Astonish Me - Maggie Shipstead

Astonish Me is the irresistible story of Joan, a young American dancer who helps a Soviet ballet star, the great Arslan Rusakov, defect in 1975. A flash of fame and a passionate love affair follow, but Joan knows that, onstage and off, she is destined to remain in the background. She will never possess Arslan, and she will never be a prima ballerina. She will rise no higher than the corps, one dancer among many.After her relationship with Arslan sours, Joan plots to make a new life for herself. She quits ballet, marries a good man, and settles in California with him and their son, Harry. But as the years pass, Joan comes to understand that ballet isn't finished with her yet, for there is no mistaking that Harry is a prodigy. Through Harry, Joan is pulled back into a world she thought she'd left behind - back into dangerous secrets, and back, inevitably, to Arslan

Received an ARC via Harper Collins

At first I was hesitant to read this second book by Maggie Shipstead, because I wasn't a big fan of her first book - Seating Arrangements. But I was pleasantly surprised how this book captured my attention right from the start.  I have a feeling the main theme - ballet - was more interesting than a wedding weekend - which is the focus of her first book.  Also I could relate a bit more to the characters in Astonish Me than Seating Arrangements.

The book does flash back in time as the present day story moves forward.  As a reader, you don't learn about Arslan's journey until halfway through the book.  Joan also is not the typical mother who might push her son towards the same experiences that she had as a child. She does strive to be the best mother she can for her son, even if that means memories from her past have to be revealed.

Maggie Shipstead weaves these characters together as she points out that sometimes your past is hard to leave behind in order to move forward.  

The UnAmericans - Molly Antopol

In this auspicious debut, Molly Antopol cuts a wide swath through the fabric of time and place, exploring people from different cultures who are all painfully human in their joys, desires, tragedies, and heartaches. An actor, phased out of Hollywood for his Communist ties during McCarthyism, tries to share a meaningful moment with his son. An Israeli soldier comes of age when his brother is maimed on their communal farm. A gallerist, swept up by the 1970s dissident art movement, begins smuggling paintings out of Moscow and curating underground shows in her Jerusalem home. This is a rare collection as accomplished at capturing our soaring triumphs as it is our crippling defeats--a hopeful reminder that we are all closer and more capable than we sometimes feel.

The premise of this book was really fascinating to me and Antopol was recognized as a writer to watch.  What I didn't realize until I started to read this book, that the book was a collection of short stories.  These stories all have a shared theme of an immigrant making their way in a new country, but the stories don't relate to each other.  At times, it was hard to switch and relate to new characters every 10 pages or so.

That aside, Antopol captures the immigrant and even second-generation immigrant life really well.  Each story ends with a small twist that usually I didn't see coming. The prose is just beautifully written and draws the reader in.  I highly recommend this book!

The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion

An international sensation, this hilarious, feel-good novel is narrated by an oddly charming and socially challenged genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find out if he is capable of true love. Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver. Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.

This book definitely grew on me as I read more and more.  The main narrator is quirky and has an interesting outlook on life, but underneath is just a regular guy wanting some companionship.  I could definitely see this book being turned into a romantic comedy movie.  

Simsion captures true humility in the relationships within this book. He challenges the readers to look at their own relationships and see why we are friends or lovers or partners with other people. While science and math are themes in this book, Don must learn to trust his instincts in order to grow and blossom in his relationship with Rosie. 

Twenty-Sided Die by Brian Prisco

Dorks versus orcs! Twenty-Sided Die chronicles the trials and tribulations of a group of small-town Pennsylvania summer camp counselors and their regular Dungeons & Dragons group. Young love, nerd hate, magic, Magic: The Gathering, swords and sousaphones abound. It's one part Stand By Me, one part Clerks, and one part The Guild, shaken and served. These twenty interconnected short stories delve into the seedy underbelly of surburban life, as well as navigating the halls of high school and beyond. Marvel as our intrepid heroes battle savage Abercrombies, gun-toting hillbillies, and -- more often than not -- each other.

One new experience for me in 2013 was being a beta-reader. I was honored to be a beta-reader for this book. I always try to support debut authors as much as I can and this author just happens to be a good friend from high school.  Plus, this book is loosely based on my hometown and the author has always demonstrated great creativity.

Prisco's passion for storytelling and wit shows throughout the book.  Small town life is captured with ease and the reader is taken on a journey.  While I've never played Dungeons & Dragons, the narrative of the characters' adventures provides its own unique experience. Besides small town life and D&D, the reader is treated to stories about how underdogs can rise above their bullies and still seek revenge in some cases.

This book was financed by a Kickstarter campaign with matching funds from a benefactor.  Prior to publishing this book, Prisco also wrote Boogeymen which brings all your favorite horror film characters together for one awesome event to fight to the death.   He also was the co-creator of Cannonball Read which challenges readers to read 52 books in a year.

CBR5 #6 Faking It by Elisa Lorello

What happens when a writing professor and a male escort become friends? Thirty-four-year old professor Andi Cutrone has broken up with her fiance in Massachusetts, moved back to her native New York, and wants to be a better lover. So after meeting Devin, a handsome, charming escort, she proposes an unusual arrangement: lessons about writing in exchange for lessons about sex. When Devin accepts Andi's proposal, he draws up a contract in which the two are forbidden to see each other socially. There's just one problem: Andi also wants Devin. Faking It is a witty, sometimes hilarious, sometimes heart-wrenching story about relationships, writing, and getting real

I'm not sure where I heard about this book, but it was the first book I read as my hour commute started up. Andi is a likeable character and the reader is immediately drawn into the proposal between her and Devin. I was glad to see that Lorello provided some depth to her characters.  This book is more than a normal romantic comedy/chick lit book.

Without giving away too much of how the book ends, I was glad to see that Lorello didn't take the traditional approach with her characters.  But there was a nice twist at the very end that definitely will keep the reader guessing.  This book is another good beach read.

CBR5 #5 The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett

What secrets lie behind the doors at Misselthwaite Manor? Recently arrived at her uncle's estate, orphaned Mary Lennox is spoiled, sickly, and certain she won't enjoy living there. Then she discovers the arched doorway into an overgrown garden, shut up since the death of her aunt ten years earlier. Mary soon begins transforming it into a thing of beauty--unaware that she is changing too.But Misselthwaite hides another secret, as mary discovers one night. High in a dark room, away from the rest of the house, lies her young cousin, Colin, who believes he is an incurable invalid, destined to die young. His tantrums are so frightful, no one can reason with him. If only, Mary hopes, she can get Colin to love the secret garden as much as she does, its magic will work wonders on him

March Book Club

This year my book club is reading selections from our Childhood.  In February, we started off with The Great Gatsby.  I don't remember reading The Secret Garden as a child, although I'm sure I did.  I was familiar with the story to know that multiple movies and a musical were made based on the book.

I found it hard to read the prose when Burnett used the Yorkshire speak and at times I ended up skimming the descriptive parts to find out what happened next to the characters.  During our book club we discussed how important to the growth of a child is adult guidance and attention. We also discussed if redemption should be given to Colin's father once he realized what he had been missing by not having a big relationship with Colin.

Reading this book as an adult, I focused on different things than if I had been reading this book as a child. But I feel like there is still a powerful message to take from the book whether reading it as an adult or as a child.

CBR5 #4 How Lucky You Are by Kristyn Kusek Lewis

In the tradition of Emily Giffin and Marisa de los Santos, HOW LUCKY YOU ARE is an engaging and moving novel about three women struggling to keep their longstanding friendship alive. Waverly, who's always been the group's anchor, runs a cozy bakery but worries each month about her mounting debt. Kate is married to a man who's on track to be the next governor of Virginia, but the larger questions brewing in their future are unsettling her. Stay-at-home mom Amy has a perfect life on paper, but as the horrific secret she's keeping from her friends threatens to reveal itself, she panics. As life's pressures build all around them, Waverly knows she has some big decisions to make. In doing so, she will discover that the lines between loyalty and betrayal can become blurred, happy endings aren't always clear-cut, and sometimes you have to risk everything to gain the life you deserve.

I read the bulk of this book while my one daughter was in the hospital for an outpatient procedure.  Up until that day, my reading time had been non-existent.  But when given hours of uninterrupted time to kill reading a book becomes a great activity.

This book captured my attention within the first couple of pages.  I was lost in the lives of Waverly, Kate and Amy.  Lewis did a good job of showing the push and pull of their relationship as new details of each of their lives were discovered.  I could see this book being turned into a Romantic Comedy/Chick Flick no problem. I felt that each character tried to grow a bit by the end of the book even if that meant potentially losing their long staying friendships. I liked the DC Metro area being featured within the book as well. The intrigue of politics and the city life added an extra element to the overall plot.

This book would definitely be a great beach read or a good book to pick up when you need some light, but touching reading.

 

CBR4 #64 - The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

Meet Harold Fry, recently retired. He lives in a small English village with his wife, Maureen, who seems irritated by almost everything he does, even down to how he butters his toast. Little differentiates one day from the next. Then one morning the mail arrives, and within the stack of quotidian minutiae is a letter addressed to Harold in a shaky scrawl from a woman he hasn’t seen or heard from in twenty years. Queenie Hennessy is in hospice and is writing to say goodbye. Harold pens a quick reply and, leaving Maureen to her chores, heads to the corner mailbox. But then, as happens in the very best works of fiction, Harold has a chance encounter, one that convinces him that he absolutely must deliver his message to Queenie in person. And thus begins the unlikely pilgrimage at the heart of Rachel Joyce’s remarkable debut. Harold Fry is determined to walk six hundred miles from Kingsbridge to the hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed because, he believes, as long as he walks, Queenie Hennessey will live. Still in his yachting shoes and light coat, Harold embarks on his urgent quest across the countryside. Along the way he meets one fascinating character after another, each of whom unlocks his long-dormant spirit and sense of promise. Memories of his first dance with Maureen, his wedding day, his joy in fatherhood, come rushing back to him—allowing him to also reconcile the losses and the regrets. As for Maureen, she finds herself missing Harold for the first time in years. And then there is the unfinished business with Queenie Hennessy.

This book was the first book I read after being in the hospital for 6 weeks.  I started it during the Thankfully Reading Weekend over the Thanksgiving holiday.

In a lot of ways, this book reminded me of the book Major Pettigrew's Last Stand as they both have an elderly gentleman as the main character.  But it is not just the age of the character, but the sense that the character breaks out of his shell and tries to change his life. The concept of a modern day pilgrimage is one that we don't hear of very often and yet we all can relate to the determination and longing that Harold Fry demonstrated that one morning.

It is hard to read about a long standing marriage that has turned into a convenience without looking for similar marriages in our own lives. I appreciate the sensitivity the Joyce provides around Maureen realizing that Harold is her one true love and how she encouraged him to keep going even at her own heartbreak and longing for him to be back at home.

Harold's stubbornness is endearing as he tries to stay true to his original mission even when others capitalize on his failure.  His desire to live just on what he is offered along the pilgrimage takes his quest to a new level.
Joyce delivers a touching and poignant story that will stay with the reader even after they finish the book. 

CBR4 #62 The Girl Who Chased The Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. Such as, why did Dulcie Shelby leave her hometown so suddenly? And why did she vow never to return? But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew—a reclusive, real-life gentle giant—she realizes that mysteries aren’t solved in Mullaby, they’re a way of life: Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor bakes hope in the form of cakes. Everyone in Mullaby adores Julia Winterson’s cakes—which is a good thing, because Julia can’t seem to stop baking them. She offers them to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth but also in the hope of rekindling the love she fears might be lost forever. Flour, eggs, milk, and sugar . . . Baking is the only language the proud but vulnerable Julia has to communicate what is truly in her heart. But is it enough to call back to her those she’s hurt in the past?  Can a hummingbird cake really bring back a lost love? Is there really a ghost dancing in Emily’s backyard? The answers are never what you expect. But in this town of lovable misfits, the unexpected fits right in.

My husband is from North Carolina, so anytime I see a book set there I add it to my TBR.  This book is the second one by Sarah Addison Allen that I've read.  I liked this book better than The Peach Keeper.

Allen writes touching love stories which are intertwined with a good mystery/fantasy plot.  The small town vibe draws the reader in and Allen focuses on how past generations actions can impact future generations actions. Overall this book is quaint and a good read that you'll find it hard to leave the characters and the town of Mullaby behind.

CBR4 #60 A Secret Kept by Tatiana de Rosnay

It all began with a simple seaside vacation, a brother and sister recapturing their childhood.  Antoine Rey thought he had the perfect surprise for his sister Mélanie’s birthday: a weekend by the sea at Noirmoutier Island, where the pair spent many happy childhood summers playing on the beach.  It had been too long, Antoine thought, since they’d returned to the island—over thirty years, since their mother died and the family holidays ceased.  But the island’s haunting beauty triggers more than happy memories; it reminds Mélanie of something unexpected and deeply disturbing about their last island summer.  When, on the drive home to Paris, she finally summons the courage to reveal what she knows to Antoine, her emotions overcome her and she loses control of the car. Recovering from the accident in a nearby hospital, Mélanie tries to recall what caused her to crash.  Antoine encounters an unexpected ally: sexy, streetwise Angèle, a mortician who will teach him new meanings for the words life, love and death.  Suddenly, however, the past comes swinging back at both siblings, burdened with a dark truth about their mother, Clarisse.  Trapped in the wake of a shocking family secret shrouded by taboo, Antoine must confront his past and also his troubled relationships with his own children.  How well does he really know his mother, his children, even himself?  Suddenly fragile on all fronts as a son, a husband, a brother and a father, Antoine Rey will learn the truth about his family and himself the hard way. By turns thrilling, seductive and destructive, with a lingering effect that is bittersweet and redeeming, A Secret Kept is the story of a modern family, the invisible ties that hold it together, and the impact it has throughout life.

I haven't read Sarah's Key, but the cover of this book really drew me in.  I loved the way the book was setup, drawing the reader in with the "event" that started everything and then working up to and past that "event".

I was surprised by the plot had so much push and pull about life and death as well as how family members survive and move on after death. I definitely didn't expect the characters to face more death throughout the book.  In a way, I could see similar plot structures to a crime drama series - just as the characters figure some part of the puzzle out a whole another twist of fate happens.

I enjoyed watching Antoine grow as a character from the beginning to the end.  This book is full of mystery and intrigue as well a heartwarming family centered story.

CBR4 #45 Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Marriage can be a real killer.    One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that her work “draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.” Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.    On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?   As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet? With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.

I was curious about this book after seeing the Twitter buzz from fellow book bloggers.  Unfortunately, I chose to read this book after finishing a Tana French book. Both books focused on families that looked like they had the perfect marriage but underneath there was turmoil.

Even though the main premis of the book sounded fascinating, I found the two main characters annoying. I appreciated this alternating points of view from the two main characters even when the same plot twist was told from each of their perspectives.

Flynn definitely delivers clever plot twists throughout this book, but at times it was hard to "trust/believe" the characters' actions based on past actions. I might have enjoyed this book more if I had read it at a different time or if I had read previous books by Flynn.  

CBR4 #43 Bond Girl by Erin Duffy

 

While other little girls were fantasizing about becoming doctors or lawyers, Alex Garrett dreamed of conquering the high-powered world of Wall Street. Now she's grown and determined to make it big in bond sales at Cromwell Pierce, one of the Street's most esteemed brokerage firms. Though she's prepared to fight her way into an elitist boys' club, she starts out small, relegated to a kiddie-size folding chair with her new moniker, "Girlie," inscribed in Wite-Out across the back. Always keeping her eyes on the prize (and ignoring her friends' pleas for her to quit), Alex quickly learns how to roll with the punches, rising from lowly analyst to slightly-less-lowly associate in no time. Suddenly she's being addressed by her real name, and the boys' club has transformed into forty older brothers . . . and one possible boyfriend. But then the apocalypse hits, and Alex is faced with the most difficult choice of her life: to stick with Cromwell Pierce as it teeters on the brink of disaster . . . or to kick off her Jimmy Choos and go running for higher ground.

I read this book based on a review written by another book blogger.  Unfortunate, I was disappointed by this book.  It reminded me of The Nanny Diaries and The Devil Wears Prada. Perhaps I was expecting a different outcome, but the book felt very formulaic.  On the positive, the book was an interesting look at Wall Street before the latest financial crisis. The romantic plot lines were boring and lacking creativity.

If you like The Nanny Diaries and The Devil Wears Prada, but are looking for a different take on a similar industry this book is not for you. 

CBR4 #42 A Good American by Alex George

An uplifting novel about the families we create and the places we call home.It is 1904. When Frederick and Jette must flee her disapproving mother, where better to go than America, the land of the new? Originally set to board a boat to New York, at the last minute, they take one destined for New Orleans instead ("What's the difference? They're both new"), and later find themselves, more by chance than by design, in the small town of Beatrice, Missouri. Not speaking a word of English, they embark on their new life together. Beatrice is populated with unforgettable characters: a jazz trumpeter from the Big Easy who cooks a mean gumbo, a teenage boy trapped in the body of a giant, a pretty schoolteacher who helps the young men in town learn about a lot more than just music, a minister who believes he has witnessed the Second Coming of Christ, and a malevolent, bicycle-riding dwarf. A Good American is narrated by Frederick and Jette's grandson, James, who, in telling his ancestors' story, comes to realize he doesn't know his own story at all. From bare-knuckle prizefighting and Prohibition to sweet barbershop harmonies, the Kennedy assassination, and beyond, James's family is caught up in the sweep of history. Each new generation discovers afresh what it means to be an American. And, in the process, Frederick and Jette's progeny sometimes discover more about themselves than they had bargained for.

This book was heartwarming and George is a good storyteller which draws the reader into the story. Music is key to the plot and becomes a courting method for multiple characters. I appreciated the way George intertwined the historical events and culture of the time into the fictional plot. Having the book being told from the grandson's perspective really did give a different take on the story.  Overall there was an ongoing search for what home is and means to each of the characters.

This book is a good portrait of creating a family and adjusting to other cultures as an immigrant.  The last part of the book surfaces an interesting plot twist but overall causes an awkward ending. I appreciated how George explored how each generation discovered what it means to be an American.

CBR4 #33 Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Lucy Jorik is the daughter of a former president of the United States.
Meg Koranda is the offspring of legends.
One of them is about to marry Mr. Irresistible—Ted Beaudine—the favorite son of Wynette, Texas. The other is not happy about it and is determined to save her friend from a mess of heartache. But even though Meg knows that breaking up her best friend's wedding is the right thing to do, no one else seems to agree. Faster than Lucy can say "I don't," Meg becomes the most hated woman in town—a town she's stuck in with a dead car, an empty wallet, and a very angry bridegroom. Broke, stranded, and without her famous parents at her back, Meg is sure she can survive on her own wits. What's the worst that can happen? Lose her heart to the one and only Mr. Irresistible? Not likely. Not likely at all.

This book is sixth in a series, but still self contained.  Meg is a likable character even for a spoiled rich kid who speaks her mind and didn't finish college. This book is an interesting look at small town life with a few big celebrities to its name. I could see this book turned into a romantic comedy easily as the plot has a similar setup. Definitely an easy read and kept me hooked throughout the book.

CBR4 #32 Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

The story begins in 1962. On a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline, a young innkeeper, chest-deep in daydreams, looks out over the incandescent waters of the Ligurian Sea and spies an apparition: a tall, thin woman, a vision in white, approaching him on a boat. She is an actress, he soon learns, an American starlet, and she is dying. What unfolds is a dazzling, yet deeply human, roller coaster of a novel, spanning fifty years and nearly as many lives. From the lavish set ofCleopatra to the shabby revelry of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Walter introduces us to the tangled lives of a dozen unforgettable characters: the starstruck Italian innkeeper and his long-lost love; the heroically preserved producer who once brought them together and his idealistic young assistant; the army veteran turned fledgling novelist and the rakish Richard Burton himself, whose appetites set the whole story in motion—along with the husbands and wives, lovers and dreamers, superstars and losers, who populate their world in the decades that follow. Gloriously inventive, constantly surprising, Beautiful Ruins is a story of flawed yet fascinating people, navigating the rocky shores of their lives while clinging to their improbable dreams. And the story begins again today, half a world away, when an elderly Italian man shows up on a movie studio's back lot—searching for the mysterious woman he last saw at his hotel decades earlier.

ARC from Harper Collins

This book is an old Hollywood drama mixed with a touching love story that blossomed in a little Italian village. I enjoyed the way the book went back and forth between present day and flashbacks.  Walter mixes up the different prose formats nicely - book chapter, movie script and play script. Small town life abroad and in the US is represented well. There is a theme of overall sadness and missed opportunities to the whole book. I appreciate how technology didn't play a big part in the modern day part of the story. The characters made connections using old-fashioned leg work. Very touching and moving read! 

CBR4 #31 Aftertaste by Meredith Mileti

Mira Rinaldi lives life at a rolling boil. Co-owner of Grappa, a chic New York City trattoria, she has an enviable apartment, a brand-new baby, and a frenzied schedule befitting her success. Everything changes the night she catches her husband, Jake, "wielding his whisk" with Grappa's new waitress. Mira's fiery response earns her a court-ordered stint in anger management and the beginning of legal and personal predicaments as she battles to save her restaurant and pick up the pieces of her life. Mira falls back on family and friends in Pittsburgh as she struggles to find a recipe for happiness. But the heat is really on when some surprising developments in New York present her with a high stakes opportunity to win back what she thought she had lost forever. For Mira, cooking isn't just about delicious flavours and textures, but about the pleasure found in filling others' needs. And the time has come to decide where her own fulfilment lies - even if the answers are unexpected.Keenly observed and deeply satisfying, Aftertaste is a novel about rebuilding and rediscovery, about food passionately prepared and unapologetically savored, and about the singular contentment that comes with living--and loving--with gusto.

I loved the concept of "courses" to arrange the book's plot. I also loved how food and recipes played a part throughout the book.  Mira was a little crazy and very career driven even to a point where she forgot about her baby.  She did frustrate me because she was always willing to drop everything to go back to her old life.  I was glad to see that by the end of the book she was able to move on and start something new with no regrets.  This book is a good portrait on second chances and blended families.

CBR4 #30 The Cottage At Glass Beach by Heather Barbieri

Married to the youngest attorney general in Massachusetts state history, Nora Cunningham is a picture-perfect political wife and a doting mother. But her carefully constructed life falls to pieces when she, along with the rest of the world, learns of the infidelity of her husband, Malcolm. Humiliated and hounded by the press, Nora packs up her daughters—Annie, seven; and Ella, twelve—and takes refuge on Burke's Island, a craggy spit of land off the coast of Maine. Settled by Irish immigrants, the island is a place where superstition and magic are carried on the ocean winds, and wishes and dreams wash ashore with the changing tides. Nora spent her first five years on the island but has not been back to the remote community for decades—not since that long ago summer when her mother disappeared at sea. One night while sitting alone on Glass Beach below the cottage where she spent her childhood, Nora succumbs to grief, her tears flowing into the ocean. Days later she finds an enigmatic fisherman named Owen Kavanagh shipwrecked on the rocks nearby. Is he, as her aunt's friend Polly suggests, a selkie—a mythical being of island legend—summoned by her heartbreak, or simply someone who, like Nora, is trying to find his way in the wake of his own personal struggles? Just as she begins to regain her balance, her daughters embark on a reckless odyssey of their own—a journey that will force Nora to find the courage to chart her own course and finally face the truth about her marriage, her mother, and her long-buried past.

ARC found on giveaway shelf at work

The premise of this book seems very ripped from the present day headlines. I could relate to Nora and the girls both taking some time to adapt from a very scheduled life to a more relaxed and carefree life at the beach. I've read a few books this year where the daughter returned to her hometown after someone from her family had mysteriously passed away.

Overall this book is one part romance, one part mystery and one part beach read.  Barbieri writes her story with an eye towards the characters and the reader feels like they are at the beach with Nora and the girls.

CBR4 #27 The Univited Guests by Sadie Jones

One late spring evening in 1912, in the kitchens at Sterne, preparations begin for an elegant supper party in honor of Emerald Torrington's twentieth birthday. But only a few miles away, a dreadful accident propels a crowd of mysterious and not altogether savory survivors to seek shelter at the ramshackle manor—and the household is thrown into confusion and mischief.
The cook toils over mock turtle soup and a chocolate cake covered with green sugar roses, which the hungry band of visitors is not invited to taste. But nothing, it seems, will go according to plan. As the passengers wearily search for rest, the house undergoes a strange transformation. One of their number (who is most definitely not a gentleman) makes it his business to join the birthday revels.
Evening turns to stormy night, and a most unpleasant parlor game threatens to blow respectability to smithereens: Smudge Torrington, the wayward youngest daughter of the house, decides that this is the perfect moment for her Great Undertaking.
The Uninvited Guests is the bewitching new novel from the critically acclaimed Sadie Jones. The prizewinning author triumphs in this frightening yet delicious drama of dark surprises—where social codes are uprooted and desire daringly trumps propriety—and all is alight with Edwardian wit and opulence.

ARC from Harper Collins

This book to me is Downton Abbey with a paranormal twist.  The reader doesn't suspect the paranormal twist, until the author reveals a bombshell about one of the guests.  There is a sweet romance between the adult children of the two families.  Jones takes a curious look at society at that time and how sensitive everyone was.  The last couple of chapters detailing the moving of the pony just seemed really random to me.

The ending was wrapped up a little too neatly for me and I wished there was more background about the step parent. I found the Smudge character reminded me of Flavia from I am Half Sick Of Shadows. I also found it interesting that the main characters believed everything the uninvited guests said and didn't question them.  It raises the question, do folks that live remotely tend to be more helpful even if it is inconvenient?

CBR4 #24 - #26 Read-A-Thon Books

Back in April (yes - that is how far behind I am in reviews) I participated in a read-a-Thon and ended up reading the following books.  Since my goal was to read as much as I could, these reviews will be shorter than normal.

Harry Lipkin Private Eye - by Barry Fantoni

ARC from Doubleday

I loved the quirkiness of Harry, especially the internal dialogue he has with himself.  This book is a good portrait of octogenarian life in Southern Florida.  Harry felt like a Columbo type old school sleuth with connections all around town. I loved the chapter titles as they read more like news headlines.  This book is a great read with a loveable character that will feel like your own grandfather.

Next To Love - by Ellen Feldman

Secret Read From Random House

Set during WWII, this book follows 3 wives of army recruits as they deal with the up and downs of being separated.  As the book progresses, the reader gets to see how these families deal and adapt to post war life. This book is a good portrait of small town life. I thought the love story between Babe and Claude is sweet.  I found it interesting to see how some wives moved on while other's felt they needed to remain a widow.  I preferred the writing style of the first part of the book, which told the story through all characters.  The rest of the book switched styles and each character moved through the years one by one.  I felt that the second style was harder on the reader because plot points would be given away before you reach that character's story.

Before Ever After - by Samantha Sotto

The blurb on the book flap really lead me to assume this book would go in a different direction than it did.  There is a touching love story at the core of this book, but I had a hard time getting past the immortality aspect. I did enjoy the historical look at places across Europe. I didn't like how the breaks within the chapters identified each place and period. At times these headings were more annoying than helpful.  Sotto has a descriptive voice but I felt her overall premise kinda fell flat.

CBR4 # 23 The Keep by Jennifer Egan

Two cousins, irreversibly damaged by a childhood prank, reunite twenty years later to renovate a medieval castle in Eastern Europe. In an environment of extreme paranoia, cut off from the outside world, the men reenact the signal event of their youth, with even more catastrophic results. And as the full horror of their predicament unfolds, a prisoner, in jail for an unnamed crime, recounts an unforgettable story that seamlessly brings the crimes of the past and present into piercing relation.

I didn't mean to read two graphic novels back to back.  I picked up this book because I wanted to read  some backlist books of Jennifer Egan after reading A Visit From The Goon Squad.

I was confused at first why we kept going between two narrators and finally realized it was a story within a story.  I felt the last quarter of the book didn't fit with the rest of the book.  The dialogue style was hard to adapt to and felt very play like, 

When Danny visited the town outside of the castle, I was reminded of the movie The Truman Show where he finds out everything is scripted. I had a hard time believing some of the action in the plot -such as Danny falling in love with the baroness and surviving the fall from the tower.

Overall I had a hard time relating to any of the characters and really just finished the book to see what happened.