Dinner on Primrose Hill by Jodi Thomas

 

What are your favorite meals to share with family and friends?  Do you cook the dinner, is it a potluck, do you go out to eat?

I read Dinner on Primrose Hill by Jodi Thomas in November for the Brenda Novak Book Group.  This delightful romance takes place in Honey Creek, Texas and focuses on three couples.  Benjamin Monroe teaches chemistry at the local college and has his life planned out and orderly.  When his new colleague, Virginia Clarke, arrives, his routines are thrown to the wind. He also feels like he has met her somewhere before. Where could it have been?

One of Benjamin’s students, Ketch Kincaid, has retired from military service and is earning his college degree.  He is shocked when his fiancée dumps him.  Can he find love again when he meets Tuesday, a local waitress, who shares his old soul? 

Millie is the college librarian, and she is hit by local pastor’s son, Hank, while crossing the road.  With no family in town to help her, Hank helps her out in her recover.  While Millie is a button up librarian, everyone in town knows that Hank is the wild son of the pastor who has just recently returned to town.  Will these two be able to get past trust issues?

When pipe bombs are discovered around town, will these couples be able to work together to solve the mystery? 

I really enjoyed the cozy romances in this story and the humor.  I enjoyed all three couples, and the small college town setting.  I also really loved Tuesday’s historic home, its history, and how Ketch helped her with fixing it up.  I want an entire novel focused on the house!  I did enjoy the second chance romance theme of this novel.  This was part of a series, but I read it as a standalone novel and that worked for me. 

Favorite Quotes:

“Hank hoped he was wrong, but sometimes it seemed all the people in the world were broken somehow.  Everyone held a story they would never voice.”

Overall, if you are looking for a good second chance romance, Dinner on Primrose Hill is the perfect novel.

Book Source:  Review Copy from NetGalley.  Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Dear Santa by Debbie Macomber

It isn’t Christmas without a new Debbie Macomber novel.  Dear Santa, is a sweet story.  Lindy Carmichael has returned to her hometown for Christmas.  She doesn’t have the Christmas spirit after finding out that her boyfriend was cheating on her with her best friend.  Her mother tries to lift her spirits by showing her old letters she had written to Santa as a youth.  As a lark, Lindy writes an adult version to Santa asking for a new best friend and boyfriend.  She soon rediscovers her old childhood best friend Peggy and her nemesis Billy.  Will Lindy be able to put her life back together and rediscover the magic of Christmas?

I loved this shorty and cozy story.  It was filled with the spirit of Christmas.  I really loved this premise with the letters to Santa.  It made me wonder what I wrote to Santa about as a kid.  I loved Billy’s story as well.  Isn’t it interesting as an adult to really learn about others that you grew up with and discover that there was a lot going on that you didn’t know about?  This book is a clean read and does have a magical Santa in it as well.  I liked the reconnection with family and friends, and the rethinking of life after it falls apart. 

I read Dear Santa as the December pick for the Brenda Novak Book Group.  Brenda Novak had a fun Christmas party with Debbie Macomber which can still be viewed on her Facebook page.  Debbie Macomber talks about her inspiration for this novel.  It was a lot of fun!

Overall, Dear Santa is an enjoyable Christmas novel.

Book Source:  Review copy from Netgalley. Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Keep Me Warm at Christmas by Brenda Novak

Keep Me Warm at Christmas was the October read for the Brenda Novak Book Group.  I loved the book group meeting that Brenda Novak posted, especially the Christmas cookie decorating contest with her daughter.  You can still watch the book group meeting on her Facebook page. 

 Keep Me Warm at Christmas is the story of two damaged souls staying at their friend’s estate over Christmas.  Tia Beckett has just had her first starring role in a movie that has Oscar buzz, but a horrific car accident has scarred her face making her unrecognizable.  With the paparazzi hot on her trail to get pictures of her injuries, she is happy to house sit for her producer Max and watch his parrot. 

 Seth Turner is a brilliant artist with a troubled past.  After the death of his wife, he feel like he can never find love again.  He’s spending a semester in the town of Silver Springs to help teach art at the New Horizons Boys Ranch that his mother runs for troubled teens.  He is happy to accept his friend Max’s invitation to stay at his estate, but curious about the reclusive neighbor staying at the guest house. 

 I enjoyed the story of Tia and Seth getting to know each other as well as the intrigue of who sent the paparazzi to Silver Springs.  I loved how Tia and Seth’s stories unfolded as well as their love for each other.  I really loved Tia’s story about how you can move on from a traumatizing accident.  Brenda Novak said at her book club that she was intrigued on how star Jennifer Grey’s appearance changed so much after her plastic surgery and how that impacted her acting career.  Tia is facing a similar problem with her appearance changing from the accident.  I also love how Seth had to move on and deal with his heartache from his wife’s death, but also the heartache of being abandoned as a child.  As a famous artist, he had to deal with who is using him for his money versus who loves him for who he is.  I liked that part of the story.  I also loved how supportive he was to Tia.

 I have not read all of the novels in the Silver Spring Series, and this novel did well as a standalone.

 Overall, Keep Me Warm at Christmas is a heartwarming Christmas romance.

 Book Source:  Purchased from Amazon.com.

 

Defending Britta Stein by Ronald H. Balson

 Are you looking for an intriguing legal thriller mixed with a historical fiction novel?  Look no further than Defending Britta Stein by Ronald H. Balson.  I read Defending Britta Stein at the end of September for the Brenda Novak Book Group.  Author Brenda Novak had a great interview with author Ronald H. Balson that can still be found on her Facebook page.

 Ole Henryks is a popular restaurant owner in Chicago is being honored for being a Danish war hero.  This does not sit well with ninety-two-year-old Britta Stein who starts a one-woman campaign to discredit Ole by graffitiing his restaurant.  After charges are pressed against Britta, can her legal team defend her by showing it’s not defamation, but true statements about Ole Henryks?  Britta narrates her past to her legal team and granddaughter and long buried secrets are unearthed.    Was Ole Henryks a Nazi collaborator?  How did his life intersect Britta’s life?

 I found out when I started reading this novel that it is part of a series.  It stood up well as a stand alone novel, although I am intrigued about the series now.  I had no idea about the Danish history during World War II and I loved learning about it. It was particularly wonderful to read about how an entire country was able to pull together for the greater good and help people out to save almost their entire Jewish population.  I am amazed I had never learned about this before.  This would make a wonderful movie.  I loved Britta’s story, but I’m not sure why she waited until this very late stage of her life to share it with her granddaughter.

 Overall, Defending Britta Stein is an engaging legal thriller and historical fiction novel that is not to be missed!

 Book Source:  Review copy from Netgalley.  Thank-you!

What If You & Me by Roni Loren

 

Title:  What If You & Me

Author: Roni Loren

Read by:  Desiree Ketchum

Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC

Length: Approximately 7 hours and 48 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Netgalley. Missing first two chapters so then purchased from Audible.

What if fear of the world can turn to trust and love?

Andi Lockley has a mysterious past traumatic event in her teenage years that has made her distrustful of the world and of relationships.  She meets her new neighbor, Hill Dawson after he barges in thinking she is being assaulted when he hears the screams from the horror movie she is watching.  They meet again when Andi runs over to his place after finding her back door open during another horror movie-a-thon.  Andi is a horror novel writer and Hill is a retired firefighter. Hill has trauma in his own past as he lost first part of his leg while rescuing people from a fire, and then his fiancée when she cheated on him with his best friend.  Will these two seemingly very different people find love and a way to move forward in life?

I LOVED this novel.  I really loved how the two main characters had very different trauma in their life and were able to work through it to build a trusting relationship together.  I also loved how this novel brough in elements of suspense as well.   This novel does have open door romance in it, but it did not go overboard.  I didn’t realize this was the second book in a series until I was well into it.  It stands on its own, but I do want to go back and read the first book.

What If You & Me is the August selection of the Brenda Novak Book Group. I listened to the meeting a day later on Friday, and it was a great interview with author Roni Loren.  My question was asked about whether Loren was a horror fan herself and what were her favorites.  It turns out she read a lot of the same books that I read as a preteen / teen – RL Stine, Christopher Pike, etc.  She then turned to a love of classic horror.  I am not much of a horror movie fan myself, but I enjoyed Andi’s passion for them in this novel.  This book group meeting is still up on Brenda Novak’s Facebook page if you would like to listen.

I downloaded this audiobook from Netgalley for review, but it was unfortunately missing the first two chapters, so I bought it from audible.  Desiree Ketchum was a delightful narrator.

Overall, I loved this romance and want to read more from author Roni Loren.

When I Found You by Brenda Novak

Natasha Gray has experienced a tragedy that has crushed her career dreams and her marriage.  She moves to the town of Silver Springs with her young son after she accepts a new job with the goal of rebuilding her life.  Her not quite stepbrother Mack helps her out.  As they struggle with their feelings for each other, will she be able to turn her life around?

When I Found You is one of my favorite kind of stories with the heroine needing to turn her life around after things have come crashing down. There are more than a few hurdles for Natasha that she has to overcome to be able to make it.  I greatly enjoyed it.  The romance was also very spicy in this one.

This book is part of the Silver Springs series but can be read as a stand alone novel.  I have not read all of the books in this series myself.

I read When I Found You as part of the Brenda Novak Book Group.  I love the monthly virtual book group meetings, but they always conflict with my Plan Commission meetings.  I listen to them afterwards and still enjoy them.  The microphone was placed a bit far away on this book group meeting, so I had a hard time hearing the July meeting.

Overall, When I Found You was a good second chance romance novel that is perfect for a summer getaway.

Book Source:  Purchased from Amazon.com

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

 

What is your favorite book or movie that contains time travel elements?

I have loved time travel since I was a kid watching Star Trek, Back to the Future, and Somewhere in Time.  I love to read any books with time travel elements involved.  One Last Stop is the June selection for the Brenda Novak Book Group, and I was excited to read it.

August has moved to New York City and has found a new job at a diner, and an apartment full of eclectic characters.   As she gets to know them, they become a family.  August meets a mysterious and attractive woman named Jane on the subway.  Soon she starts to wonder why she only sees Jane on the subway and never anywhere else.   She determines that Jane is stuck in a time loop.  How can she get to know Jane and break her out of the time loop?

Characters are one of the most important elements to me in a novel, and McQuiston writes excellent characters in One Last Stop.  Jane and August were fully fleshed three dimensional characters, and the supporting cast was wonderful as well.  I loved that McQuiston was able to give a voice to LGBTQIA+ characters and show their struggles and joys.  I really loved Jane.  She was part of so much in the 1970s as a queer Asian woman.  I feel like she could have a spin off novel of her own.

My one negative with this novel is that it got bogged down in the middle.  A lot of it had to do with the paranormal and time travel elements not making much sense.  After listening to Brenda Novak’s interview with Casey McQuiston, it’s starting to make sure more sense to me.  She’s going for more the Kate & Leopold vibe where love prevails, but you don’t really know why it does with the paranormal / time travel element.

Favorite Quotes:

“Truth is, when you spend your whole life alone, it’s incredibly appealing to move somewhere big enough to get lost in, where being alone looks like a choice. . . “

“But engineering as a career kind of murders your soul, and my job pays me enough.”  Hey – I like being an engineer!

“Nobody tells you how those nights that stand out in your memory – levee sunset nights, hurricane nights, first kiss nights, homesick sleepover nights, nights when you stood at your bedroom window and looked at the lilies one porch over and thought it would stand out, singular and crystallized, in your memory forever – they aren’t really anything.  They’re everything, and they’re nothing.  They make you who you are, and they happen at the same time a twenty-three -year0old a million miles away is warming up some leftovers, turning in early, switching off the lamp.  They’re so easy to lose.”

“Sometimes I wonder if I fell out of time because I never really belonged where I started, and the universe is trying to tell me something.”

“Those are the worse reasons to break the laws of space and time.”

Overall, One Last Stop is a unique novel with great characters that does get a big bogged down with the time loop details.

Book Source:  Review Copy from Net Galley and St. Martin’s Publishing Company.  Thank-you!

 

Family Reunion by Nancy Thayer

Family Reunion is a perfect summer story set on the beautiful island of Nantucket.  Eleanor Sunderland has retired to her big, beautiful, old home on Nantucket Island.  Her husband has passed away, but her family comes to visit for the summer and the holidays.  Her daughter Alicia, and son, Cliff, feel that she should sell the family home for the millions it is worth and split the money with them.  Eleanor’s only grandchild is Alicia’s daughter Ari.  Ari has recently completed college and broken off her engagement, much to her mother’s dismay.  She decides to spend the summer with her grandmother.  Will Eleanor and Ari be able to figure out where they want to go in life?

I enjoyed this family drama.  I especially loved the special relationship between Eleanor and her granddaughter Ari.  I had my own special great grandmother that I used to visit in Indiana every summer.  I love that Eleanor and Ari understood each other just as I felt my Great Grandma Norma and I understood each other.  I also loved that Eleanor was one of the main characters as a seventy something woman.  I love when older people are the focus of the story.  It seems that most novels only feature 20- or 30-year-old.

The only complaint I had about this novel was that the dialogue was clunky at times.  Cliff and Alicia also drove me nuts with their focus on their mother’s estate and feeling that they deserved the money.  Unfortunately, this does seem to happen in families. I did love that Ari and Eleanor focused on helping the kids at Beach Camp.  I also loved that Ari was focused on what made her happy and helped others rather than focusing on money.

I read Family Reunion in May for the Brenda Novak Book Group.  I greatly enjoyed Brenda Novak’s interview with Nancy Thayer at Nancy’s house on Nantucket.  It was great fun.  You can still see this interview on Brenda Novak’s Facebook page, and I highly recommend it.

Favorite Quotes:

“Summer was almost here!  Eleanor Sunderland sat on her deck looking out at the eternal Atlantic, savoring the view.  Above in the sky, diamond-tipped stars were appearing, one by one, and Eleanor could hear the gentle shush of the waves on the shore far below her.  The scent of long, sunny days drifted in with the light salty breeze from the sea.”  I loved the vivid descriptions of the island and thought this was a great opening paragraph!

“Soon the house would be gone.  But the ocean would always remain.”

“I’ve never been happier in my life.” – I loved this ending line!

Overall, Family Reunion is a good Women’s Fiction and Family Drama novel with a beautiful setting.  It’s a perfect summer read!

Book Source:  Review copy from Netgalley and Ballentine Books.  Thank-you!!

The Bookstore on the Beach by Brenda Novak

 

Do you have any favorite books featuring mothers?

 The Bookstore on the Beach is a multi-generational story set in a charming beachside town of Sable Beach.

 Mary owns a bookstore half and half with her best friend Laurie.  She lives a private life and is excited that her daughter Autumn is coming to visit with her two grandkids, Caden and Taylor.  As Autumn starts to ask questions about her father, Mary worries that the past she has kept secret will come out.  Autumn’s husband went missing 18 months ago.  When she runs into an old high school flame, she feels like perhaps she can move on.  Should she try to start afresh or continue to search for her husband?  Taylor misses her father, but at the beach, she makes a new friend and realizes that she may want to take a different path in life. 

 I loved the multi-generational story of The Bookstore on the Beach.  Mary, Autumn, and Taylor’s story line were all equally strong and very engaging.  The story was very dramatic. I loved the family relationships, but I also loved the look into how secrets can change your life and impact your family.  The big reveals in the story pulled on my emotions and kept me looped into the story.  I liked the mystery of a couple of the storylines as well as the contemporary issues.  I also loved the great romance that was in the story as well.  I’m being a little vague here as I LOVED the surprises, and I don’t want to ruin them for anyone else.  There is a great epilogue you also get if you sign up for Brenda Novak’s newsletter.

 I read this in April for the Brenda Novak Book Group.  We had the book club meeting last month and it was fun as always.  You can still access it on Brenda Novak’s Facebook page.   There will be a deeper discussion on Brenda Novak’s Birthday on May 15^th.

 Favorite Quote:

“She’d never forget wandering down the aisles, touching the spines of the books she’d already enjoyed.  As an only child, the fictional characters they contained were her first friends, and even though she had plenty of real friends as she grew older, she was always eager to retreat into the imaginary world created by a good storyteller.”    - I love this description of the bookstore and reading!

 Overall, The Bookstore on the Beach is a great multi-generational family drama that makes the perfect beach read.

 Book Source:  Purchased from Amazon.com

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

 Kristin Hannah’s historical fiction novels have become a “must read” for me as they come out.  I was very excited to read The Four Winds as part of the Brenda Novak Book Club – 2021 Reading Challenge.  She had a wonderful interview with Kristin Hannah last Thursday the 25^th that is available on Facebook.  It provides great insight into Hannah’s writing process and how she came up with the Four Winds.  I loved it!

 Elsa is a plain, unhappy, unloved, and unmarried daughter of a prosperous family in Texas in the 1920s.  One day she makes herself a red flapper dress, bobs her hair, and meets her husband.  Handsome Rafe has many dreams but settles down to raise a family with Elsa.   As the depression and then the Dust Bowl hit, the Martinelli family is hit with many difficult choices.  What will they do to survive?

 I loved the vivid portrait that Hannah painted of the Dust Bowl and the depression.  The very hard choices that people had to make for their family survival were devastating.  The ecological destruction wrought by the Dust Bowl helped to bring in new conservation practices that are still used to this day.  The travel from the shattered plains to California to then be treated like dirt was also heartbreaking.  People that proudly had their own farms or owned their own businesses were treated like trash and forced to live in tent cities.  The novel really humanized the situation.

 I LOVED the characters in this novel.  Elsa is a woman who had difficulty in self-confidence, but through the love of her children, she was able to work her hardest to survive.  I in particular loved her relationship with her in-laws and how they became her real parents.  I also loved the often-angry relationship she had with her 13-year-old daughter Loreda.  It rang as a true mother daughter relationship.  I loved that Elsa was doing her best, even when Loreda didn’t see it.

 I don’t want to ruin this book experience for others so I will not get further into the plot.  Like Hannah’s past few novels, I flew through this one and couldn’t put it down.  Tears were shed and emotions were felt.  I loved this novel.

 Favorite Quotes:

“Hope is a coin I carry:  an American penny, given to me by a man I came to love.”

 “Passion is a thunderstorm, there and gone.”

 “Elsa hadn’t known until right then how much difference a friend could make.  How one person could lift your spirit just enough to keep you upright.”

 “Poverty was a soul-crushing thing.  A cave that tightened around you, its pinprick of light closing a little more at the end of each desperate, unchanged day.”

 “Life went on, even in the hardest of times.”

 Overall, The Four Winds is a gripping story that vividly paints the devastation caused by the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl.

Book Source:  Purchased from Amazon.com

Shipped by Angie Hockman

Shipped is the February Pick for the Brenda Novak Book Club.  The meeting was last week.  I couldn’t attend due to my Girl Scout Troop having a Winter Tubing Event, but luckily the meeting and interview with author Angie Hockman is online.  It was fun and entertaining to be a part of the meeting even after the fact.

 Shipped is a fun romantic comedy novel.  Henley Evans is busy at work and trying to earn her MBA.  She works for a global adventure cruise line and is trying to get a promotion to digital director.  The only thing standing in her way is Grahame Cracker-Collins.  He works remotely from Michigan but has seemingly been treading on Henley’s toes the entire time he has been with the company.  Their boss decides to send them on a cruise to the Galapagos to see who can come up with the best digital media proposal.  Who will come up with the best presentation?  How will the two get along on the cruise?

 Shipped is a workplace romance and enemies become lover’s trope.  I enjoy romantic comedies and this one was great.  The dynamic between Henley and Grahame was both magnetic and hilarious.  I really enjoyed how they had differences but were able to work through their misunderstandings for a better future.  That’s a lesson that the entire world needs right now!  I also loved Henley’s sister Walsh who is also along for the adventure.  She deserves a book of her own.

 I especially enjoyed the unique setting of an adventure cruise to the Galapagos.  The conservation aspects and how Henley worked them into her presentation were also wonderful.  I’m an environmental engineer and the environment and conservation are near and dear to my heart.  I loved this.  Even better was learning that author Angie Hockman works for a conservation cruise company and has been to Galapagos.  Her vivid descriptions are from real world experiences!

 I also liked the very real work dynamics that take place with a terrible boss.  Henley is put into a bad situation where she does a ton of work but is not recognized for it.  Grahame helps her to realize she needs to stand up for herself.  She uses her team of work friends to help her out and make it so that her potential can me seen.  I really, really enjoyed this. I think unfortunately a lot of us have had bad work experiences and I loved seeing how Henley was able to turn it into a good situation.

 Overall, Shipped is a fun, unique workplace romantic comedy is a fantastic setting.  I highly recommend it! This is author Angie Hockman’s first novel and I can’t see what she comes up with next.   

 

Book Source:  Purchased from Amazon.com

Out of the Storm by B.J. Daniels

 As a young bride and mother, Kate Jackson, experienced a devastating loss when her husband Daniel was lost in a refinery explosion.  Twenty years have passed by, but Kate has continued to look for her husband everywhere, convinced that he is still alive.  Her daughters grown, she has finally allowed herself to love again and has gotten engaged to her boyfriend Collin.  He takes her on an engagement trip to Montana so that she can see snow for the first time and make a snow angel.  While on their trip, Kate runs into a mysterious man, Jon Harper, and she is convinced he is Daniel.  Jon insists he is not, but what is his mysterious past?

 I don’t want to say more and ruin the plot of this one.  Out of the Storm is a great suspense novel and page turner.  I had a hard time putting it down as it was a very engaging story.  I liked that the characters were three dimensional, in particular the villain. 

 I read Out of the Storm as part of the Brenda Novak 2021 Reading Challenge.  As part of the book group, Brenda Novak interviewed author B.J. Daniels about this book and asked readers’ questions from the Facebook page.  You can still watch this meeting on Brenda Novak’s Book Group Facebook page.  It was fun and interesting.  My favorite thing I learned is that author B.J. Daniels based this story on her aunt lost her husband in an oil refinery accident and spent the rest of her life looking for him.  I thought that was fascinating.  I look forward to future group reads in this book group.

 Overall, Out of the Storm is a great romantic suspense novel.

 Book Source:  Purchased from Amazon.com