Julie's Review: An Anonymous Girl

Author: Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
Series: None
Publication Date: January 8, 2019
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pages: 384
Obtained: publisher
Genre:  Psychological Thriller
Rating: 4.5/5
Bottom Line: Trust and Betrayal at its best

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Summary: Seeking women ages 18–32 to participate in a study on ethics and morality. Generous compensation. Anonymity guaranteed. When Jessica Farris signs up for a psychology study conducted by the mysterious Dr. Shields, she thinks all she’ll have to do is answer a few questions, collect her money, and leave. Question #1: Could you tell a lie without feeling guilt? But as the questions grow more and more intense and invasive and the sessions become outings where Jess is told what to wear and how to act, she begins to feel as though Dr. Shields may know what she’s thinking…and what she’s hiding. Question #2: Have you ever deeply hurt someone you care about? As Jess’s paranoia grows, it becomes clear that she can no longer trust what in her life is real, and what is one of Dr. Shields’ manipulative experiments. Caught in a web of deceit and jealousy, Jess quickly learns that some obsessions can be deadly. Question #3: Should a punishment always fit the crime? From the authors of the blockbuster bestseller The Wife Between Us comes an electrifying new novel about doubt, passion, and just how much you can trust someone. ~amazon.com 

Review: Everyone has secrets but would you be able to reveal your deepest secrets or thoughts to a stranger that is a psychologist? Is anonymity enough for you to feel comfortable?  Which then ask, are you ever really anonymous? Jess enters the study on a whim to get some free money for a couple hours of questions. She had no reference on what it was on but figured it couldn't do much harm. That is until the questions start digging a little deeper making her reveal things she hadn't even revealed to anyone else.

Things quickly escalate so that Jess is doing things that go beyond her comfort level but she also feels that she doesn't want to let Dr. Shields down. So she keeps doing her tests even if she was also questioning the point. As the pieces of the puzzles start to come together Jess has to figure out how to get herself out of the situation without collateral damage.

Dr. Shields is unstable and using her position for her own reasons with no regard to ethics and morals which is ironic given what kind of study she was supposedly running. She might be unstable but she is still brilliant and manipulative.

How will Jess compete with a professional cat and mouse game? Will she ever get one step ahead and free herself? What cost will it come with?

This will keep you on the edge of your seat wondering if Jess will step up to the challenge and get the best of Dr. Shields.

The writing duo of Pekkanen and Hendricks have done it again with another psychological thriller.

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Julie's Review: The Wife Between Us

Author: Sarah Pekkanen & Greer Hendricks
Series: None
Publication Date: January 9, 2018
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Pages: 352
Obtained: publisher via NetGalley
Genre:  Suspense
Rating: 5/5
Bottom Line: Holy smokes!
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Summary: When you read this book, you will make many assumptions. You will assume you are reading about a jealous ex-wife. You will assume she is obsessed with her replacement – a beautiful, younger woman who is about to marry the man they both love. You will assume you know the anatomy of this tangled love triangle. Assume nothing. Twisted and deliciously chilling, The Wife Between Us exposes the secret complexities of an enviable marriage - and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love. Read between the lies. ~amazon.com  

Review: Wife Between Us is one of those books that is impossible to review because to do it justice would be to give away its secrets. I will say that whenever a favorite author moves to a different genre, you always hope that it will be a smooth transition and for Ms. Pekkanen, she hit it out of the park. She partnered up with her long time editor, Greer Henricks to write this one. What I want to know is who wrote what character because they were so seemless.

Things are not what they appear in the novel. You will think you have it all figured out. Jealous wife who can't quite let her husband go. He's been patient, perhaps even kind but the harassment of his new fiance needs to stop. It can't though because Vanessa feels like she needs to save her. It's not quite clear in the beginning exactly what she's trying to save her from other than Vanessa. Vanessa is off-kilter. She's slowly losing it. She's focusing on what she's lost, instead of moving forward with her life.

 You kind of want to shake Vanessa, you want her to wake up and move on. Yet you don't know the full story quite yet. When the shoe drops and then the other shoe drops, it might leave your mouth dropped open.

So that's where I leave it because if I say much more I'll spill the beans. If you think this is a typical domestic thriller, then you'll need to read to the end because it's when it all comes together. Wife Between Us will be the suspense book of the Winter, so don't miss out. 

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Julie's Review: Things You Won't Say

Author: Sarah Pekkanen
Series: None
Publication Date: May 26, 2015
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Pages: 352
Obtained: purchased
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction
Rating: 3.75/5.0
Bottom Line: Timely novel about how split second decisions alter our lives
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Summary: How far would you go to save your family? Every morning, as her husband Mike straps on his SIG Sauer and pulls on his heavy Magnum boots, Jamie Anderson tenses up. Then comes the call she has always dreaded: There’s been a shooting at police headquarters. Mike isn’t hurt, but his long-time partner is grievously injured. As weeks pass and her husband’s insomnia and disconnectedness mount, Jamie realizes he is an invisible casualty of the attack. Then the phone rings again. Another shooting—but this time Mike has pulled the trigger. But the shooting does more than just alter Jamie’s world. It’s about to change everything for two other women. Christie Simmons, Mike’s flamboyant ex, sees the tragedy as an opportunity for a second chance with Mike. And Jamie’s younger sister, Lou, must face her own losses to help the big sister who raised her. As the press descends and public cries of police brutality swell, Jamie tries desperately to hold together her family, no matter what it takes. ~powells.com  

Review: Things You Won't Say is a book about how choices we make an instant can alter not only our lives but those of strangers and of our family. Jamie and Mike seem to have the best marriage. Sure he risks his life but he carves out time to spend with his family as he can. They've created a loving environment for their three kids and Mike's son, Henry, from a previous relationship. Mike has been in a depression since his partner got shot outside headquarters and is working his way back from a severe injury. Some might say that Mike shouldn't be on the job yet, that his head isn't in the right place.

Jamie and Mike don't really handle the situation well. Mike shuts down and Jamie lets him. He feels she doesn't believe him and therefore he can't count on her. Jamie feels that he won't talk to her and is worried that their marriage is crumbling. Enter Jamie's sister Lou who needs to prop up her big sister during this time of need. In my opinion Lou is the best character in the book. She's a little lost except when she with her beloved elephant, Tabby. She does show up when her sister, Mike and the kids need her.

Lou was my favorite character in the book. Whether it's her animal family or her human family she is there when they need her the most.  She doesn't get in the middle of Jamie and Mike's issues but is there for both of them when they need her. She's the fun Aunt who takes them to the zoo and shows them the behind the scenes with the animals.

For me, Christie should have been mentioned in passing. She was Mike's ex but they never had a life together, they are only linked by their son, Henry. She didn't add a dimension for me except that she was always a little resentful of Jamie and her place in Mike's life even though that's not what Christie wanted. She was a woman who didn't want to take care of herself but wanted a man to take care of her but she was always choosing the wrong kind. She tries to take advantage of the situation between Mike and Jamie but it doesn't really go as planned. I didn't hate her, I felt sorry for her.

Ms. Pekkanen always picks a timely subject matter with her novels. I would have liked to here from Mike. For me, in this novel, he was the missing voice.


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Julie's Review: Catching Air

Author: Sarah Pekkanen
Series: None
Publication Date: May 6, 2014
Publisher: Washington Press Books
Pages: 352
Obtained: Author
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: A lovely story about how life doesn't always turn out like you plan
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Summary: A chance to run a B&B in snowy, remote Vermont—it’s an offer Kira Danner can’t resist after six soul-crushing years of working as a lawyer in Florida. As Kira and her husband, Peter, step into a brand new life, she quells her fears about living with the B&B’s co-owners: Peter’s sexy, irresponsible brother Rand, and Rand’s wife, Alyssa…who is essentially a stranger. For her part, Alyssa sees taking over the B&B as the latest in a string of adventures. Plus, a quiet place might help her recover from the news that she can’t bear children. But the idyllic town proves to be anything but serene: Within weeks, the sisters-in-law are scrambling to prepare for their first big booking—a winter wedding—and soon a shy, mysterious woman comes to work for them. Dawn Zukoski is hiding something; that much is clear. But what the sisters-in-law don't realize is that Dawn is also hiding from someone. Relatable and dynamic, Catching Air delves deeply into the vital relationships that give shape to women’s lives. ~powells.com  

Review: An idyllic setting of a Vermont B&B, two seemingly happy couples but what's underneath? What about when you throw a mysterious stranger? What will happen? Are Alyssa and Rand really that happy? Are they ready to give up their carefree lifestyle to start a family? Can Kira and Peter meet in the middle when it comes to a major decision?  Will Dawn's past quickly catch up to her? How will it affect all 5 of them?

Catching Air is a quick and enjoyable read. All the characters move the story along in their own way, they are each a piece to the puzzle that Ms. Pekkanen is putting together. While I might not have liked all them as much as previous novels, I did find them redeemable. Perhaps the one I liked the most was Kira. I liked her the way she was orderly and organized. She wasn't without her flaws: judgemental, righteous, a bit OCD but we all have them. She did end up confronting her fears and what was holding her back in moving her relationship forward with Peter. I liked that she decided to do that, even if the timing wasn't ideal.

As for Alyssa and Rand, well there's always going to be trouble when you aren't on the same page of a marriage. Sometimes you can get over it and sometimes you can't. Rand was selfish but so was Alyssa in her own way as well. She moved forward with a life changing event because it was important to her. You can't go from being carefree and dropping everything to travel, to immediately wanting to put down roots.

Then, there is the mysterious Dawn. Except she's not that mysterious to us readers, but she is to the rest of the B&B gang. She's skittish, for good reason and she's naive. Dawn's also a little lost and doesn't have much self-esteem. I liked how she did come into her own while helping out at the B&B. She really did become Kira's right hand in the kitchen, especially when everyone else was so useless.

The relationship that I liked seeing flourish the most was the one between Kira and Alyssa. They barely knew each other and immediately found common ground with running the B&B. It seemed to be a passion for both of them once they were in it.

While some of the stories were were wrapped up nicely, they all left you wondering if they would be ok in the end and I'm ok with that. Life isn't always able to be wrapped up with a big bow, it's messy.

For those of you who are Sarah Pekkanen fans, then you won't want to miss this new novel. If you've never read her before, then Catching Air is a good place to start. Although I highly recommend Skipping a Beat, if you had to choose.

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Alice's Review: The Best of Us

Summary: An all-expense-paid week at a luxury villa in Jamaica—it’s the invitation of a lifetime for a group of old college friends. All four women are desperate not just for a reunion, but for an escape: Tina is drowning under the demands of mothering four young children. Allie is shattered by the news that a genetic illness runs in her family. Savannah is carrying the secret of her husband’s infidelity. And, finally, there’s Pauline, who spares no expense to throw her wealthy husband an unforgettable thirty-fifth birthday celebration, hoping it will gloss over the cracks already splitting apart their new marriage.    Languid hours on a private beach, gourmet dinners, and late nights of drinking kick off an idyllic week for the women and their husbands. But as a powerful hurricane bears down on the island, turmoil swirls inside the villa, forcing each of the women to reevaluate everything she knows about her friends—and herself. ~amazon.com

Review:  I have been very curious about Sarah Pekkanen's novels for a while.  Our Julie is a big fan of hers and I wondered what the buzz was all about.  Now, I know.  Sarah Pekkanen is wonderful.

I found the premise a bit unlikely but maybe that’s because none of my friends are multi-millionaires who can afford a vacation aboard a charted flight to Jamaica in a private villa complete with personal Chef and helicopter rides let alone invite a handful of their closest friends.  It’s surreal.  That is my only negative comment about The Best of Us.  The rest is wonderful.

From the first page, to the last page I was so engrossed in this story.  I really loved it.  Each character was very different, each marriage was different.  I loved how diverse each character was.  I also loved how my feeling towards the characters changed throughout the novel.  The novel felt authentic.  That Tina, Allie, Savannah and Dwight remained friends after college was real.  The way the interacted with each other, the experiences they shared, everything felt so true. 

If you follow our blog, you already know the love we feel for Ms. Pekkanen.  I’m sure you have read Julie’s reviews singing her praises.  I’m happy to finally join the chorus.  I recommend The Best of Us to all.  It ‘s a great summer beach read, light, funny, yet insightful.  It has substance, memorable characters, and the ability to make the reader feel like the fifth friend in that house and slip right into their world like you’ve known them all along as well.  

Final Take:  4/5

Pick up The Best of Us from your bookseller on April 9, 2013.  Enjoy!

Julie's Review: The Best of Us

Summary: An all-expense-paid week at a luxury villa in Jamaica—it’s the invitation of a lifetime for a group of old college friends. All four women are desperate not just for a reunion, but for an escape: Tina is drowning under the demands of mothering four young children. Allie is shattered by the news that a genetic illness runs in her family. Savannah is carrying the secret of her husband’s infidelity. And, finally, there’s Pauline, who spares no expense to throw her wealthy husband an unforgettable thirty-fifth birthday celebration, hoping it will gloss over the cracks already splitting apart their new marriage. Languid hours on a private beach, gourmet dinners, and late nights of drinking kick off an idyllic week for the women and their husbands. But as a powerful hurricane bears down on the island, turmoil swirls inside the villa, forcing each of the women to reevaluate everything she knows about her friends—and herself. ~amazon.com

Review: You know what I love about Ms. Pekkanen's books the most is her ability to create extremely likable characters that at times you want to shake, smack, hug and love. You know, kind of like your friends in real life. The Best of Us follows her previous novels with an engaging look at female relationships and friendships. We quickly meet Allie and Tina who have been best friends since grade school and still live only 5 minutes away from each other. They are invited on a trip of a lifetime to spend a week long vacation in Jamaica with their other college friends, Savannah and Dwight.

Each woman is going through her own trials and tribulations. Tina is a stay at home mom with 4 young children who feels lost and depressed. She just wants a little help from her husband when he gets home from work and the ability to have some time for herself every now and then. Allie has just received some debilitating medical information about her father, that she's not sure how to process. Savannah's husband left her for a younger woman and she's trying her damnedest not to let it get her down but her insecurities cause her to act out in the wrong manner. And then there is Dwight's wife, Pauline, who is the outsider of the group but who wants to do something special for her husband for his birthday.

Throw in some alcohol, a beach location, insecurities, issues, a hurricane bearing down and you end up with possible combustion. What Ms. Pekkanen does is show that no marriage, no relationship is perfect. It might look perfect from the outside but most have problems even if they aren't apparent. Not only that but the one friend that seems to have it together is probably the one who is in need of someone to lean on.

I firmly believe that what makes her characters so real is that we can see a little of ourselves in each of her characters. Just like you see the flaws and favorable characteristics in yourself, you see them in the ladies as well.

If you've never read Ms. Pekkanen before, then The Best of Us is a great place to start. If you've read her before, then you won't be disappointed.

The The Best of Us is out on 4/9/13!

Final Take: 4.75/5


Thanks to Sarah and her publicist for sending me a copy!

Author Events: 4 Awesome Authors on One Hot Night

This post is so long overdue (almost 2 months) but I want to add it any way because I love these ladies so much. Well as much as any one can truly love an author.

Back in July my sister and I went to a middle school near us to see Jennifer Weiner, Jen Lancaster, Stacy Ballis and Sarah Pekkanen speak. I've seen Jennifer and Jen a few times but was truly excited to see Sarah because I adore her books. I will admit that I haven't read Stacy's books yet, but they are on my TBR list.

The school that hosted the event didn't have air conditioning so the ladies didn't spend a lot of time talking about their books because they wanted to get to the most important part: book signing and fan meet/greet.

Authors to me are like rock stars, I am in awe of them. All four of them were so kind and thoughtful. They all talked to their fans like they were long lost friends. Which, let us be honest, we all kind of wish we were.

All four authors were extremely personable and Jennifer Weiner even knew me by my twitter handle and the conversation we had on there months prior. I was pretty excited and my sister just chuckled.
I got the big hug that Sarah promised me. If you haven't read any of these authors then I highly encourage you to pick their books up.

I appreciate my sister for going to these events with me as she often acts as my "assistant" by carrying all the books I want signed and taking the pictures.

Also even though they weren't featured, I was also able to meet the wonderful Eleanor Brown, author of The Weird Sisters and see Kelly O'Connor-McNees, author of the superb The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott and the upcoming In Need of a Good Wife.

Here are the pictures I took of the event:

Author Interview: Sarah Pekkanen

We are so excited to have Sarah Pekkanen featured today, along with her newest book These Girls that released today. Over the last few months I've read all of her books and have found them simply wonderful.

GJR:  These Girls is your third novel and while it didn’t reduce me to sobs like Skipping a Beat, I found that I identified with each of the girls at different points. Who inspired Cate, Renee and Abby? Which character is the closest to who you were in your late 20s?

Sarah Pekkanen (SP): Thank you! My characters aren’t based on anyone I know, but there are bits and pieces of me in each of my characters. I drew on my love for my kids in describing Abby’s scenes as a nanny, and my work ethic corresponds to Cate’s. And Renee struggles with the self-image issues so many women share, but she also likes to connect with friends and laugh (as do I!). My editor asked which was my favorite, and I told her it was whichever character I was writing about at the time. I was probably the most like Cate in my late 20s, since I was working as a journalist, but sadly, I lack her rigorous devotion to exercise.

GJR: Abby’s story is perhaps the most heartbreaking of the three. How many boxes of tissue did you go through writing the scene with her parents? What drove you to move her story in this direction?

SP: For me, Abby was the most extreme example of one of the important themes in the book – that sometimes friends become the family we never had, but desperately need. I literally felt sick to my stomach while writing that scene with her parents, and I dreaded writing it, which has never happened to me before. It surprised me, how deeply upset I became while creating that scene.

GJR: Is there a specific reason that you decided to not reveal Cate’s past to anyone other than your readers?

SP: Cate’s secret was a big deal to her, but I don’t think her friends would have felt it was so shocking. So it was more pivotal for Cate to accept it, than to publicly reveal it.

GJR: How hard was writing that specific ending for Cate? Did you think about doing a “Choose Your Own Adventure” type ending?

SP: I knew Cate’s story had to end that way – it was a strong sense I developed mid-way through the book. When my editor first read the manuscript, she had some concerns about the ending, and we had several conversations about that scene before I finally added a tiny bit of ambiguity and hope for the future. For me, it strengthened the entire book and is a great example of how the author/editor relationship should work – it’s a true collaboration.

GJR: In each of your novels you focus on essential relationships in our lives: sisters, husband & wife, friends. Do the relationships guide the story or does the story guide which relationships you write about?

SP: The relationships guide the story – I’ve been circling around the important relationships in a woman’s life, as you mentioned, and exploring them in turn with each new book. So I start with that – which relationship should I focus on next? – and then develop the plot. 

GJR: Are you currently working on a 4^th novel? If yes, what writing stage are you in?

SP: I can hardly believe it, but I just finished my fourth novel! My deadlines for turning in my manuscripts are April 1, which makes the spring a very busy time, since I have a new book coming out then, too. My new manuscript is now in the hands of my editor, and I’m anxiously awaiting her feedback! And of course, since I’m anxiously awaiting reaction to THESE GIRLS, I’m a wreck. Chocolate helps to soothe my nerves, luckily. I may need to move into the Hershey factory.

GJR: You have a young family, how do you find time to write and maintain focus with kids running around? Do you write when they are in bed?

SP: I’m usually too exhausted to write at night, since my youngest is 3 and he wakes up very early, but I grab snatches of time whenever I can and I do write in unorthodox places, like the waiting room of the orthodontist’s office. Now that I have a book-a-year contract, I’ve hired a babysitter to help with my little guy, but my kids go to three different schools, which means a lot of schlepping and different holidays and complicated schedules. Basically, I’ve given up on showering. I wear a lot of baseball hats.

GJR: Do you feel that being a journalist prepared you for being a novelist? If so, how?

SP: Yes, it helped tremendously! The main thing I learned is that I can’t make writing too precious. When you’re assigned a story to fill a hole on page A-23, you’ve got to write it, fast. So I don’t usually get blocked or have trouble putting the words on the page. I also learned to write in noisy newsrooms, with constant interruptions (like the political reporter shouting across the room, “What’s another word for ‘corrupt’?”) which is a good thing, since I now have three boys who don’t exactly tiptoe around the house!  

But I think at first, being trained in non-fiction held me back a bit, because I tended to question myself and limit my plot twists – I’d always think, “Could that really happen?” I had to let my imagination loose and free myself from the restraints of reporting just the facts.

GJR: How do you feel social media has helped publishing and/or reading in general? What about for yourself?

SP: Personally I adore it. I love going on Facebook and twitter and chatting with readers and bloggers and other authors. Since my job is very isolating, it’s a great way to stay connected to people, too. And in think in terms of the broader issue of publishing, social media has been a huge blessing. As we see newspapers and magazines fold and we lose those opportunities for traditional coverage and reviews, it’s amazing to be able to still get out the word about new books on social media. And bloggers have stepped in and become a force in promoting books and alerting readers to new authors, which is incredible.

GJR: You’re having an author get-together aka: a dinner party.  Who’s on the guest   list, which recipe would you grab, and why?

SP: Oh, I’d have to invite Eleanor Brown, because she’s so funny and charming and I adore her, and then I’d throw in J.K. Rowling because I’m curious to see how her mind works, and the reclusive Anne Tyler, who has always been one of my favorite writers. And I wouldn’t cook – are you kidding? I’d order out for Thai food so I could spend the entire time sharing conversation with these amazing women!

Thanks to Sarah for taking time out of her busy schedule to answer our questions.

You see Julie's review of These Girls here.

Julie's Review: These Girls

Summary: Family secrets may shape us all, but it’s the rich, complicated layers of friendship that can save us.  Cate, Renee, and Abby have come to New York for very different reasons, and in a bustling city of millions, they are linked together through circumstance and chance. Cate has just been named the features editor of Gloss, a high-end lifestyle magazine. It’s a professional coup, but her new job comes with more complications than Cate ever anticipated. Her roommate Renee will do anything to nab the plum job of beauty editor at Gloss. But snide comments about Renee’s weight send her into an emotional tailspin. Soon she is taking black market diet pills—despite the racing heartbeat and trembling hands that signal she’s heading for real danger. Then there’s Abby, whom they take in as a third roommate. Once a joyful graduate student working as a nanny part time, she abruptly fled a seemingly happy life in the D.C. suburbs. No one knows what shattered Abby—or why she left everything she once loved behind. Pekkanen’s most compelling, true-to-life novel yet tells the story of three very different women as they navigate the complications of careers and love—and find the lifeline they need in each other. ~amazon.com

Review: I am so happy to have discovered Sarah Pekkanen and her wonderful books. I can't imagine what I would have been missing out on if I hadn't!! Ms. Pekkanen writes from the heart. Her characters are the people you know, the people you love and perhaps even yourself. These Girls captures the struggles to be successful in a success-driven world and how friendships don't just happen, but how they have to be cultivated.

There is something about all three of them that draws you into their stories. Each of them is hiding something, each of them is trying to heal from family situations and each of them is trying to figure out where they want to go in their lives. All three of them are so genuine and so well written that at times you feel that they are sitting right next to you tell you their tales.

Cate is frozen with fear about what will happen if people find out the ugly truth about her past. Will it hurt her present and future? Renee struggles with her weight, especially now that she's going to be going for the beauty editor job at Gloss. Can she get the job if she's not a size 4? Abby ran away from a situation that has left her immobile with sadness. Can she pick herself up and recover from it?

Typically in books like these, I tend to identify with or like one of the main characters more than the others. Not in this case. I loved them all equally. Each of their stories moved me in different ways.

For Cate, I wondered how she would handle her growing attraction to Trey since she knows Renee pines after him. I also wondered when she would quit doubting herself and her talent.

For Renee, I get her weight struggles. I've been there done that (OK, still do it). I've done the diet drugs but never took it as far as she does. In a world where women are touted for their looks instead of their soul, this is something that 99.9% of women can relate too.

For Abby, who desperately wants to be loved, falls for a man who is off limits because he shows her some attention and affection. Most of us women have fallen for the wrong man at some point in our lives and have had our heart broken because of it.

You see them struggle and you see them triumph. You know the end of the book isn't the end of their stories. Would I love for Ms. Pekkanen to write a sequel? Of course. Will I be extremely disappointed if she doesn't? Nope. I'm happy with how she told the stories.
If you are looking for a book that celebrates female friendships, then look no further than These Girls. You won't be disappointed.

Final Take: 5/5

Julie's Review: Skipping a Beat

Summary: What would you do if your husband suddenly wanted to rewrite all of the rules of your relationship? This is the question at the heart of Skipping a Beat, Pekkanen’s thought-provoking second book. From the outside, Julia and Michael seem to have it all. Both products of difficult childhoods in rural West Virginia – where they were simply Julie and Mike – they become high school sweethearts and fall in love. Shortly after graduation, they flee their small town to start afresh. Now thirty-somethings, they are living a rarified life in their multi-million-dollar, Washington D.C. home. Julia is a highly sought-after party planner, while Michael has just sold his wildly successful flavored water company for $70 million. But one day, Michael collapses in his office. Four minutes and eight seconds after his cardiac arrest, a portable defibrillator jump-starts his heart. But in those lost minutes he becomes a different man. Money is meaningless to him - and he wants to give it all away. Julia, who sees bits of her life reflected in scenes from the world’s great operas, is now facing with a choice she never anticipated. Should she should walk away from the man she once adored – but who truthfully became a stranger to her long before this pronouncement - or give in to her husband's pleas for a second chance and a promise of a poorer but happier life? As wry and engaging as her debut, but with quiet depth and newfound maturity, Skipping a Beat is an unforgettable portrait of a marriage whose glamorous surface belies the complications and betrayals beneath. ~amazon.com  

Review: Skipping a Beat is a wonderful novel about what it is that you really want out of life. If life threw you a curve ball, would you strike out or would you hit it? I knew this one was going to be a tear-jerker because I had been warned by Jen @Devourer of Books. Regardless of that warning, I soldiered on reading it on a flight. I'm typically not embarrassed to cry in public but at certain points in this novel, I wanted to sob.

Julia is easy to like and identify with even if you aren't sure you necessarily agree with her initial reaction. I mean I don't have $70M for my husband to decide to give away so I had to step into Julia's shoes to understand why her initial reaction was anger.

What I loved about this novel was the was Ms. Pekkanen told us the story of Julia and Michael; how they got to where they were in their marriage. The flashbacks to them falling in love, being newlyweds and Michael's early/quick success with his water company were a key as a reader to connect with them and to care about them. Even though the novel is told from Julia's point of view, I never disliked Michael. In fact, because of the wonderful storytelling, I liked him even if he was causing Julia pain.


I liked who Michael became after his death experience but I can understand why his line of thinking through Julia for a loop. This wasn't the Michael she knew anymore. What she begins to uncover is that she really didn't like the Michael who was successful and perhaps she didn't even love him anymore.  Over the course of the novel we see both Julia and Michael transform but perhaps it was Julia who was affected the most over the 3 weeks. We see her go from anger and bitter, to confused, to at peace and happy.

So much of Julia and Michael's success was driven by their childhood experiences and how they wanted to escape their pasts. Do we ever escape our pasts when it shapes our future and who we are? Aren't we always linked to it?

There is so much underlying meaning in this novel. If you've been married for a decent amount of time you know that no marriage is perfect no matter what people want to show on the outside. What matters is how you handle those lulls, those rocky periods. What matters is that you remember why you fell in love with your spouse and how you can grow together. Is it easy no because life gets in the way?

I am so thrilled that I discovered Ms. Pekkanen's novels. She has a new one, These Girls, due out in April 2012 and I can't wait to read it.


Final Take: 4.75/5


 

Julie's Review: The Opposite of Me

Summary: Twenty-nine-year-old Lindsey Rose has, for as long as she can remember, lived in the shadow of her ravishingly beautiful fraternal twin sister, Alex. Determined to get noticed, Lindsey is finally on the cusp of being named VP creative director of an elite New York advertising agency, after years of eighty-plus-hour weeks, migraines, and profound loneliness. But during the course of one devastating night, Lindsey’s carefully constructed life implodes. Humiliated, she flees the glitter of Manhattan and retreats to the time warp of her parents’ Maryland home. As her sister plans her lavish wedding to her Prince Charming, Lindsey struggles to maintain her identity as the smart, responsible twin while she furtively tries to piece her career back together. But things get more complicated when a long-held family secret is unleashed that forces both sisters to reconsider who they are and who they are meant to be. ~amazon.com

Review: First off, I just love the cover of The Opposite of Me! It just makes you feel good. I mean who wouldn't want to be looking at the ocean on a nice sunny day? What's in between the cover and the back, is just as enjoyable. You can't help but fall a little in love with Lindsey when you first start the book. In fact, I was so attached that within the first 50 pages I was already getting teary-eyed with her ordeal. That doesn't mean that Lindsey isn't without faults, because she definitely has them. She could use a little self-esteem when it comes to her personal life and her looks. She's so self-assured in the conference room but so lost outside of it. She has always banked on being the "smart" sister, since her twin, Alex, has always been the gorgeous one.

Life throws Lindsey a major curve ball, causing her to re-think her whole life. Has she just wasted 8 years of her life proving to herself and her family that she's the smart one? Does she really want that life she was aiming towards any more? How does she admit to herself that she messed up? Since the story is told through Lindsey's eyes, obviously you only see people how she sees them. This is obviously good and bad. I wonder what my opinion of Alex would have been if she was narrating the story in tandem with Lindsey? Would it be different? In the end though, this is Lindsey's story. How she perceives herself and how she perceives others around her is the making of a great, character driven story and Ms. Pekkanen delivers.

Did the ending surprise me? No, but I'm totally OK with that. You know where the book could be going but you are never really 100% sure. I enjoyed the ending and it made me smile, which is sometimes really what you want from a book.

I would love to revisit Lindsey and May to see how Blind Dates is coming along. Plus I found that Mr. and Mrs. Rose were hysterical in their content with each other. Their ability to argue without really arguing. If you are looking for a book about our relationships to our siblings and how they can define us, then check out The Opposite of Me.

I am looking forward to reading Ms. Pekkanen's second novel, Skipping a Beat, early in 2012.

Final Take: 4/5