea and presumed dead.

Six years later, James wakes up from a fugue state where he learned he had been living in Mexico as Carlos, a widower with two sons, and is involved with his sister-in-law. This book is told from both James' point of view in the present and Carlos' starting in the past and moving forward. It's fascinating to see both characters and the story develop.

These are great books and there is another coming next year - I already can't wait for it! Pick up the first one, then grab this sequel!

6.27.2017 - Hello Sunshine

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Simon Schuster and Laura Dave for the opportunity to read and review her latest book - I really liked it!

Sunshine Mackenzie is living the life - she is a cooking video sensation who is on the cusp of a huge deal with the Food Network and to write a cookbook. Then she gets hacked. She is revealed to be a fake - her background, her skills, her story, her - it's all fake. The fall from grace is swift - she quickly loses her job, her husband, her home. She's forced to go back to her childhood home in the Hamptons and to her estranged sister, Rain. (Yes, the characters are named Sunshine and Rain!) While there, she is forced to take a hard look at her life and herself.

I was a huge fan of Eight Hundred Grapes and her latest will not disappoint. It was an easy read, great characters and had much to ponder - another story about the pitfalls of living our life on social media. Highly recommended!

6.25.2017 - Fitness Junkie

Thanks to NetGalley, Doubleday, and the authors for the opportunity to read this fun book!

In a nutshell, this is a book that pokes serious fun at the weight-loss industry and our society for being so focused on being skinny. The letter in the front of my ARC says that the authors found that when they were coming up with ludicrous weight-loss diets and workouts that they were all out there in the world - and there are some crazy ones!

Janey is the CEO of B - a bridal design group that sells uber-expensive gowns only to a size 4. When the designer, Beau, who is Janey's best friend since grade school, shows a picture to Janey of her eating a bruffin at a fashion show, he tells her that she must lose 30 pounds before she can come back to work. While Janey might have put on a few pounds since going through a divorce, she appears to have a healthy attitude about weight. Until the ultimatum. Suddenly she finds herself in the crazy world of rich people trying to lose weight however they can. Janey's good friend, CJ, who is always trying the latest crazy diet trend, jumps in to help out.

While this book is hilarious, it does point fingers at society and its body-shaming attitude that skinny is the ultimate price, even if it's not healthy. On a good note, it may make you want to eat healthier and go for a walk!

Lots of fun - highly recommended!

6.23.2017 - Anatomy of a Scandal

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Atria Books and Sarah Vaughan for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful novel.

This is a very well-written character-driven novel. It goes to the heart of what we each define as the truth and how well we know those closest to us.

James is a ranked member of the House of Commons and the Prime Minister is his best friend from school. He is also attractive, has the perfect wife and 2 children. All is well until James is accused of rape. How much do those factors influence juries?

Sophia, his wife, can't believe that her husband would ever be capable of rape. However, she is devastated by the news of his affair with the coworker who is now accusing him. Kate is the prosecutor bent on making sure that James pays for his crime.

Told in alternate points of view between Sophia and Kate, as well as different timelines, a gripping story comes out that leads us to question the line between consensual sex and rape, the definition of truth, how much our backgrounds influence our behavior.

This would be a great book club book with lots to dissect!

6.20.2017 - Who is Rich?

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I thought that the writing in this book was great, very descriptive, loved the addition of graphic drawings since the subject was a cartoonist. But I just didn't like Rich so it was hard to get into this book too much.

Rich is a cartoonist who had a lot of success early on but is now struggling just to make ends meet in a world that is increasingly going away from print media. Every year, he goes to a summer arts conference in a scenic New England town where he teaches cartooning. The same cast of characters teaches at this conference - it is portrayed as a grown-up version of spring break, where everyone can escape from their normal (read horrible) lives.

Rich leaves at home a wife, also struggling to get back to her career, a young daughter and an infant son. At home, he's on the night duty, struggling to attend to a son who never sleeps. Both parents are obviously sleep-deprived and at their wits end so attending to their marriage is not on the top of their list. When Rich reconnects with Amy, the wife of a billionaire who pays no attention to her, the affair they started last summer and continued through a series of affirming texts all year, heats up.

While we all can understand the draw of someone paying attention to us while we slip away from the mind-numbing details of our real life, everyone in this book came across entitled, selfish, whiney, and incapable of making good decisions.

The writing was top-notch but hopefully the author's next book will contain characters we can get behind a bit more!

6.18.2017 - I Need a Lifeguard Everywhere but the Pool

Thanks so much to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book!

What can I say? I always love these books! This mother-daughter writing duo never fail to make me laugh, cry, relate, and basically want to be their best friends - because they already seem like best friends! I kept reading these short chapters in between other things, basically prolonging finishing the book.

If you haven't read any of these books - start at the beginning so you know and love all the backstories, and just enjoy! Highly recommended as always!

6.18.2017 - When I Wake Up

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Aria Publishing and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Anna is a well-loved teacher, married to Erik who is a house painter/bandmate, and mother of two twin boys. The book opens with a vicious attack on Anna that leaves her in a coma. Erik tries to investigate who could have attacked Anna and uncovers many secrets.

This was a well-written psychological thriller with lots of suspects to keep you guessing to the end. Be aware that it is sexually explicit if that's an issue with you. I enjoyed all the different points of view and timelines that let us explore each of the characters' backgrounds and motives. Most of the characters aren't real likeable but that doesn't take away from the suspense of this book.

Well worth the read - I couldn't put it down!