Served Him Right by Lisa Unger

 

Title:  Served Him Right

Author:  Lisa Unger

Narrated by:  Kristen Sieh, Vivienne Leheny, Brittany Pressley, Soneela Nankani, Tim Paige, Petrea Burchard

Publisher: Harlequin Audio

Length: Approximately 12 hour and 8 minutes

Source: Review copy from NetGalley.  Thank-you!

How do you feel about revenge stories?  My favorite is The Count of Monte Cristo.

Ana Blacksmith has recently broken up with her boyfriend Paul.  She organizes a celebration brunch with her sister and best friends.  When Paul is found dead, Ana is a suspect. When one of her friends falls deathly ill after the brunch, Ana rises to the top of the suspect list.  Will Ana and her sister Vera be able to prove her innocence?

My thoughts on this book:

·       This was a very engaging thriller.

·       This was great on audiobook.  It captured my attention and made it so I didn’t want my drives to end.  I loved the cast of narrators.

·       Paul is shown to have many enemies and to be a terrible person.  Why is it that people like that are able to keep hurting people?

·       I liked that the story had the ladies be a part of a family that practices “magic” through the use of herbalism.

·       The book had a riveting and scary intro for a poor woman who is r$%^ed by a boss who drugs her after staying late at work.

·       This book made me ponder the question of taking justice into your own hands – when are you justified?

·       I liked the naughty romance between Ana and the detective on the case, Timothy.

·       There were many point of views in this story.

·       I kept guessing until the end.

Overall, Served Him Right by Lisa Unger was a riveting and engaging thriller.

Meet Me in Italy by Brenda Novak

 

What country is your current read set in?

Charlotte is having a hard time writing her second novel after the surprise success of her first novel.  She is stunned when her basketball star husband leaves her and she finds out she was an adopted child, her birth mother has died, and she has a young tween sister who is orphaned in Italy.  Charlotte and her best friend Sloane, and Sloane’s brother Julian, travel to the Amalfi Coast in Italy to meet her sister, Lily. Will Charlotte and Lily be able to have a relationship?  What will happen to Lily?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I read this book in May for the April pick for the Brenda Novak Book Group. There are fun book club meetings on Facebook the fourth Thursday of the month.  I listen to the meetings afterwards when I can.

·       This novel was a contemporary romance and a family drama.  It also had found family and second chances.  The romance is friends to lovers.

·       I loved the description of the beautiful Amalfi Coast – I was ready to visit!

·       I felt so bad for Lily.  She had a rough life with her moving all around and constantly changing boyfriends.

·       The cover of this novel is beautiful.

·       The novel had characters dealing with heartbreak and troubles in life.  It showed how friends and found family can support you and how you can turn your life around.

·       My Great Grandma Kile would have called this a good story – it had a lot of drama, good characters, and a satisfying ending.

Overall, Meet Me in Italy by Brenda Novak was an enjoyable contemporary romance and family drama with good characters and setting.  It’s a great book if you are looking for a fun summer read.

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

Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely? By Sarah McCoy

 

Title:  Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely?

Author:  Sarah McCoy

Narrated by:  Cassandra Campbell, Helen Laser, Stephanie Németh-Parker

Publisher: William Morrow

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 11 minutes

Source: Audiobook purchased from Audible and hard cover copy from the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

Do you have a favorite film star from the 1960s?  I love classic films.  One of my favorite stars of the 1960s is Julie Andrews.

Lou Tibbott is struggling to finish her senior thesis in American history in 1990.  She suddenly is inspired to write about her Aunt Lori.  Lori was a 23-year-old Hollywood starlet who gave it up all up in 1969 to become a Benedictine nun.  Why did Lori choose to leave her Hollywood life and become a nun?  Prior to this, Lori had denied all interviews, so the world is still wondering.

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This was the January read for the Brenda Novak book group, but I just got to it in April.  I’m running behind!

·       This was a dual narrative novel.  One narrative focused on Lou in 1990 interviewing her aunt and the other narrative is her aunt’s story set in the 1960s.

·       I had a hard time thinking about how Aunt Lori would only be in her 40s in 1990s and not an old aging nun.

·       This was great on audiobook with interesting narrators.

·       I guessed how the book would end, but it was still entertaining.

·       I love Hollywood stories and the making of old movies.  Lori was the star of a Romeo and Juliet film with a handsome heartthrob, Lucas Wesley.

·       I loved that in the afterward, Sarah McCoy stated that it was based on the story of three real life classic actresses.  McCoy had correspondence with former actress now nun Dolores Hart and also met her. 

·       The section of the novel where Lori is discovered through the display of her portrait in the family store reminded me of how Lana Turner was discovered.

·       I love the cover of this book!

·       I also loved how Lori found the people and life she was looking for by going to the Catholic faith and becoming a nun.

·       This is a character driven historical fiction novel with found family, romance, and romantic drama.

·       Part of this novel was set in Italy.

Overall, Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely? By Sarah McCoy is an intriguing historical fiction novel set in 1960s Hollywood with family drama and romance. 

And the Crowd Went Wild by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

 

Title:  And the Crowd Went Wild

Author:  Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Narrated by:  Kelli Tager

Publisher: Avon

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 8 minutes

Source: Review Copy from NetGalley.  Thank-you!

Do you have a favorite sports team?  I live near and work in Green Bay, so the Packers are just sort of a part of everyday life around here.

Darcy Flynn is a star best known for her bombshell roles and marriage to a famous action star.  After a very public humiliation, she is looking for a place to get away.  She inexplicitly ends up at her former high school boyfriend’s (now Chicago quarterback) retreat in Wisconsin.  Clint is trying to relax and regain his focus before the season begins and he is surprised to see his old girlfriend who broke his heart in high school.  He lets her stay in an old caboose on his property that he is restoring.  Will these two find themselves and each other?

My thoughts on this audiobook:

·       This was the February pick for the Brenda Novak Book Group.  There was a fun book club meeting on Facebook for this book that you can still watch.  Sadly, Susan Elizabeth Phillips was sick and unable to join the book club this time.

·       And the Crowd Went Wild by Susan Elizabeth Phillips was a contemporary romance, but it had depth and hard topics were discussed such as alcoholism, r#@e, and murder.  Even with these topics, it was still a fun and engaging romance.

·       Narrator Kelli Tager had a great performance and unique voices for the characters.

·       I loved the Boxcar Children quotes at the start of each chapter.  It gets even better when Darcy ends up living in an old boxcar that Clint is fixing up on his property.

·       Darcy’s marriage reminded me of the breakdown of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s marriage.

·       This is #11 in the Chicago Stars series.  I read this as a standalone and it was fine as a standalone.  I’m assuming some of the characters were also in previous books.

·       The characters are in their mid-thirties.

·       This was a dual point of view novel between Darcy and Clint.

·       Tropes in this novel included second chance romance, enemies to lovers, and forced proximity.

·       I loved the Northwoods of Wisconsin setting and how Darcy is only able to find Packer gear for clothing.  This rings true for the area.  This pains Clint as he is a quarterback for Chicago.

·       Darcy and Clint had amazing tension and chemistry.

·       The romance in this novel was steamy with the door wide open.

·       I loved the romance, but also the personal journey of both Darcy and Clint.

·       I also loved how Darcy rescued a mutt and named him Watch (from the Boxcar Children).  I also like how she helped and befriended a woman who was being abused by her boyfriend.

Overall, And the Crowd Went Wild by Susan Elizabeth Phillips was an engaging contemporary romance with great characters, chemistry, and romance.  The story had depth and was very enjoyable.