Julie's Review: The Husband's Secret

Summary: At the heart of The Husbands Secret is a letter that's not meant to be read...My darling Cecilia, if you're reading this, then I've died. . . .
Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive. . . .
Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—shes an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husbands secret.Acclaimed author Liane Moriarty has written a gripping, thought-provoking novel about how well it is really possible to know our spouses—and, ultimately, ourselves. ~powells.com

Review: The secret in The Husband's Secret gets revealed a little less than halfway through the book so it isn't the main focus of the book. The focus of the book is the fallout from the secret. How does it affect his wife, Cecelia? Their marriage? Their children? It's hard to write a review without revealing the secret but I'm going to try.

I wasn't sure what to expect going in. I thought the premise sounded good and figured it wasn't going to go the standard, "I cheated on you" confession. What is shattered is Cecelia's view of her husband and her marriage. Did she ever know him? Does this confession change how she views him? What about how she views other people? I wasn't sure what to think of her. She seemed too put together for me in the beginning. Did she show her true colors through crisis? I think so.We are also introduced to Tess who is sure that she's got social anxiety. Her marriage is in a crisis so she moves home to take care of her mum who just broke her ankle. She thought she was happy and the situation causes her to look at herself and examine if she really is.
Next is Rachel, who lost her daughter when she was on the cusp of adulthood. Rachel is depressed and with the anniversary of her daughter's death it has been intensified. How all of these stories intersect is interesting and what really holds the novel together.

We slowly get pieces of each woman's character revealed and while your opinion might change over the course of the novel, one thing is for sure is that in the end all of their lives will be changed forever. 

The Husband's Secret examines life behind closed doors and how we perceive our own lives and those of others. It is an examination of the secrets we all hold from each other. How bravery can come from unexpected and tragic events and make us stronger/better people.

Final Take: 4.25/5





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Children's Corner: Pete The Cat: I Love My White Shoes

Review: Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes is an adorable story that is simple and sweet. Pete has brand new white shoes but they don't stay white for very long. Does Pete get upset? Nope, he just keeps going along. It's a quick read with a wonderful message for young kids and a reminder for adults.

I had never heard of these books but when my son could pick out a prize for his library reading program, he proclaimed "I love Pete the Cat" and this is the one that came home with us. Pete the Cat is adorable and reminds me of the black cat we used to have. He's one cool cat. We've already added to the collection.

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Alice's Review: Hotshot

Summary:  Peyton Lockhart and her sisters have inherited Bishops Cove, a small, luxurious oceanfront resort, but it comes with a condition: The girls must run the resort for one year and show a profit—only then will they own it.  A graduate of a prestigious French culinary school, Peyton has just lost her job as a food critic. Out of work and in a bad place personally, a year doing something completely different sounds wonderful.  There are countless challenges and too many people who want to stop the sisters from succeeding. Among them are Peytons contentious cousins, who are outraged that they didnt inherit the resort, as well as a powerful group of land developers who have been eyeing the coveted beachfront property.  Its soon apparent to Peyton that their efforts are being sabotaged, but she refuses to let the threats scare her—until shes nearly killed. She calls on her childhood friend and protector, Finn MacBain, now with the FBI, and asks for his help. He saved her life once; he can do it again? ~ powells.com

Review:  I love Julie Garwood.  I think that it’s pretty clear because year after year I read her newest novel knowing full well what will happen.  Sometimes I get a warm fuzzy feeling watching love blossom before my eyes.  Sometimes those very same eyes seem permanently rolled to the top of my head as I have a hard time believing or accepting this perfect love.  Hotshot was all about the warm fuzzy feeling.

I really enjoyed the romance between Peyton and her childhood hero Finn, who of course is a gold medal winning FBI agent.  (Three times, no less.  Come on.  Seriously?)  Much to her chagrin, she inadvertently puts her life in danger.  Thankfully, she has old neighbor Finn to save the day. (A Julie Garwood hero named MacBain? Wonder if there is a connect to Gabriel MacBain from one of my all time favorites Saving Grace?)

What was interesting to me is although the story seemed far from plausible, the passion and the attraction Finn and Peyton felt for each other wasn’t.  It wouldn’t be a contemporary romance without the song and dance that goes along with the attraction.  There needs to be some “will they or won’t they” in order to make the story work.  The truth is the formula that makes a romance work is the very thing that drives me crazy about them.  I know the couple will end up together, but sometimes I wish they just wouldn’t.  How about some genuine heartache for a change instead of mild misunderstanding?   End of rant.

As with her other novels, both characters are seemingly perfect.   Surprisingly I didn’t find it nearly as annoying as I did with SweetTalk (read my review here).  I really enjoyed them.  Their passion came through on the pages, Hotshot was a lot steamier than I am used to reading.  And the spark I was worried Ms. Garwood had lost?  It’s back.  I’m looking forward to the next installment in this somewhat unconnected series.  I have a feeling we’re about the get to know Finn’s FBI partner Ronan very well.

Final Take: 4/5

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Julie's Review: Brilliance

Summary: In Wyoming, a little girl reads people’s darkest secrets by the way they fold their arms. In New York, a man sensing patterns in the stock market racks up $300 billion. In Chicago, a woman can go invisible by being where no one is looking. They’re called “brilliants,” and since 1980, one percent of people have been born this way. Nick Cooper is among them; a federal agent, Cooper has gifts rendering him exceptional at hunting terrorists. His latest target may be the most dangerous man alive, a brilliant drenched in blood and intent on provoking civil war. But to catch him, Cooper will have to violate everything he believes in—and betray his own kind. From Marcus Sakey, “a modern master of suspense” (Chicago Sun-Times) and “one of our best storytellers” (Michael Connelly), comes an adventure that’s at once breakneck thriller and shrewd social commentary; a gripping tale of a world fundamentally different and yet horrifyingly similar to our own, where being born gifted can be a terrible curse. ~amazon.com  

Review:  Fans of the tv show Heroes will thoroughly enjoy Mr. Sakey's new book, Brilliance. These types of books aren't really my thing but he lives in my city and I've only heard good things about his books. I was extremely surprised with just how much I enjoyed this book. It is well thought out and complex. It is not so complex that you can't follow it. It's a societal and political book in some ways but this didn't make me stop reading it. Mr. Sakey shows the underbelly of human behavior in this book. We humans aren't often accepting of people who are different than us even if they look like us. Bigotry and racism come in all forms. Difference isn't good during this time in the US.

Brilliants are people who have special abilities. It's not superhero like but more subtle. The ability to see muscle movement and read it without having the person say anything, the ability to move in crowds easily, the ability to see the data and how it will work, etc. They are smarter and able to see things that a normal person can't. This gives them advantages and causes a rift between them, abnorms/twists and people with out gifts.

Of course the government has a separate agency to help govern/track these abnorms. Nick Cooper is an agent of the DAR (Department of Analysis and Response). He's determined to track the abnorms who are terrorists and hurt innocent people. After being in the center of the latest bombing, Nick takes things into his own hands. He goes after the known terrorist, John Smith.

This is a fast-paced novel with a definite undercurrent of societal issues. Mr. Sakey does a great job so that it doesn't seem preachy and overt. It has twists and turns that keeps you guessing throughout the novel. The last line got me and I'm anxious to see what he has planned for the next book in this series. Even though this is out of my normal realm of genres, it's enough of a thriller that I plan to stick with the series. I really liked Nick Cooper and want to see him through the next phase.

Final Take: 4.5/5


Note: I will say that I wish the cover was a little bit better. It might grab more readers if it didn't look so rudimentary.

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Alice's Review: Whistling Past the Graveyard

Summary:  In the summer of 1963, nine-year-old spitfire Starla Claudelle runs away from her strict grandmother's Mississippi home. Starla hasn't seen her momma since she was three--that's when Lulu left for Nashville to become a famous singer. Starla's daddy works on an oil rig in the Gulf, so Mamie, with her tsk-tsk sounds and her bitter refrain of "Lord, give me strength," is the nearest thing to family Starla has. After being put on restriction yet again for her sassy mouth, Starla is caught sneaking out for the Fourth of July parade. She fears Mamie will make good on her threat to send Starla to reform school, so Starla walks to the outskirts of town, and just keeps walking. . . . If she can get to Nashville and find her momma, then all that she promised will come true: Lulu will be a star. Daddy will come to live in Nashville, too. And her family will be whole and perfect. Walking a lonely country road, Starla accepts a ride from Eula, a black woman traveling alone with a white baby. The trio embarks on a road trip that will change Starla's life forever. She sees for the first time life as it really is--as she reaches for a dream of how it could one day be. ~powells.com

Review:  This is something that has never happened before.  Although I finished this novel about a week ago, I have been unable to write the review.  The reasons preventing me have nothing to do with time and everything to do with how this novel has seeped into my soul.

It’s crafty and original:  Racism in the 1960s told from the point of view of a precocious girl.  It’s wonderfully written and although sometimes very difficult read, beautifully told.  This novel has all kinds of goodness.  It is funny, sad, poignant and touching.  I couldn’t put it down because I needed to know what would happen next.  Ms. Crandall does a wonderful job of conveying the urgency of the time.  Like Starla, I got angry at the injustice Eula faced and all because of the color of her skin.  It was a disgrace what she went through. 

Starla was a great character.  The girl had moxie and as a reader, I couldn’t help but hope things turned out well for her.  There were times when she was blissfully ignorant to the times around her.  It saddened me when she began having very adult realizations about life during that time.  Her innocent was stolen right before my eyes. 

I believe the real star of this novel is Eula.  She was such a beautiful character who risked herself to protect those she loved.  There was a simplicity in her and a vulnerability.  She loved fiercely in spite of the horrors she faced.  She was Starla’s biggest protector and their unlikely friendship is what carried them through their difficult times.

I highly recommend  Whistling Past the Graveyard.  It is an inspiring read.  Be sure to have some tissues handy, you will need them.

Final Take: 4/5
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Julie's Review: Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald

Summary: I wish I could tell everyone who thinks were ruined, Look closer…and you'll see something extraordinary, mystifying, something real and true. We have never been what we seemed. When beautiful, reckless Southern belle Zelda Sayre meets F. Scott Fitzgerald at a country club dance in 1918, she is seventeen years old and he is a young army lieutenant stationed in Alabama. Before long, the “ungettable” Zelda has fallen for him despite his unsuitability: Scott isnt wealthy or prominent or even a Southerner, and keeps insisting, absurdly, that his writing will bring him both fortune and fame. Her father is deeply unimpressed. But after Scott sells his first novel, This Side of Paradise, to Scribner's, Zelda optimistically boards a train north, to marry him in the vestry of St. Patrick's Cathedral and take the rest as it comes. What comes, here at the dawn of the Jazz Age, is unimagined attention and success and celebrity that will make Scott and Zelda legends in their own time. Everyone wants to meet the dashing young author of the scandalous novel—and his witty, perhaps even more scandalous wife. Zelda bobs her hair, adopts daring new fashions, and revels in this wild new world. Each place they go becomes a playground: New York City, Long Island, Hollywood, Paris, and the French Riviera—where they join the endless party of the glamorous, sometimes doomed Lost Generation that includes Ernest Hemingway, Sara and Gerald Murphy, and Gertrude Stein. Everything seems new and possible. Troubles, at first, seem to fade like morning mist. But not even Jay Gatsby's parties go on forever. Who is Zelda, other than the wife of a famous sometimes infamous husband? How can she forge her own identity while fighting her demons and Scott's, too? With brilliant insight and imagination, Therese Anne Fowler brings us Zelda's irresistible story as she herself might have told it. ~powells.com  

Review:  For those curious about Zelda's early years with Scott, Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald will appease them. For those of us that don't really know much about the muse behind the man, this will be an eye opening read. I liked Zelda. She was spunky and fun, until Scott started to bring her down. Was she insecure? Yes, but later in her life when he had stripped her of any independent nature. She was to be his muse and nothing else.

We meet Zelda shortly before she meets and falls in love with Army officer, Scott Fitzgerald. Theirs is a whirlwind romance that Zelda will spend the rest of her life recovering from and trying to understand.  Zelda in her own way is a multifaceted talent. She writes, dances and paints. Not only that but she is of quick wit and humor. She is intelligent and understands the publishing business as well as her husband. It is unfortunate that a lot of her stories had to have his name and hers together when all he did was edit them. They were fully her ideas and thoughts.

While Zelda made the most of their traipsing around the globe, I felt that she longed for a stable house and husband. At first it was fun and glamorous but that quickly became old as Scott fell deeper into alcohol. Ms. Fowler suggests that Ernest Hemingway was the demise of the Fitzgerald's marriage but I think he was only a symptom in a marriage that was already suffering from cracks. He definitely wasn't a good influence on Scott.

There were times during the novel where I felt that Ms. Fowler was trying to write about too much of their lives. I think it might have been more beneficial if she concentrated more on a certain period in their lives than to span all of it.

It is wonderful to see that Zelda if finally getting her due in the literary world even if some of it is through historical fiction. I will be looking for her works in the library so that I can get a sense of the woman in her own words. 


Final Take:  4/5


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