This Week's Book Mail
Authentic Books - Special Summer Edition Book Box
August - Literati Book Club
August - Fresh Fiction Box
July - Just The Right Book!
July - Down The Rabbit Hole Book Box
Books are food for my soul! Pull up a beach chair and stick your toes in the sand as the Jersey surf rolls in and out, now open your book and let your imagination take you away.
Saturday, July 30, 2022
Tuesday, July 26, 2022
The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner (Book Review)
Book Review
The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: May 10, 2022
Format: Hardcover - 414 pages
Paperback - 432 pages
Audiobook - 14 Hours 19 Minutes
Kindle - 2104 KB
Nook - 3 MB
ISBN (HC): 978-1501133572
ISBN (PB): 978-1501133589
ASIN (Audiobook): B099TCWF72
ASIN (Kindle): B09969JBFG
BNID: 978-1501133596
Genre: Women's Fiction
Buy The Book:
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I also purchaced a copy of the book from Authentic Books monthly book box subscription.
Book Description:
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of That Summer comes another heartfelt and unputdownable novel of family, secrets, and the ties that bind.
When her twenty-two-year-old stepdaughter announces her engagement to her pandemic boyfriend, Sarah Danhauser is shocked. But the wheels are in motion. Headstrong Ruby has already set a date (just three months away!) and spoken to her beloved safta, Sarah’s mother Veronica, about having the wedding at the family’s beach house on Cape Cod. Sarah might be worried, but Veronica is thrilled to be bringing the family together one last time before putting the big house on the market.
But the road to a wedding day usually comes with a few bumps. Ruby has always known exactly what she wants, but as the wedding date approaches, she finds herself grappling with the wounds left by the mother who walked out when she was a baby. Veronica ends up facing unexpected news, thanks to her meddling sister, and must revisit the choices she made long ago, when she was a bestselling novelist with a different life. Sarah’s twin brother, Sam, is recovering from a terrible loss, and confronting big questions about who he is—questions he hopes to resolve during his stay on the Cape. Sarah’s husband, Eli, who’s been inexplicably distant during the pandemic, confronts the consequences of a long ago lapse from his typical good-guy behavior. And Sarah, frustrated by her husband, concerned about her stepdaughter, and worn out by challenges of life during quarantine, faces the alluring reappearance of someone from her past and a life that could have been.
When the wedding day arrives, lovers are revealed as their true selves, misunderstandings take on a life of their own, and secrets come to light. There are confrontations and revelations that will touch each member of the extended family, ensuring that nothing will ever be the same.
From “the undisputed boss of the beach read” (The New York Times), The Summer Place is a testament to family in all its messy glory; a story about what we sacrifice and how we forgive. Enthralling, witty, big-hearted, and sharply observed, this is Jennifer Weiner’s love letter to the Outer Cape and the power of home, the way our lives are enriched by the people we call family, and the endless ways love can surprise us.
Book Excerpt: https://a.co/gM8P4Mr
My Book Review:
In The Summer Place, author Jennifer Weiner transports the reader to the town of Truro on Cape Cod, that follows a post-Covid family saga and summer of change for a family when drama and a tangled web of secrets are uncovered at the family beach house.
When Sarah and Eli Danhauser's daughter Ruby plans a Post-Covid wedding to live-in boyfriend Gabe Andrews in three months at grandmom Veronica's beach house on Cape Cod, what ensues is a summer of change for the entire family when they deal with complicated individual life issues and long-held secrets, and discover the true meaning of love, friendship, and family.
In The Summer Place, author Jennifer Weiner easily captivates her readers' attention with this beautifully written tale through a seamless and flowing storyline, a wonderful description of a tranquil seaside setting, and characters who draw you into their lives with a strong emotional pull, along with their complexities, flaws and secrets.
The Summer Place is a wonderful story told in the third person alternating narrative that engages the reader to follow along as this summer of change at the family's beach house will bring plenty of drama, long-held secrets, trials and tribulations, life challenges, and family issues for Sarah, Eli and Ruby Danhauser, Ruby's biological mother Annette Morgan, Ruby's boyfriend Gabe Andrews and his mother Rosa, Sarah's mother Veronica and brother Sam Weinberg. The alternating storylines will keep the readers on their toes, but it all culminates in a heartwarming ending that will leave them with a smile on their face. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that my favorite character was Veronica (Ronnie), I loved reading about her backstory and the wonderful description of her Cape Cod beach house that witnessed so many family changes throughout the years. Families are messy, but it is the family relationship bond that keeps everyone together!
The Summer Place is a wonderful story told in the third person alternating narrative that engages the reader to follow along as this summer of change at the family's beach house will bring plenty of drama, long-held secrets, trials and tribulations, life challenges, and family issues for Sarah, Eli and Ruby Danhauser, Ruby's biological mother Annette Morgan, Ruby's boyfriend Gabe Andrews and his mother Rosa, Sarah's mother Veronica and brother Sam Weinberg. The alternating storylines will keep the readers on their toes, but it all culminates in a heartwarming ending that will leave them with a smile on their face. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that my favorite character was Veronica (Ronnie), I loved reading about her backstory and the wonderful description of her Cape Cod beach house that witnessed so many family changes throughout the years. Families are messy, but it is the family relationship bond that keeps everyone together!
The reader will be kept engaged as this wonderful story unfolds. With a cast of interesting characters, and a richly vivid description of Cape Cod, The Summer Place is a compelling story about love, friendship, family, and second chances in life.
RATING: 5 STARS
About The Author
Monday, July 25, 2022
The It Girl by Ruth Ware (Book Review)
Book Review
The It Girl by Ruth Ware
Publisher: Gallery / Scout Press
Publication Date: July 12, 2022
Format: Hardcover - 420 pages
Paperback - 432 pages
Audiobook - 17 Hours 9 Minutes
Kindle - 2319 KB
Nook - 5 MB
ISBN (HC): 978-1982155261
ISBN (PB): 978-1982163266
ASIN (Audiobook): B09KX448WG
ASIN (Audiobook): B09KX448WG
ASIN (Kindle): B09JPJMS5X
BNID: 978-1982155285
Genre: Thriller
BNID: 978-1982155285
Genre: Thriller
Buy The Book:
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book via NetGalley, and also purchased a copy of the book via Book Of The Month subscription.
Book Description:
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of One by One returns with an unputdownable mystery following a woman on the search for answers a decade after her friend’s murder.
April Clarke-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford.
Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends—Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily—during their first term. By the end of the second, April was dead.
Now, a decade later, Hannah and Will are expecting their first child, and the man convicted of killing April, former Oxford porter John Neville, has died in prison. Relieved to have finally put the past behind her, Hannah’s world is rocked when a young journalist comes knocking and presents new evidence that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of April’s death, she realizes that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide…including a murder.
Book Excerpt: https://a.co/eC53tN1
My Book Review:
In The It Girl, author Ruth Ware transports the reader to Oxford University - Pelham College in the United Kingdom, and Stockbridge, Scotland, for an intriguing thriller that will keep the reader guessing and turning the pages.
The story centers around Hannah Jones de Chastaigne, who revisits the death of her college roommate, April Clarke-Cliveden. It has been ten years since Hannah found April dead in their college apartment, and the recent news that convicted murderer John Neville, the university Porter, has died in prison. The news brings up doubts and questions about April's death that have haunted Hannah throughout the years. Geraint Williams, a journalist contacts Hannah and tells her that he is convinced that the conviction was wrong, and that John Neville was innocent of the murder, and the real killer is still out there. Did Hannah's testimony in the trial send an innocent man to prison, and if so, who killed The It Girl?
The story centers around Hannah Jones de Chastaigne, who revisits the death of her college roommate, April Clarke-Cliveden. It has been ten years since Hannah found April dead in their college apartment, and the recent news that convicted murderer John Neville, the university Porter, has died in prison. The news brings up doubts and questions about April's death that have haunted Hannah throughout the years. Geraint Williams, a journalist contacts Hannah and tells her that he is convinced that the conviction was wrong, and that John Neville was innocent of the murder, and the real killer is still out there. Did Hannah's testimony in the trial send an innocent man to prison, and if so, who killed The It Girl?
Author Ruth Ware weaves a slow-building and suspenseful tale written in the third person narrative that alternates between the past and present, that follows Hannah as she looks into April's death and is determined to find the truth.
The reader is easily drawn into this riveting story with its richly descriptive plot. It is filled with enough drama, secrets, motives, possible suspects, and intriguing twists and turns that definitely keeps the reader guessing until the surprising conclusion.
This was a really intrigruing story to read! The author does a wonderful job of providing enough clues to engage the reader, and I found myself so caught up on trying to figure out who was behind April's death. The story alternates between the past that features April, Hannah, and their close group of friends as they enter the first year of college up to the end of the year that leads to April's death, and the present that features Hannah's obsession to search for the truth behind April's death, and finally move forward with her life. I loved how the alternating storylines ultimately puts all the pieces of the puzzle together, you never know who your friends really are. I was absolutely stunned by the conclusion!
The reader is easily drawn into this riveting story with its richly descriptive plot. It is filled with enough drama, secrets, motives, possible suspects, and intriguing twists and turns that definitely keeps the reader guessing until the surprising conclusion.
This was a really intrigruing story to read! The author does a wonderful job of providing enough clues to engage the reader, and I found myself so caught up on trying to figure out who was behind April's death. The story alternates between the past that features April, Hannah, and their close group of friends as they enter the first year of college up to the end of the year that leads to April's death, and the present that features Hannah's obsession to search for the truth behind April's death, and finally move forward with her life. I loved how the alternating storylines ultimately puts all the pieces of the puzzle together, you never know who your friends really are. I was absolutely stunned by the conclusion!
The It Girl will definitely take the readers on one heck of a thrilling roller coaster ride.
RATING: 5 STARS
About The Author
Friday, July 22, 2022
Weekly Book Mail: 7/17-23/2022
This Week's Book Mail
June - Authentic Books
July - Harlequin Essential Romance & Suspense Combo
July - The Book Drop
Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours
August - Romance Reveal Book Box
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