Julie's Review: All Together Now

Author: Matthew Norman
Series: None
Publication Date:  June 15, 2021
Publisher: Ballatine Books
Pages: 288
Obtained: publisher via NetGalley
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: Friendship Goals
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Summary: At just thirty-five, reclusive billionaire Robbie Malcolm is a renowned financial prognosticator, a celebrated philanthropist, and a mathematical genius. Also, he’s dying, which is a fact he’s carefully concealing from the world. As he takes stock, Robbie realizes that his wealth means nothing if he can’t help the people who matter most. So he invites his oldest friends—Blair, Cat, and Wade—to their beloved Fenwick Island on the coast of Delaware to share his secret and to reveal plans for each of them that he believes will change their lives forever. However, Robbie isn’t the only one with secrets. The bonds the friends formed as teenagers still exist, but adulthood has brought a whole new set of complications, like unrequited loves, marriages on the brink, and so much unfulfilled potential. Robbie’s plans may look good on paper, but are they any match for the utter disaster that is real life? As everything comes to light over a wild weekend full of surprises, Robbie learns there are still some things money can’t buy, and a group of friends who thought their best years were behind them realize just how much they have to look forward to. ~amazon.com

Review: I have loved Matthew Norman's humor and writing since I read his debut Domestic Violets and with each book he's cemented as a writer I never want to miss. In his latest, All Together Now he presents us with some pretty flawed characters but their friendship is the one thing that keeps them all going even if it's been a while they've all been together. So when Robbie finds out some pretty devastating news, he rents out a house on their old stomping ground, Fenwick Island. Blair, Cat and Wade all join him on the island where he breaks the news to them. Each of them handle the news as well as they could have but this is on top of what each of them is going through. 

Robbie has all of these fantastic plans for the 4 of them but as you can understand best laid plans go awray. Cat is pretty much drunk the first day, Wade is wallowing and Blair is about to embark on something she'll regret. That is until Robbie gives them envelopes for each of them containing truths they might not want to confront. 

The weekend is spent reveling in those truths and trying to grapple with the fact that their best friend is going to die. Now the book is definitely sad but it's also full of humor and hope. There were quite a bit of time where I would laugh out loud. In fact Wade is so awkward you can't help but chuckle as he tries to figure out dating and reading cues. Blair is struggling with being a mom and being a woman who still wants the attention of her husband. 

I shouldn't be surprised because Mr. Norman is a talented author but the way he writes the women in his novels is refreshing and honest. They weren't stereotypes or cardboard cutouts. 

I'm not a Beatles fan but I understand the infatuation with them on a cerebal level and it is evident that Mr. Norman knows his Beatles history. 

In the end this story is about friendship and being there for each other when it really matters. 

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Sunday Skim

Week of 7/18/2021:

Finished:

Currently Reading:

Looking Forward To:

Not much progress was made on the audiobook this week due to meetings and being a bit more busy that anticipated but it's not because it's not good. I did get about an hour to myself driving to a baseball tournament, so I listened then. I flew through Such a Quiet Place and All Together Now but False Witness is pretty thick so it might take me a bit longer. Anything you flew through reading this week?

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Julie's Review: Such a Quiet Place

Author: Megan Miranda
Series: None
Publication Date:  July 13, 2021
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 352
Obtained: publisher
Genre:  Psychological Thriller
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: Not everything is as it seems
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Summary: Welcome to Hollow’s Edge, where you can find secrets, scandal, and a suspected killer—all on one street. Hollow’s Edge used to be a quiet place. A private and idyllic neighborhood where neighbors dropped in on neighbors, celebrated graduation and holiday parties together, and looked out for one another. But then came the murder of Brandon and Fiona Truett. A year and a half later, Hollow’s Edge is simmering. The residents are trapped, unable to sell their homes, confronted daily by the empty Truett house, and suffocated by their trial testimonies that implicated one of their own. Ruby Fletcher. And now, Ruby’s back. With her conviction overturned, Ruby waltzes right back to Hollow’s Edge, and into the home she once shared with Harper Nash. Harper, five years older, has always treated Ruby like a wayward younger sister. But now she’s terrified. What possible good could come of Ruby returning to the scene of the crime? And how can she possibly turn her away, when she knows Ruby has nowhere to go? Within days, suspicion spreads like a virus across Hollow’s Edge. It’s increasingly clear that not everyone told the truth about the night of the Truetts’ murders. And when Harper begins receiving threatening notes, she realizes she has to uncover the truth before someone else becomes the killer’s next victim. Pulsating with suspense and with the shocking twists that are Megan Miranda’s trademark, Such a Quiet Place is Megan Miranda’s best novel yet—a twisty locked-box thriller that will keep you turning pages late into the night. ~amazon.com

Review: I live in a fairly quiet neighborhood, except for all the young kids but that's ok. We all aren't up in each other's business (well at least I'm not) and we kind of keep to ourselves. I'm social when I want to be but if you read this blog you know we aren't home a ton. So if a murder were to happen in our neighborhood, it would definitely shock us. 

Hollow's Edge used to be a sleepy neighborhood until 2 of their neighbors were murdered and another one was convicted of her murder. Now that conviction has been overturned, Ruby has returned to her former residence to come back to live. Her friend and former roommate is not exactly surprised to see Ruby in her house. This presents a wealth of issues for Harper because now everyone is on guard and that personally affects her. People look at her differently now that Ruby is back in the neighborhood. 

What is Ruby back for? Vengeance, clear her name, return to the life she knew before? All of the above. Harper can't even get a good read on her and she's not sure if she should trust her. I'm pretty sure the answer should be no even if you think she's innocent of what she was in prison for doing. 

What unfolds is a lot of cloak and dagger by Harper to figure out what really went down that night when the Truett's were murdered. 

This is the first of Ms. Miranda's books that I have read but I have done the audiobook for several of her others and enjoy them. She'll be a writer I migrate too continuously in the future. 

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Julie's Review: While We Were Dating

Author: Jasmine Guillory
Series: The Wedding Date #6
Publication Date:  July 13, 2021
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 378
Obtained: publisher via NetGalley
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary Romance
Rating: 5/5
Bottom Line: H.O.T.
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Summary: Ben Stephens has never bothered with serious relationships. He has plenty of casual dates to keep him busy, family drama he’s trying to ignore and his advertising job to focus on. When Ben lands a huge ad campaign featuring movie star, Anna Gardiner, however, it’s hard to keep it purely professional. Anna is not just gorgeous and sexy, she’s also down to earth and considerate, and he can’t help flirting a little…Anna Gardiner is on a mission: to make herself a household name, and this ad campaign will be a great distraction while she waits to hear if she’s booked her next movie. However, she didn’t expect Ben Stephens to be her biggest distraction. She knows mixing business with pleasure never works out, but why not indulge in a harmless flirtation? But their light-hearted banter takes a turn for the serious when Ben helps Anna in a family emergency, and they reveal truths about themselves to each other, truths they’ve barely shared with those closest to them. When the opportunity comes to turn their real-life fling into something more for the Hollywood spotlight, will Ben be content to play the background role in Anna’s life and leave when the cameras stop rolling? Or could he be the leading man she needs to craft their own Hollywood ending? ~amazon.com

Review: Another score for Jasmine Guillory with While We We’re Dating. Anna is an up n coming movie star trying to find the role that will launch her into the kind of stardom and pick of roles most actresses dream of. The last year hasn’t been easy for her personally so when she meets Ben during a commercial shoot, she’s ready for some fun. Anna hasn't had the best year personally and needs the next couple of movies to be big hits. 

Ben is the epitome of a ladies man and so he doesn’t doubt his confidence and allure even for someone of Anna’s stature. Except he isn’t as happy go lucky as he seems. He's got his own issues to work through but covers them up by always deflecting and seeming so happy.  

When they meet, they just instantly click and flirting starts. When Anna has a personal crisis, Ben jumps in immediately to help her. During this they learn things about each other but both are cautious to really open up. Of course then just as they are getting there, Anna's agent comes up with a scheme to have it look like Ben and Anna are dating. It's just the kind of publicity needed for her. Ben doesn't mind because he gets to hang out with Anna that much longer. Of course, you can't turn off your feelings after a month, so things go a little sideways for a bit. 

I’m not going to lie there are parts of this book that are H.O.T. I loved both Anna and Ben but the two of them together was fire. They seemed to be the two sides of the same coin.

Now that I’m done with this one, I have to wait for her next magnificent book!

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Sunday Skim

Week of 7/11/2021:

Finished:

Currently Reading:

Looking Forward To:

To say I devoured While We Were Dating is a big understatement. Every book, Ms. Guillory's writing gets that much better. The Only Plane in the Sky was intense, heartwrenching and in some ways,  healing. For those of us who remember where we were that day, it's a deeper dive into those people directly involved. I love a good celebrity memoir and Andrew McCarthy's lives up to the overall enjoyment of hearing about their career through their eyes. 

Baseball winds down next weekend for us, so I'm hoping to be able to relax, read and hang with friends. Maybe I'll even cook a bit more than I tend to do during the season. How are you all wrapping up your summer?

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Julie's Review: Shoulder Season

Author: Christina Clancy
Series: None
Publication Date:  July 6, 2021
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pages: 336
Obtained: publisher via NetGalley
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction
Rating: 5/5
Bottom Line: 
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Summary: The small town of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin is an unlikely location for a Playboy Resort, and nineteen-year old Sherri Taylor is an unlikely bunny. Growing up in neighboring East Troy, Sherri plays the organ at the local church and has never felt comfortable in her own skin. But when her parents die in quick succession, she leaves the only home she’s ever known for the chance to be part of a glamorous slice of history. In the winter of 1981, in a costume two sizes too small, her toes pinched by stilettos, Sherri joins the daughters of dairy farmers and factory workers for the defining experience of her life. Living in the “bunny hutch”―Playboy’s version of a college dorm―Sherri gets her education in the joys of sisterhood, the thrill of financial independence, the magic of first love, and the heady effects of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. But as spring gives way to summer, Sherri finds herself caught in a romantic triangle―and the tragedy that ensues will haunt her for the next forty years. From the Midwestern prairie to the California desert, from Wisconsin lakes to the Pacific Ocean, this is a story of what happens when small town life is sprinkled with stardust, and what we lose―and gain―when we leave home. With a heroine to root for and a narrative to get lost in, Christina Clancy's Shoulder Season is a sexy, evocative tale, drenched in longing and desire, that captures a fleeting moment in American history with nostalgia and heart. ~amazon.com

Review: I knew a year ago when I first heard about Shoulder Season that I needed to read it. I grew up going to Lake Geneva and yet somehow the fact that there was a Playboy Resort there was never known to me. The idea that it was billed as a family resort kind of cracks me up as well, so I wanted to read about one naive, young woman's experience as a bunny. 

Sherri needs a change in her life as it's been filled with a lot of loss; so when her best friend wants to go for an interview at the Playboy resort she begs Sherri to come along and just interview. The interview and desire to hire her will change the trajectory of her life in good ways and bad. Things will happen that will haunt her until she's almost 60. 

Her time at the Playboy resort will be short but the friendships and relationships she makes will see her through years. Sherri grows into herself in her time there but she also makes a lot of mistakes and hurts some people close to her. 

I loved that Sherri grew up during her experience but she also had so much more to learn, which unfortunately meant making a few more mistakes but don't we all. I really liked how the story came full circle in the end. The friendships that the woman made as bunnies were inspiring. They really supported each other even if they didn't always get along. 

I highly recommend this one if you are at all interested in recent contemporary history. 

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Julie's Review: The Gunkle

Author: Steven Rowley
Series: None
Publication Date:  May 25, 2021
Publisher: Putnam
Pages: 336
Obtained: publisher via NetGalley
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 5/5
Bottom Line: Heartfelt and funny
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Summary: Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is, honestly, overwhelmed. So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick's brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian. Despite having a set of "Guncle Rules" ready to go, Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled acting career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old. Quickly realizing that parenting--even if temporary--isn't solved with treats and jokes, Patrick's eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you're unfailingly human. ~amazon.com

Review: You know how you never knew you needed a book until you read it? This was my experience with The Guncle. It is funny, poigant and has a ton of heart. I laughed and teared up. It is a book about healing and learning to live again.

Patrick is the fun Uncle for his niece and nephew from his brother and his best friend but when their mother dies and he finds out his brother has an addiction issue, he's thrown into being a surrogate father for 90 days. He's not fully equipt to step into the role but he doesn't really have much of a choice. He comes up with these rules that Maisie and Grant are supposed to understand but really they are more about himself, after all they are just kids.  These kids give him a run for his money but when he starts to understand what they might really need, he starts to be the person that they need at this time. 

This is also a period of Patrick coming to terms with his own heartbreak, depression and lagging career. He's shut himself off in Palm Springs to most of the world and it's really done him no good. Being with Maisie and Grant allows him to realize this and decide to start to live again. 

There is a great cast of characters in the book as well that help Patrick and the kids move along in their heartache. I think my favorite is JED and I'll just leave it at that because you need to read the book to get a good laugh at this one. 

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Sunday Skim

Week of 7/4/2021:

Finished:

Run and grab this one as you definitely won't want to miss this one! Great setting, story and characters. 

Currently Reading:

Looking Forward To:

I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday weekend. Ours was filled with baseball and BBQs with friends; I couldn't think of a better way to spend it. Although it didn't really allow for much reading time but I did sneak some in. I can't believe we are really almost in the middle of July! Summer really does past quicker than any season. 

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Sunday Skim

Week of 6/27/2021:

Finished:

Currently Reading:

Looking Forward To:

Happy 4th of July everyone! I hope that you have found sometime to recharge and read over the weekend. I did get some reading done but just not as much as a I thought while I was off due to driving the kids around and doing stuff around the house. It's amazing how time flies when you are off of work. 

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Julie's Review: Lady Sunshine

Author: Amy Mason Doan
Series: None
Publication Date:  June 29, 2021
Publisher: Graydon House
Pages: 305
Obtained: Publisher
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction
Rating: 5/5
Bottom Line: Multi-layered novel about the things women deal with throughout life
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Summary: For Jackie Pierce, everything changed the summer of 1979, when she spent three months of infinite freedom at her bohemian uncle’s sprawling estate on the California coast. As musicians, artists, and free spirits gathered at The Sandcastle for the season in pursuit of inspiration and communal living, Jackie and her cousin Willa fell into a fast friendship, testing their limits along the rocky beach and in the wild woods... until the summer abruptly ended in tragedy, and Willa silently slipped away into the night. Twenty years later, Jackie unexpectedly inherits The Sandcastle and returns to the iconic estate for a short visit to ready it for sale. But she reluctantly extends her stay when she learns that, before her death, her estranged aunt had promised an up-and-coming producer he could record a tribute album to her late uncle at the property’s studio. As her musical guests bring the place to life again with their sun-drenched beach days and late-night bonfires, Jackie begins to notice startling parallels to that summer long ago. And when a piece of the past resurfaces and sparks new questions about Willa’s disappearance, Jackie must discover if the dark secret she’s kept ever since is even the truth at all. ~amazon.com

Review: I wasn't really sure what to expect going into Lady Sunshine but the premise definitely intrigued me. I can't say enough about this novel. It was beautifully written, soulful and engaging. Sandcastle is a bit of Oregon that Jackie's Uncle owns and uses as a retreat for musicians. It's a place that Jackie gets to experience during the summer before her Senior year of high school; that she's sent to because her dad and step-mom are going on their honeymoon. What happens during that summer will change Jackie in ways she didn't even think of. 

20 years later she inherits Sandcastle after her Aunt passes away. As Jackie arrives and intend to clean out the house and studio to sell, that life changing summer comes flooding back to her. It is the relationships with all the characters in the past and present that hooked me. Both Jackie and her cousin, Willa are only children so their bond becomes tight and sisterly. There are things that Jackie can't quite understand about her cousin and the way she's been living. Jackie is used to private schools and snobs but Willa, there is something very genuine and yet fragile about her. Perhaps because they are so different they understand each other until a fateful night that will change the trajectory of their lives. 

What I loved about this one is the way the past and present intersect and again changes the trajectory of lives. The characters are vivid, lively and authentic to the time periods and the culture of both of those times. 

Lady Sunshine is a story about finding family, finding yourself and growing up. This will go on my favorites of 2021 list for sure.

I will also be investing in Ms. Doan's backlist of novels, even though I have a feeling this is slightly different than her others.