Julie's Review: The Aubrey Hepburn Estate

Author: Brenda Janowitz
Series: None
Publication Date:  April 18, 2023
Publisher: Graydon House
Pages: 368
Obtained: publisher via Netgalley
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
Bottom Line: Wasn't expecting the twist but as usual a great story
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab

Summary: When Emma Jansen discovers that the grand Long Island estate where she grew up is set to be demolished, she can't help but return for one last visit. After all, it was a place filled with firsts: learning to ride a bike, sneaking a glass of champagne, falling in love. But once Emma arrives at the storied mansion, she can't ignore the more complicated memories. Because that's not exactly where Emma grew up. Her mother and father worked for the family that owned the estate, and they lived over the garage like Audrey Hepburn's character in the film Sabrina. Emma never felt fully accepted, except by the family's grandson, Henry—a former love—and by the driver’s son, Leo—her best friend. As plans for the property are put into motion and the three are together for the first time in over a decade, Emma finds herself caught between two worlds and two loves. And when the house reveals a shattering secret about her own family, she’ll have to decide what kind of life she really wants for herself now and who she wants to be in it. ~amazon.com 

Review: I've been a big Brenda Janowitz fan since reading The Dinner Party and her writing gets better with each book. How do you leave the past behind when it keeps coming into your present? Even more daunting how do you reconcile the past that is true with the past that you thought was your truth? Emma has very fond memories of growing up in a fancy estate where her parents helped to run the household. It's also where she fell in love with her childhood best friend, who was the grandson of the estate owners. Of course it isn't that easy since his grandfather and her mother forbade them from being together. What do you do when your other childhood best friend buys the property and wants to tear down the main house to build a housing community. She's not on board and even joins a local organization to stop Leo from building it. 

Emma is in quite the quandary with Leo and Henry. It is so easy for the 3 of them to fall back into the roles they had as teenagers. Except are these the roles they are supposed to be in as adults. Emma also has her own journey she needs to take part in and figure out who she is, who she wants to be and how she reconciles the past. 

What I loved about this story was the meaning of home and how it doesn't always have to be tied to a physical place. As someone who has fond memories of her childhood home, it is hard to let go of, even though you know the memories you made there are what counts. This is something that Emma has to learn as well. 

I liked the tie to Audrey Hepburn but it's definitely not what you think when you go into the book, which makes in better in my opinion. 

If you haven't read any of Ms. Janowitz' books, I highly suggest you go and read her back list or start with this one! 

Julie's Reviews: The Liz Taylor Ring

Author: Brenda Janowitz
Series: None
Publication Date:  February 1, 2022
Publisher: Graydon House
Pages: 384
Obtained: publisher via NetGalley
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction
Rating: 5/5
Bottom Line: Some mystery but mainly a story about family, love and forgiveness
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab

Summary: In 1978, Lizzie Morgan and Ritchie Schneider embark on a whirlwind romance on the bright beaches and glamorous yachts of Long Island. Over the years, their relationship has its share of ups and downs, including a nine-month hiatus that ends with a stunning eleven-carat ring—one that looks just like the diamond Richard Burton gifted Liz Taylor after their own separation. Like the famous couple, despite the drama that would unfold throughout the Schneiders’ marriage, the ring would be there as a symbol of their love…until it wasn't. Decades later, when the lost ring unexpectedly resurfaces, the Schneiders’ three children gather under one roof for the first time in years, eager to get their hands on this beloved, expensive reminder of their departed parents. But determining the fate of the heirloom is no simple task, unearthing old wounds and heartaches the siblings can't ignore. And when the ring reveals a secret that challenges everything they thought they knew about their parents’ epic love story, they’ll have to decide whether to move forward as a family or let the ring break them once and for all. ~amazon.com 

Review: If you haven't read Brenda Janowitz' previous books, well you've been missing out. For me The Liz Taylor Ring is her best to date; her writing just keeps getting better. This novel focuses on the Schneider siblings and how their lives shift due to the contents of a mysterious lock box. Each of them have their own agenda for the family heirloom; Abby - Wants to keep it to add to her collection of diamond armor; Nathan - Wants to keep it as a reminder of his parents love story & Courtney - Wants to sell it so she can get rid of her debts and start over. 

Of course it is never so easy as to figure out what happens to the diamond. We learn about the history of the it through flashbacks of Lizzie and Ritchie's relationship. To say it was a roller coaster, is to put in mildly. Much like the relationship of Liz Taylor & Richard Burton, Lizzie and Ritchie have their ups and downs but only because of Ritchie's gambling issue. Ritchie never met a card game he could resist or a casino, which leads him into some pretty big problems. Lizzie turns a blind eye until she really can't anymore because she's blinded by love/infatuation. She had her eyes set on Ritchie for so long and gave up so much to be with him that she ignores all the red flags. 

The brief time they are apart has a profound affect on Addy and Nathan. It colors their relationships and who they end up marrying. For Courtney who came when Addy and Nathan were older, she saw a different version of her parents. 

I loved how Ms. Janowitz weaved in Liz Taylor and Richard Burton's love story with Lizzie and Ritchie's and the similarities between them (and the differences). This is what she's good at though, taking a famous person or persons and interjecting their story into her novels but in a way that makes complete sense.  There are a couple shoes that drop during the course of the novel but just add more to the family lore and history. 

The Liz Taylor Ring is a story about family, love, loss and heritage.  

Google+

Julie's Review: The Grace Kelly Dress

Author: Brenda Janowitz
Series: None
Publication Date: March 3, 2020
Publisher: Graydon House
Pages: 336
Obtained: publisher via Netgalley
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction
Rating: 5/5
Bottom Line: Family history and tradition is important
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab

Summary: Two years after Grace Kelly’s royal wedding, her iconic dress is still all the rage in Paris—and one replica, and the secrets it carries, will inspire three generations of women to forge their own paths in life and in love. Paris, 1958: Rose, a seamstress at a fashionable atelier, has been entrusted with sewing a Grace Kelly—look-alike gown for a wealthy bride-to-be. But when, against better judgment, she finds herself falling in love with the bride’s handsome brother, Rose must make an impossible choice, one that could put all she’s worked for at risk: love, security and of course, the dress. Sixty years later, tech CEO Rachel, who goes by the childhood nickname “Rocky,” has inherited the dress for her upcoming wedding in New York City. But there’s just one problem: Rocky doesn’t want to wear it. A family heirloom dating back to the 1950s, the dress just isn’t her. Rocky knows this admission will break her mother Joan’s heart. But what she doesn’t know is why Joan insists on the dress—or the heartbreaking secret that changed her mother’s life decades before, as she herself prepared to wear it. As the lives of these three women come together in surprising ways, the revelation of the dress’s history collides with long-buried family heartaches. And in the lead-up to Rocky’s wedding, they’ll have to confront the past before they can embrace the beautiful possibilities of the future. ~amazon.com

Review: I've loved Brenda's books since I read The Dinner Party and following her on Instagram has made me adore her as a person. What I love about following Brenda and other authors is knowing how long it takes them to formulate a book, write a book, edit a book and get it to print. So I love it when they reveal what they've been working on. I'm saying all of this because this book was on my radar for a long time and it didn't disappoint.

All families have their traditions, Rocky's is the wedding dress that her Grand-Mere and Mom wore when they got married. Now it is her turn to wear the dress but she doesn't really want to wear it. Rocky isn't one for traditional dresses or life paths but she doesn't know how to tell her mom. It seems super important to her for Rocky to wear the dress. Rocky has never really known how to relate to her mom and her dad helped smooth things over but he's not around anymore.

We also get the history of a dress that is made at the height of the Grace Kelly craze after she married her Prince. We are introduced to a seamstress tasked with making a dress for a French socialite. Little does Rose know is that making this dress will change the course of her life forever.

I loved that each of the women from different generations were all strong in their own way. Each of them couldn’t be more different but it some ways the same. Understanding our family past is important for understanding our future.

The story of the dress is interwoven into a story about being true to yourself, your heart and your soul. It’s is the fabric of women in the story for generations to come.

It was a wonderful story of family, love and making the past your own.

Julie's Review: The Dinner Party

Author: Brenda Janowitz
Series: None
Publication Date: April 12, 2016
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pages: 304
Obtained: Author/Publisher
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 5/5
Bottom Line: Will make you appreciate your crazy family that much more
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab!

Summary: This Passover Seder is not just any Passover Seder. Yes, there will be a quick service and then a festive meal afterwards, but this night is different from all other nights. This will be the night the Golds of Greenwich meet the Rothschilds of New York City. The Rothschilds are the stuff of legends. They control banks, own vineyards in Napa, diamond mines in Africa, and even an organic farm somewhere in the Midwest that produces the most popular Romaine lettuce consumed in this country. And now, Sylvia Gold's daughter is dating one of them. When Sylvia finds out that her youngest of three is going to bring her new boyfriend to the Seder, she's giddy. When she finds out that his parents are coming, too, she darn near faints. Making a good impression is all she thinks about. Well, almost. She still has to consider her other daughter, Sarah, who'll be coming with her less than appropriate beau and his overly dramatic Italian mother. But the drama won't stop there. Because despite the food and the wine, despite the new linen and the fresh flowers, the holidays are about family. In Brenda Janowitz's The Dinner Party, long forgotten memories come to the surface. Old grievances play out. And Sylvia Gold has to learn how to let her family go. ~amazon.com  

Review: The Dinner Party is a hoot. I laughed out loud throughout the whole book and there were poignant moments but the message is about family, love and forgiveness. Syliva Gold is all a twitter because her youngest daughter Becca is bring a Rothschild home for Seder. For Seder! Plus his parents are coming as well so that means her house has to be up to their standard. You see the Rothschild's are old money; old banking money. It's not like the Gold's don't have a very nice house and live a great lifestyle but their money isn't old. She's bending over backwards for people she doesn't know.

You pretty much know from the get go that this Seder isn't going to turn out exactly how Sylvia hopes and that's what makes it a great book. Sylvia is so uptight and high strung that she even gets a chef to cook dinner for them and again you know that doesn't turn out well.

Sarah was my favorite character. She knows who she is except when she steps foot in her mother's house. There she feels like the awkward teenager all over again. Plus she's a little irritated at her mom for inviting these stranger when she won't invite her boyfriend's parents to join them. It's pretty evident that Sarah and Sylvia are a lot alike; therefore they butt heads a lot of the time.

Each family member and guest has their own secret to hide. Of course, they all come out at this dinner and there are of course consequences.  It's how these come out at the dinner that I found intriguing. What a better place to air all your dirty laundry than at a formal family dinner.

If you are looking for a great novel that will have you laughing out loud and appreciating your own crazy family. The Dinner Party isn't a book you will want to miss this summer.

 Google+

Julie's Review: Recipe for a Happy Life

Summary: Hannah Goodman isn't like everyone else. Her mother, Gray, is an award-winning photojournalist with little time for the banalities of caring for a child, so she's mostly raised by her grandmother—a glamorous widow known for her charm, as well as the fact that shes been married nearly as many times as Elizabeth Taylor. Despite her mother's great wealth, Gray is determined that Hannah resist the siren song of the trust fund set, and make her own way in the world.  And Hannah did just that becoming a lawyer in New York City. Hannah has it all, or so it seems, until one hot June day when the carefully constructed pieces of her life break apart. That's when she seeks solace at her grandmother's Hamptons estate. And that's when she learns that there's more than one recipe for perfection.Fast-paced, charming, and full of heart, Recipe for a Happy Life sweeps you into a world in which fabulous beach-front cocktail parties are a regular occurrence, and the cure for social awkwardness is a perfectly-placed quip, but the boy in the mansion next door might just turn out to be the one thing that keeps you grounded when reality sets in. A memorable story about one memorable summer.A grand dame rules over three generations of women from her Hamptons estate, and her granddaughter realizes that the recipe for a happy life may be very different from her family's expectations. ~powells.com

Review: Immediately upon starting the book I liked Hannah. I thought she was witty, sincere and emotionally handicapped. What a better heroine for a novel. Then you meet her grandmother, Vivienne, who is elegant, classy and worldly but also the complete opposite of Hannah. They are extremely close since Hannah's mom, Gray, was always off chasing a story as a world renowned photojournalist.

Hannah is escaping her life in NYC for life in the Hamptons since hers imploded. She's looking for some carefree time at the beach while trying to figure out her life. This means that she has to deal with her grandmother setting her up on horrible dates and dressing the part. Before she knows it she's enjoying the life the Hamptons has to offer and is amazed by her Grandmother's social calendar.

I read Recipe for a Happy Life in one sitting. I laughed and I cried. I was amazed by each of these women who was strong in their own way. Each of them have had their own trials and triumphs. Each of them has to learn how to appreciate the others. Sometimes it takes a tragedy in life to bring this out in people.

Are there things that are predictable in the novel? Yes but there are definitely a few twists as well. Also, who can't help but falling a little in love with Hunter Kensington IV. He's an absolute trip. I loved the setting of the Hamptons and one day would like to visit to see these grand estates.

Ms. Janowitz has written a gem of a novel here. If you are looking for a quick, touching and funny read; look no further than Recipe for a Happy Life.

Final Take: 4.25/5


 Thank you to Ms. Janowitz for a copy of the novel.


 Google+