The Audrey Hepburn Estate

The Audrey Hepburn Estate by Brenda Janowitz 368 pages

 

One of my favorite movies of all-time is from 1954. Sabrina, starring Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart and William Holden. It is an important film, so much so that it “was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.’”

Author Brenda Janowitz, in her eighth novel, has taken the essence of the movie and of Hepburn to craft a warm and surprisingly twisty work. The story is told with two narratives, “Now” and “Then.” 

“Now” is current time. Emma, Henry and Leo grew up on Henry’s grandparents’ Long Island estate, known as Rolling Hill.  The grand mansion has fallen into such disrepair that it is beyond saving. Or so says Leo, who has recently purchased the estate and plans to raze it. Emma has not seen Leo in almost seven years. It had been even longer since she had seen Henry. “Then” fills in the backstory, giving the reader insight into the characters as children and young adults.

Since Emma was eight years old, she knew that Henry was the one for her. They were childhood sweethearts. Janowitz reverses male roles. Think Henry in the Linus/Bogart role. Leo, the driver’s son, had been in love with Emma since they played together as children. Leo has the William Holden role. Since Leo first met Emma, he knew that she was the one for him. Who will Emma cling to in the turmoil that lies ahead.?

Emma returns to Rolling Hill for a trip down memory lane. What she didn’t know was that the house held more than one secret. She tried to get to Leo not to raze the house, but she was talking to deaf ears. She goes so far as to join the local historical society in the hopes of obtaining an injunction against Leo and his company.  Along the way, Janowitz throws in a few twists that turned the story in a different, yet same, direction.

Be sure to read the Appendix, “Finding Audrey Hepburn in ‘The Audrey Hepburn Estate.’”

The Audrey Hepburn Estate receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

 

 

 

Tha Magic of Lemon Drop Pie

The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Linden 352 pages

On a hot, hot summer day, there is nothing better than staying indoors with a light, fun book. “The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie” is the perfect book to read indoors, or for sun lovers, lying on the beach or in a hammock.

Lolly Blanchard is in a rut. When her mother died ten years ago, she put all her dreams on hold. She took over her mother’s role at the family’s diner and acts as a mother to her thirteen-year-old sister, Daphne. She rises before dawn every day to make the lemon meringue pies for which the diner is famous. She takes care of the books and runs the front of the house. Dad is the chef, but he is still so lost in his grief that he can barely function.

One day, Daphne discovers one of Lolly’s high school journals where she listed her life goals. Much to her dismay, she has not completed any of them, and it’s even harder that there are only five. Four big goals and one smaller goal, but still.

Lolly sinks into a funk. Her thirty-third birthday is just around the corner. The diner is slowly losing business and bills are hard to pay.

Great-Aunt Gert, an eccentric old woman, gives Lolly a most unusual birthday present:  three lemon drops. But these aren’t just any lemon drops; they are magical. Each one will give Lolly the opportunity to “live a single day in a life that might have been hers.”

Lolly uses the lemon drops to answer some of her biggest regrets. She decides to spend a day with her mother, open a restaurant overseas and made a life with the only man she has ever loved.

This was a sweet, sweet (no pun intended) story. The choices Lolly makes with the three lemon drops will open her eyes to see the new possibilities in her existing life. And on learning of a fourth lemon drop that will allow her to stay in one of those lives, Lolly discovers the strength and happiness she had no idea could be hers.

A light read for a sweltering day, “The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie” is the perfect beach read and receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

The Inheritance

The Inheritance by JoAnn Ross 384 pages

Wow, the cover of this book really fooled me and has more of disconnect than any book I’ve seen in a long time. It screams historical fiction with a touch of contemporary, but the actual story is the reverse. It’s a contemporary story with a dash of historical fiction.

Jackson “Jack” Swann is a conflict photographer. He goes anywhere the world is in crisis/chaos. It’s been a great profession, however with little time, or energy, for meaningful relationships.  The father of three daughter, each by a different woman, has come home to his family’s Oregon vineyard to die. Cancer is ravaging his body.

He changes his will so that the three half-sisters at least get to meet one time, and so the family business remains in the family. He hopes.

Jack’s oldest daughter is Tess. He was married her mother for a short time. He had bailed before she got to know him and she refers to him only as “the sperm donor.” A former child TV star (think Patty Duke), Tess is now a bestselling author of young adult books. She pissed at the sperm donor as now she feels she has lost him all over again. With a terrifying case of writer’s block, Tess thinks a trip to Oregon might be just what she needs to shake the cobwebs loose. She know about Charlotte, but has idea that Natalia exists.

Charlotte is the middle child, well woman now. Raised in Southern high society, Charlotte has a passion for interior design, which Jack encouraged. However, her mother has made eroded her confidence and she retreats into being the perfect wife for her politician husband, but it seems he also belittles everything she tries to do. Bad news usually comes in threes, but for Charlotte, two were a disaster. She learns about Jack’s death on the same day she learns her husband is cheating on her. And to top that off, she as no inkling that she has two sisters.

The youngest, Natalia, is the one who knows Jack the best. Her mother captured more of Jack’s heart than any other woman. Natalia has even inherited his talent for photography. She is aware of Tess and Charlotte, but doesn’t know if they know about her.

Not only Jack’s daughters inherit the vineyard, they also inherited a grandmother. Rocked by her only son’s death, she eagerly awaits the girls’ arrival so that she can get to know them. The historical fiction comes in with Grandmother Madeleine. She and her husband were French Resistance fighters during WWII.

“The Inheritance” is an interesting novel about families and receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. 

 

Meeting in Positano

Meeting in Positano (translated from the Italian by Brian Robert Moore) by Goliarda Sapienza 256 pages

What attracted me to this novel was that it was set in Positano, a town south of Naples on the Amalfi coast. I love Italian settings. Picking up the book paid off because Positano is more than a setting; it’s a character in the book.  Author Sapienza does a wonderful job describing its beauty.

Sapienza worked as an actress from the late 1940s to the early ‘50s.  She made six films and after worked dried up, she worked in other areas of the movie industry. However, after her death in 1996, her husband found several novels that she had written and began publishing them.

In this novel, she is scouting locations and meets Erica Beneventano, a lovely widow. The two women become very intimate friends, not lovers but almost. This story is a bit confusing. First, I was never completely sure who the narrator was. It’s supposed to Goliarda, but at times I felt as if the words were coming from Erica. And at other times, the plot seemed more like a memoir than a fictional piece, especially since author Goliarda uses her own name as her character’s name (that was really off-putting).

Basically this is Erica’s life story. The book could also be labeled as “based on a true story,” with Erica taking the lead as most of the story was hers. As Goliarda goes about her movie business, the two women become very close, not lover-close, by closer than sisters.

Life was not easy for Erica. She was a middle sister, forced to go to work at an early age, married to one of her father’s ex-business associates and forced to have an abortion that results in her inability to conceive more children Sometimes I couldn’t follow the plot, which I found quite frustrating. But the beauty of the writing and the descriptions kept me reading. 

I was dismayed at the end when I found an Afterword by Goliarda’s husband, Angelo Pellegrino. The back of the book also contained a timeline of Goliarda’s life and pictures of Positano. I wish I had read them first. I believe if I had, I wouldn’t have had such a hard time following the book’s action.  Therefore, “Meeting in Positano” receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

A Sunday in Ville-d'Avray

A Sunday in Ville-d'Avray by Dominique Barberis  (Translated from the French by John Cullen) 144 pages

This novella packs a lot into it. It’s brief, moody, spare, completely French and has a other-worldly atmosphere to it.

 Two sisters, Jane and Claire Marie don’t see each other often, even though they live relatively close to each other. Jane lives in the heart of Paris, while Claire Marie lives in the suburban community of Ville-d”Avray. Jane lives with her partner and Claire Marie has a husband and a teenage daughter.

It’s early autumn, and the sisters are enjoying a few glasses of wine in the garden. After the initial and normal conversation exchanges, Claire Marie begins to talk about a man she had known fifteen years prior. It’s a whimsical, whispery, misty description of a man named Marc Hermann. I’m was never sure if the two had an actual affair or danced around one.

Claire Marie would sneak out of the house to meet him, but the meetings took place more around train stations and parks than in hotel rooms or quaint B&Bs. I got the feeling that Marc was more of a stalker, and that Claire Marie was having wispy fantasies about him. The scenes in which Claire Marie tried to see him at his place of business is disturbing, making the reader feel as if there was something else going on altogether.

The pace of the novella ebb and flowed, as a good story does. However, it didn’t reel me in completely. I found myself more mystified than satisfied at the conclusion. Therefore,  A Sunday in Ville-d'Avray received 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. I wanted to give it 2 stars, but the beautiful writing and scenery had me bump it up a star.

 

The Last Garden in England

The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly 368 pages

Author Kelly employs one of my favorite plot devices, in this, her third novel: dueling timelines. Most writers use only tow, but Kelly has stretched her writing skills by having three timelines: present day, 1944 and 1907. She does a wonderful job in keeping the characters individualized with the descriptions, but I had a hard time with their voices---all three sounded similar. This caused an occasional problem for me as I sometimes forgot whose story was being told. However, the descriptions of the times and other characters involved held ground me.

The first plotline/character we meet is Emma. Her firm has been hired to restore the garden to Scotland’s Highbury House to its original grandeur. The garden hasn’t been maintained and is grossly overgrown.

The second character is Venetia Smith in 1907. She was hired by the original owners to design the garden in the formal English style. She lays it out in a series of “rooms,” different areas for different emotions…like the Children’s Garden, The Poet’s Corner, the Winter Garden, etc. Interesting enough, Venetia is based on a real-life designer, one that Emma holds in the highest esteem.

The third plotline is 1944. Actually there are three women in this section: Highbury House’s mistress and its cook plus a “land girl,” come to work the land since all the men were off to war.

Three generations of women plan and care for the garden, each with her own story. I found Venetia’s story the most compelling. In the early 20^th century there were not many women who owned a business. Second, I found the discovery of Venetia’s original plans in the present day the highlight of the novel. It had the most tension and the most excitement.

The Last Garden in England is touted as for fans of Kate Morton’s novel, The Lake House, but I don’t feel it even comes close. The tension was sporadic, and I still don’t understand the title. Therefore, The Last Garden in England receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. 

 

Hour of the Witch

 Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian 416 pages

The last time author Chris Bohjalian was in St. Louis, I was lucky enough to be first in line at his book signing. St. Louis was the first stop, if I remember correctly, of his book tour for “The Flight Attendant.” I was eager to start reading after his wonderful presentation, but since I had a chance, I chatted with him for a minute before he had to get to work. I had one important, burning question: “What’s next?”

 He told me that he was researching a book about Puritans in the 17^th century and the witch trials that rocked Massachusetts. He had become fascinated with that time period when he was in college. I was disappointed when it wasn’t the next book he released (which was “The Red Lotus,” another great read!). Maybe next year, I thought.

Not long ago, I began to see blurbs and advertisements for his latest adventure, “Hour of the Witch.” Here it was! I lucky enough get my hands on an Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC). I was shocked it was even available because during the time of covid-19, as publishers cut way back on print copies. A writer of his stature doesn’t need ARCs to gain momentum. He writes and people, including me, buy his book. I don’t even have to know what it’s about. If Chris Bohjalian wrote, I’m probably gonna love it.

I am not a big fan of stories set in the 17^th century; they don’t grab me. But, boy, this one sure did. From its first sentence (“It was always possible that the Devil was present.”) to its last, I was enthralled with Mary Deerfield’s story.

The place is Boston; the year is 1662. Women have been hung after accusations they were practicing witchcraft. Young Mary Deerfield is a newlywed. Her husband, Thomas, is a powerful man, physically and politically. In public, Thomas was ever the attentive husband, but once the front door was closed, Thomas turned into her worse nightmare. He criticized her, he brutalized her in the marriage bed, and he tossed her around their cottage like she was fallen leaf. He was an expert at making up the lies he told whenever someone noticed her bruises. It was painful to read about Thomas’ cruelty and how he would laugh at Mary’s pain and fear.

Mary’s father was an importer. He recently received a shipment of three-tined forks, which were considered the Devil’s utensils. When she finds two of them planted near the cottage gate, she knows someone is trying to frame her as a witch. She is afraid it’s Thomas, or their servant firld. There isn’t much Mary can do legally to fight him.

Thomas’ drinking grows steady worse. When he stabs her in the hand, Mary knows it is time to divorce him.  Divorce is scandalous. It goes against all things God-like. It isn’t right.

The book is broken into two parts. The first is The Book of the Wife. This is where readers see their marriage and experience Mary’s fears and Thomas’s cruelties. The second is The Book of the Witch. Here is where Mary tries to gain a divorce and defend herself against the horrific accusations that are thrown at her.

I need to stop now, or I’m going to spill the beans about an ending that was as shocking as it was redeeming. And perfect. It was perfect!

I loved this story and could hardly put it down. I do have one question for Mr. Bohjalian: “As hard as it was to get used to reading the thee’s and thou’s that was the Puritans way of speaking, how hard was it to write in that style?” Maybe next time he’s in St. Louis, I’ll snag that first spot in line and have a chance to ask him.

What a great read! Hour of the Witch receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. 

 

The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany

 The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman 400 pages

 By the time this book is released to the public, hopefully the Coronavirus Pandemic is over.  Back when I was reading this in March 2020, the world was gripped with stay-at-home orders, exhausted medical staffs and too few supplies for said medical staffs. For me, though, this book was a relief.  Since going back to visit Italy is on my bucket list, it was a welcome respite from the bad news. Thank you, Natalie S. from Penguin Random House for sending me an Advanced Readers Copy.

It’s been more than two-hundred years since Filomena Fontana put a curse on her sister and cursing all second-born daughters forever after, causing them to never find true love. Based on the fact that all Fontana second-born daughters have never married, contemporary Fontanas believe the curse is real.

Fast forward to 2018 in Brooklyn, New York. At twenty-nine, Emilia, a second-born daughter, is happy with her life in the family bakery.  She makes a cannoli to die for say customers.  She works in the bakery with her father and nonna. Dad is a quiet man, but Nonna Rosa is a hard woman, expecting perfection and to be obeyed. Emilia has an apartment that she shares with a cat named Claws. Her best friend is a man she has known since they went to school together as children.

Out of the blue, a letter from her great-aunt Poppy arrives, inviting Emilia and her cousin, Lucy, to accompany her on a trip to Italy. The goal is to be at the cathedral on her eightieth birthday to meet the man she fell in love with in 1959. Aunt Poppy is estranged from the family, but Emilia remembers her sending birthday and Christmas cards. Nonna Rosa is against the trip and makes her wishes known.

Needless to stay, Emilia defies Nonna and off they go. The scenery is gorgeous; the trio’s adventures are alternately fun and sad, and family secrets are revealed…and there is a happy ending. 

I was sad when the story ended. I had come to love these characters as they navigated through uncharted territories.   “The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany?” receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

 

The Grace Kelly Dress

The Grace Kelly Dress by Brenda Janowitz  336 pages

 

When a close friend married a few years back, late in life, he was amazed, nay shocked, that the main focus of the event was “the dress.” And as any bride will tell you, it’s all about the dress.

 

“The dress” in the novel is one dress that spans three generations, but not “the dress” the American movie superstar Grace Kelly wore to marry her Prince Rainier of Monaco. That dress is the inspiration for this novel, which begins in 1956, when Grace abandons Hollywood to become Her Royal Highness, Princess Grace to Monaco. Grace was living every girl’s fantasy. Grace’s dress is beautiful, and every bride in the world wants to imitate it.

 

This story is told in three alternating timelines with from a daughter’s, mother’s and grandmother’s point of view. In begins in 2010 in Brooklyn. Rachel, who goes by Rocky, owns a gaming company and is more comfortable in jeans and combat boots. When she becomes engage, her mother, Joan, is certain that she’ll wear her dress. Lacy with Princess Diana sleeves, it screams NOT ROCKY! But how does she not accept a family heirloom without hurting her mother and their relationship.

 

The second story is Joan’s story. After her sister died, it’s up to her to be the best…be good enough for both of them. This section was my favorite as it has the most suspense. I don’t want to say anything more for fear of spoiling the plot. Still when Joan’s mother brings out the dress, Joan would rather get married in her underwear. But once she makes some changes to it, it becomes the most beautiful gown in the world!

 

The third story is Joan’s mother’s story. Rose is a seamstress in 1958 in Paris. A young bride has come to the highly regarded bridal boutique where Rose works. The bride wants a Grace Kelly dress, and as the work begins, the plot takes several twists that keeps the reader on edge.

 

Rocky’s story is the weakest of the three and that weakness is why I am compelled to give  “The Grace Kelly”  4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Disorganize Me

 

Disorganize Me by Sandra Hutchison  366 pages

 

I always look forward to a new Sandra Hutchison novel, and they are always worth the wait.  I have read Hutchison’s three previous novels.  I count her as one of my favorite novelists; she never disappoints. Her characters are well developed and human.  When I read a Hutchison novel, I always feel I could meet these people in real-life if I traveled to the town/city where they life.

 

I love the play on words created in the title. Protagonist Kathy White’s world is anything but organized. Things may be in there place, but the emotional aspect of her life is so cluttered that even her beloved Aunt Lucy wouldn’t have been able to straighten it. When she inherits a professional organizer’s business from Aunt Lucy, her life is completely turned upside down.

 

Along with the business, Kathy also inherits one of two of the novel’s antagonists: Diego, a day laborer who often helped Aunt Lucy when she needed extra muscle. She hires Diego to help her at the second antagonist’s, John’s, house. A hoarder, almost every inch of his home and garage are full. When Diego breaks his ankle at the job site, Kathy must deal with a whole different set of problems.

 

Since Diego cannot return to his third-floor apartment (reachable only by stairs), Kathy feels she must offer him her couch. She couldn’t bear the thought of him trying to live in his truck. The situation is uncomfortable for the pair, and gets more and more uncomfortable as they negotiate such simple things as going to the bathroom, eating and sleeping.  The situations are so human that they were often hysterically funny.

 

And then there is John, a grouchy old man who knows he needs her help, but refuses to acknowledge it. Before readers know it, John has taken up residence in Kathy’s tiny house with her and Diego.

 

At the core of this warmly comfortable novel, is the issue of immigration and roots. Diego is proud of his Puerto Rican heritage but finds his looks deter him from getting ahead…along with a felony conviction.  Kathy also discovers a secret her family has been harboring her entire life  that only adds to the complexity of the story.  I loved this novel and “Disorganize Me” receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

The Vineyards of Champagne

The Vineyards of Champagne by Juliette Blackwell   416 pages

If I don’t get my Christmas cookies baked this year (2019), it’s Juliette Blackwell’s fault. She has written another compelling novel that had to be read as opposed to baking.

The story takes place in, and below, in France’s Champagne region. I first learned about the numerous cave systems that run throughout the area when I read Kristin Harmel’s “The Winemaker’s Wife.” Fascinating reading.

This story has one of my favorite storytelling devices: dualing timelines.  The present day starts off in California’s Napa Valley. Recently widowed Rosalyn Acosta, a wine rep for Small Fortune Wines, is begin sent to Reims, France, to call on the smaller growers there in hopes of gaining the rights to represent them in the States. There are only two drawbacks to this assignment. First, Rosalyn doesn’t want to go to France, Paris in particular. It was where she and her late husband, Dash, honeymooned.  Second, Rosalyn abhors champagne.

On the flight to Paris, Rosalyn lives every long-distance flyer’s nightmare. A chatty seatmate in first class.  Turns out that the seatmate, Emma, is also headed to Reims. With her she has letters from Emile Legrand, that date to World War I. The letters are are between Emile and Lucie, a childhood friend,and Doris, Emile’s marraine de guerre, or war godmother. Women who wrote to the soldier’s that didn’t have no one back home. Emma knows that to get the complete story, she must find other letters. Letters that have been sitting in attics, backs of closets, in tiny museums for decades. That is her quest and it’s clear early in the novel, that Emma pretty much well gets what she wants.

As Rosalyn is reluntanctly brought into Emma’s quest, she becomes fascinated with how the people of the Champagne moved into the cave system in order to avoid the German bombs that fell incessantly. They had schools, shops, resturants, everything that was accessible above ground.

So now Rosalyn has two goals while she is there: Land some new accounts and help Emma translate the letters.

I enjoyed reading what life was like in the caves. It sounds rather romantic, but the facts lead to a different conclusion. I really enjoyed this novel and “The Vineyards of Champagne” receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

The Subway Girls

The Subway Girls by Susi Orman Schnall   320 pages

My new favorite writer, Fiona Davis, called this novel “dazzling and delicious,” and  I wholeheartedly agree. I read this dualing timelines story in one day. It was so captivating that I didn’t mind a four-hour wait at the airport for my plane to arrive. I couldn’t have been better prepared for a long wait than with this wonderful book.

The first timeline begins in the spring of 1949. Charlotte is a senior at New York City’s Hunter College, studying advertising. She dreams of becoming a junior copywriter but is realistic to know that her hopes of making it out of the typing pool are slim to none.

Times are tight in Brooklyn, where Charlotte lives with her parents. She has a steady beau who wants to marry her, but she wants to try her hand at a career first. Her father is a strict and cold man, man of few words. When his hardware store begins to fail, he insists that Charlotte leave school and help him in the store. Charlotte does help out, but refuses to abandon her studies; she only has a semester left.

Also happening in New York City is latest the latest advertising campaign for the transit system, a beauty contest that selects one young woman a month to wear the crown of Miss Subways. Charlotte concocts a scheme that if she enters and wins, she can use that platform as a way to save her father’s store. Based on the real-life Miss Subways campaign that ran between 1941 and 1976, Charlotte’s timeline captures a lost piece of New York City history.

The second time also begins in the spring, but the year is 2018. Olivia is an account executive with an advertising company that she, sort of, co-founded with a former colleague. The company has been losing business steadily and is on the brink of collapse. Thanks to a chance meeting in a bar, the company gets an opportunity to pitch a new campaign to the New York Transit System.  In her research, Olivia stumbles upon the Miss Subways campaign, and it here that Charlotte and Olivia intersect.

I loved this story. It pulled me in from the first page and didn’t let up until the ending that left me with a smile and a quiet cheer to myself.  “The Subway Girls” receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Once Broken

Once Broken by D. M. Hamblin   350 pages

First published, according to Amazon, in 2016, author D.M. Hamblin contacted me in 2018 to review her debut novel, “Once Broken.” I don’t remember what drew me to this story. Perhaps it was the revenge element; perhaps it was the forgiveness element.  It doesn’t really matter at this point.

When Jackie Martin was ten years old, her father died suddenly and her once sturdy family life fell apart. For whatever reason that I couldn’t understand, Jackie was not allowed to go to the funeral home nor attend the funeral. This is the root of her abandonment issues, which she suffers from until she is approximately in her forties.

In high school, she falls for Tony Salvucci. Her clinginess results in their breakup, but Jackie has fallen in love…for life. The two come together and breakup almost as often as the seasons change. Jackie is always plotting on how to get revenge with Tony; most of the time she wants him to feel the same pain as she has. Finally, she sees Tony for the man he truly is and learns to move on with her life.

I love the bones of this story. They are great. But one Hamlin employs more tell rather than show, which gets in the way of the plot. I can’t help but feel that this story is more autobiographical than fiction, but writers must write what they know.  This would have been a much different book had Hamblin shown the action instead of describing it, “Once Broken,” receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Summer That Made Us

Summer That Made Us by Robyn Carr   330 pages

 For years, summers for the Hempstead families meant summer at the lake house.  Two sisters had married two brothers, with each family having three girls.  The moms and girls would spend all summer at the lake with the dads coming up on the weekends.  The house was owned by the moms’ parents.  This was the pattern until one summer, the youngest girl drowned in a boating accident, and both families splintered.  Years later, one of the daughters decides she wants to return for the summer and invites all the women to join her.  The revelation of many secrets changes all their lives.  Carr has a way of turning interconnected stories into a larger story.  The results are not all happy, but understanding is achieved.  There are also no perfect people, just real people involved.

Secrets of the Tulip Sisters

Secrets of the Tulip Sisters by Susan Mallery     416 pages


 Two estranged sisters reconnect and change their lives when one of them returns to the family tulip farm after several years’ absence.  After the very bad breakup of their parents’ marriage, their mother left town.  Kelly loved the farm and learned all she could to work with her father.  When the younger sister, Olivia began to run a bit wild in high school, Kelly convinced her father to send Olivia away to a boarding school.  Feeling abandoned, Olivia stayed away for many years.  Kelly’s high school crush Griffith has also returned to town and he seems to show up in the places Kelly happens to be.  As the sisters reconnect, many secrets are revealed and must be dealt with if the sisters and their father are going to figure out how to relate as adults, especially when an unwelcome guest arrive and disturbs them all.

Home on the Range

Home on the Range by Ruth Logan Herne    352 pages

Return to the Double S Ranch in Gray’s Glen, Washington, in this second novel of the Double S Ranch Series. 

In the first book, we met the Stafford family. Patriarch Sam is grievously ill. Oldest brother, Colt, came home after losing his job on Wall Street. And while Colt was the star of the first book, the second book concentrates on the middle brother, Nick, and his shattered family.

Home on the Range seems to pick up practically where the first book, Back in the Saddle, left off. Both brothers, along with the youngest, Trey, know the feelings of a mother’s abandonment; feelings Nick two little girls, Cheyenne and Dakota, are wrestling with. 

Nick has finally agreed to get his girls professional help. Recommended by the school principal, Dr. Elsa Andreas, is grappling with problems of her own. She left Seattle after a devastating outcome with two of her patients. She’s living in the woods, far off the beaten path, outside Gray’s Glen.

When Nick first pulls up, he feels attracted to the beautiful young woman. His oldest daughter immediately hates Elsa but feels the strong tug of attraction.

The story is about forgiveness, redemption, second chances and new beginnings.

Home on the Range  is predictable, but nonetheless a worthy read. A perfect beach reads. It’s well written, follows a well-planned story arc and is sprinkled liberally with some interesting plot twists.  I found myself eagerly awaiting my evening read-time so I could see how it would all turn out.  I enjoyed getting to know the Stafford family, Nick especially, better. Home on the Range gets 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. Why 4 stars? It’s a formulaic plot that is a good read. I would recommend it to those looking for a light, happily-ever-after- novel.

The Way Life Should Be

The Way Life Should Be  by Christina Baker Kline    320 pages

Three things drew me to this novel. First, it takes place in Maine. I’ve always wanted to live on the coast of Maine; it’s just so darn beautiful. Second, sometimes when I reflect upon my life, I think, “This isn’t what I signed up for; this isn’t the way life was supposed to be.” The third reason is the author, Christina Baker Kline. After reading, and loving, Orphan Train and A Piece of the World, Kline is one of my favorite authors and I want to read all the books she has published. And just icing on the cake, the front cover blurb is from Caroline Leavitt, an author I’m just discovering. So I ask you, “How could I resist this novel?”

Angela Russo lives in New York City and is thirty-three years old. She is an event planner for one of the lesser-known museums. On her office bulletin board is a cutout magazine photo showing a cottage on the coast of Maine. It portrays such a simple life; the life Angela has always wanted.

With her love life is nonexistent, she decides to look into some internet dating sites. A profile name MaineCatch. He’s thirty-five, has ice-blue eyes and lives in Cushing, Maine. Angela spends more time mooning over MaineCatch than she does thinking about the big fundraising event she is planning for the museum. She has to go to Boston on business, and luckily, MaineCatch sails down to meet her. The sparks fly.

When the event goes horribly, horribly, horribly wrong, Angela is fired from her job. She decided to move north to be with her catch. Things go horribly, horribly wrong; seems she has misunderstood MaineCatch’s intentions.

Without a job to return to, Angela decides to stay in Cushing. She finds a little shack to rent that she can renovate, gets a job in a local coffee house, and begins to rebuild her life. The knack for the Italian cooking she learned from her grandmother rises to the surface.

The novel is written in first person, which I think helps add immediacy to the story while Kline’s scenic description have me longing to pack me bags and head Northeast. I was able to live vicariously through Angela. I could barely put this story down and I didn’t want it to end. I hope in the future Kline writes a follow-up novel. The Way Life Should Be 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Summer Sisters

Summer Sisters by Judy Blume.  416 pages

In the summer of 1977, Victoria Leonard's world was changed forever when Caitlin Somers chose her as a friend. Welcoming her into the heart of her family, Caitlin introduces Vix to a world of privilege and vacations on Martha's Vineyard, a place where the two become "summer sisters," and where Vix has some unforgettable experiences.

Now, years later, Vix is working in New York City and is still friends with Caitlin, although not as close as she used to be. When Caitlin calls and tells Vix that she's getting married on the Vineyard, begging her to be her maid of honor, Vix knows she will go, even though this is the friend whose casual betrayals never lost their edge over the years.

When I need to reset my brain from reading, I pick up this book. Even though I've read it many times, I still enjoy revisiting the book and the characters, and I like how Blume gives a number of perspectives to tell the story. We get most of our narration from Vix, but Blume adds in narrative from other characters, so you understand how the different people relate to each other and create the storyline.  Judy Blume's storytelling, which most of us know from books we read growing up, is just as engaging when it's a story for adults. I find she has a way of creating characters that I can instantly visualize and empathize with (even though she sometimes barely describes what they look like).  I wouldn't ever say that this is a deep read, but that's why I like it: it's fast and it just tells a story that I like and don't have to think too much about (which definitely is appreciated sometimes).

The Wages of Sin

The Wages of Sin by Kaite Welsh         400 pages

In 1892, Sarah Gilchrist joins the University of Edinburgh's medical school.  One of only a few women, she is determined to become a doctor, despite the misgivings of her family and society. There are plenty of barriers at school: professors who refuse to teach women, male students determined to force the women out, and even her female peers.  Desperate for some additional education, Sarah volunteers at a charitable hospital for women. However, when one of the women she tends to there turns up as a battered corpse on the dissecting table, Sarah is determined to find out why.  However, as she searches for the truth, she puts herself in great danger.

I found this to be an interesting book for a few reasons. Sarah is a well-written character and over the course of the story, she reveals more and more about herself.  Hinting at something awful in her past, and the perception by some of her fellow female students as a fallen women, Sarah's struggles aren't just with her studies.  I did sometimes wonder why she was so determined to investigate why this one young woman ended up on the dissection table, especially since so many women were treated at the clinic at which she volunteered.  This was a good story and gave some insight into how difficult it was for women who wanted to study medicine (and the types of challenges they needed to overcome).

Life After

Life After by Katie Ganshert  352  pages

I was intrigued by Life After’s dust jacket. There is a fascinating picture of an elevated train juxtaposed by an old-fashioned lamp. I was hooked when I read the back copy:

            Snow whirls around an elevated train platform in 

            Chicago. A distracted woman boards the train, takes her               seat, and moments later a fiery explosion rips through

            the frigid air, tearing the car apart in a horrific attack on              the city’s transit system. One life is spared. Twenty-two are 

           lost.

The Prologue does a great job in capturing that moment without going into a lot of detail…it works perfectly. It lets the reader know that this is a story of survival, not of the horrific event the Chicago media dubbed, “Tragedy on the Tracks.”

The plot line then moves forward one year. Autumn Manning is the “One life spared.” She is still dealing with survivor’s guilt. She spends her days and nights virtually bound to her apartment, flicking through Netflix, doing jigsaw puzzles, and pouring over the other passengers’ obituaries that she has organized in a binder. When she does go out, she visits the graves of the deceased. She’s even been getting letters from one of the victims’ daughter, Reese Rosamund Elliott.

With the one year anniversary of the tragedy quickly approaching, the city was to erect a memorial to those who perished. One of the people is Vivian Elliott. She left behind an 11-year-old daughter, a seven-year-old son, and a loving husband. Or so the world thought. Paul was a psychiatrist who did work with his church. He is known as the Marriage Doctor.

One day, without warning, Reese goes to visit Autumn. It’s weird for Autumn, and even weirder for Paul Elliott. The Elloitt’s and Autumn are forced together, and whether that swings good or bad most often depends on the day.

Life After has many layers that are slowly revealed as the story progresses, yet Ganshert’s flow is steady and easy. This had the potential to be an incredibly sad, depressing story, but in Ganshert’s hands, it becomes an uplifting story about the power of forgiveness.

I stayed way past my bedtime a couple of nights; I just had to discover what happened next. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and can’t wait to read more of Ganshert’s work. Life After receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review.