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Fostering the love of reading, here are several reviews from myself.
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The Club by Ellery Lloyd
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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There are exclusive resorts and then there is The Club. Set in England, Home is a business of Uber-private residences for the ultra-celebrity to have the ultimate privacy and discretion upon entering. Or do they? A death at the new property, Island Home, brings out all of the quiet secrets and discretions that were once afforded to Home's clients. How many secrets are at risk and what would someone do to protect their public image? It all comes out to play in The Club, a book where everyone is ill-willed for different reasons and vengeance is the only currency accepted on the island.
The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh
Star Rating: ★★★
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I may be showing my age with this review. I would love this book if I were 15-25 years old. But, at 43, the tale is too cutesy and predictable. And maybe that is comforting to some, like the way an early 2000's rom-com is. Everyone knows how it's going to end, but we all play along with the cat and mouse game. This story starts with a girl who has lost herself by putting everything she has into her career. And she suddenly gets a wakeup call and decides to try saying "yes" to life more and "no" to her career (via a vacation to try this out). And, it goes exactly where you thinking it's going as you progress in the narrative. For me, it was just okay. I finished it because I kept wanting a spin, a suprise. Maybe I'm too Georgina Tate in my stage of life :) I'm going to pass this on to my YA reader tween and see how she likes it as I'm sure she will have a fresher take than I.
The Summer of '69 by Elin Hilderbrand
Star Rating: ★★★★
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This checks all of the boxes for my kind of summer read. Escape to a new (to me) place. An air of mystique underlying spoken narrative. Mid-century historical fiction. This is my first Elin Hilderbrand novel and I heard from many that I started with the best one. The Summer of '69 is Americana at its peak, with Bostonians escaping the city for Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard. And, while everything is perfectly picnic-friendly for care-free beach days, the Vietnam War keeps things grounded in this family. As does the old adage that every Americana family has secrets lying within its perfectly manicured trees.
A Happier Life by Kristy Woodson Harvey
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Keaton finds herself in desperate need of escaping NYC and her present life when her mother randomly says she needs someone to head down to Beaufort, NC to put her childhood home on the market. Keaton takes up the offer to flee the city and head to a past she has never known much about as her grandparents passed away before she was born. What starts as a quick way to distract herself from her life ends up becoming a thirst for knowledge about the family she had but never had the chance to know, including the matriarch that reigned over the sleepy southern beach town of Beaufort. A Happier Life had me yearning for traditions that have gone amiss in modern times while also turning the pages to see how the women of yesteryear and today were going to handle the day's dilemmas. Always with grace, poise, and dignity, no doubt of that.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Star Rating: ★★★★
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Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow had all of the 90s video game nostalgia and even early tech throwbacks (putting an email address in the README file, anyone?) I heard from so many people about this book and they all either loved or hated this book. So polarizing. I ended up really appreciating it. It's a different kind of love story. It's actually many love stories woven into one novel. And I like that there is a book that illustrates there is a way to be incredibly intimate with someone through the act of video game playing. Even though it's fiction, it's incredibly relevant in today's culture and a love story that is probably more relevant than we know.
Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle
Star Rating: ★★★★
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For 20 years, Daphne has received a slip of paper with a man's name and the length of time they will date written on it. And after 20 years, she receives one note with just a name "Jake" and nothing else. As she settles into the unknown length of time of this relationship, we learn more about Jake and Daphne, the secrets people hide in plain sight, and the lengths people will go to when they are truly in love.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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It is the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and Emily, Maisie, and Nell have returned to their family farm in northern Michigan. Now grown, they are waiting out the pandemic with their parents, Lara and Joe. As they are working on the farm, the girls get to hear the stories of their parents from before they were born. Ann Patchett is an illustrative writer, letting your mind visually picture places you've been before for the scenery. It creates such comfort within the stories she writes. Meryl Streep performs the audio of Tom Lake and this performance is well, to quote the book, spectacular.
Ladykiller by Katherine Wood
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Abby and Gia are childhood friends who have been through good times and bad. An event one summer in Greece when they are 18 still lingers in the air between their friendship as they enter their 30’s. As Gia is back in Greece, Abby is set to meet her and her brother Benny in Sweden for Abby's 30th birthday. Abby and Benny arrive in Sweden to discover Gia is not coming and can't be found. What comes next is multiple plot twists in yet another deliciously glamorous setting that Katherine Wood has written for us to visit.
Reign: American Royals by Katherine McGee
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Reign' finds America's first family hanging in the balance. Everything is up in arms at the end of 'Rivals,' and our country's family struggles to find its footing. But, as always, the monarchy finds a way to lead and shine with dignity and grace. The American Royals 4-book arc has been a fun one to read. I loved the ending to our alternate America that Katherine McGee conjured for us to explore.
Rivals: American Royals by Katherine McGee
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Book 3 of American Royals! I love this series about an alternate America; it's so fun to think about! In 'Rivals,' Beatrice is now queen, and we have other countries coming into the storyline, including other kings and queens! It's really fun to read about these alternate country options as well. The ending is a huge cliffhanger, so I am incredibly happy I waited to read it so I could jump into 'Reign' (book 4) immediately!
Under The Influence by Noelle Crooks
Star Rating: ★★★★
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Under the Influence'—what a crazy tale! Noelle Crooks used to work for a very famous influencer and lives to tell the tale in a fictional take on her experience. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall of Hollis Co. if even half of this happened! It's a tale about a woman who works at a huge influencer HQ and all of the craziness that ensues behind the scenes. I don't follow Rachel Hollis and haven't read any of her books, so this was purely voyeurism for me. If you followed her closely, you may find obvious dupes in the book where the author deviated slightly (i.e., shoe choice for Rachel Hollis vs. Charlotte Green). Overall, it's a funny 'A Devil Wears Prada' kind of story
Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Pineapple Street is such an escapist novel! I delighted in transporting myself into the upper echelons of Brooklyn Heights to see how older millennial adult children dealt with being trustees of a very large family trust, all while balancing the happiness of their parents and their partners. It's a voyeuristic novel where you read about one sibling who can't open up to her mother about wanting to give away her trust but can play tennis with her and discuss the club's poor choice in new glassware. It's a witty, sharply observed novel about the one-percenters in New York. Side note: I need this to be a mini-series or movie because I want Tilda on the screen so badly. She is my favorite character.
The Woman with the Cure by Lynn Cullen
Star Rating: ★★★★
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The race for the cure for polio is on, and one woman thinks she is onto something but is discounted among her male peers. 'The Woman with the Cure' is an incredible book about real people and real-life events as doctors and scientists raced to find a cure for polio. It is striking to read this book in a post-COVID era, as the parallels of Dorothy Horstmann (with polio) and Kati Kariko (mRNA vaccines) are undeniable evidence of history repeating itself in a sad way. However, women in medicine are proving time and time again that they know what's possible and ignore the naysayers as they stay focused on work for the betterment of (wo)mankind.
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Amazing historical fiction novel with excellently researched notations about J.P. Morgan's personal librarian in the 1920s and 1930s, who ends up being a forced to be reckoned with among curators at the time as she scours the world for rare manuscripts, books, and works of art. But, Belle de Costa Greene has a secret she is hiding from her employer and high society. As she tries to protect her secret, she discovers many others have secrets of their own. This story is a fascinating account of the lengths people will go to for the protection of legacy.
Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum
Star Rating: ★★★★
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I was finishing this book as I waited for a friend at lunch. She walked up and remarked, "Don't you just hate everyone in that book? They are all terrible!" and we laughed. It's so true--Bad Summer People is a great story about NYC people who summer at their shore houses and one summer there is a deadly mystery in their idyllic town. Drama ensues in this whip-smart novel that has you rooting for absolutely no one and loving the story at the same time.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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I clutch my chest when I think of this book still. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is one of the most beautiful stories I have ever read. Evelyn Hugo is 79 years old, living in NYC quietly after spending earlier decades as Hollywood's leading lady. She decides to give a rare interview and picks a specific, unknown journalist. What happens is captivating, emotional, and heartbreaking and heartwarming all at the same time. This book had me as a paperweight in a chair while I read it. I could not put this down and then mourned finishing it for days. Must read.
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
Star Rating: ★★★★
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The Lincoln Highway is a classic American novel. Many people told me they loved it and many people told me the opposite. I came to understand that Amor Towles is a polarizing author. And yet, I picked up the 600 page book and went for a drive down the Lincoln Highway with him. This story was a very slow start for me. But, the last 200 pages made up for it. What a beautiful story. If you're a fast reader, give this a try as it explores the complexity of the American dream and promise from several characters' perspectives.
Beach Read by Emily Henry
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Somtimes you just need a simple summer beach read. And Beach Read by Emily Henry delivers on that promise. A story about two authors, both stuck in their own writing ruts, who live next door to each other for a summer. A simple story about how they both overcome their writing ruts with some spiciness sprinkled in. Great and easy read for when you just want to escape into a book!
The Vicious Circle by Katherine St. John
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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A supermodel in Manhattan learns that her uncle has died suddenly. But, here is the catch. Her uncle is a famous self-help guru who lives at his "wellness center" Xanadu,located deep in the Mexican jungle. She learns that she has inherited his estate but has to visit Xanadu to finalize things with her uncle's wife. Part steamy novel, part cult drama, the Vicious Circle is a story that draws you in, wondering what each character is secretly desiring as you imagine the most beautiful place on Earth and how everyone will escape it.
Meant To Be by Emily Giffin
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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As someone who loves reading historical fiction, it's hard to read a historical fiction book set in the 1990s. Are we really there?! A tough pill to swallow. But, a great story! Emily Giffin does it again with Meant to Be. Loosly based on the love story of JFK Jr. and Caroline Besset, Meant to Be shows a glimpse inside the lives of a budding Camelot 2.0 that also ends in a heartbreaking way.