Piece of Cake

 

I read quite a few reviews of this book before I cracked it open and was kind of afraid of how bad the book might actually be.  I was pleasantly surprised.  While the plot isn't deep, it is an entertaining read.  The characters have a lot more development than I expected and I thoroughly enjoyed the book.  It is the kind of read that fills some extra time without filling the reader's mind with a lot of depth.  That's not necessarily a bad thing.  Every now and again, readers needs some fluff in their TBR pile.  

Claire is trying to build a new reputation for herself with the Piece of Cake Magazine after she scorched the earth on her previous employer's wedding planning service.  Claire's boss has brought in a media guru from New York to gain a social media presence for the magazine and tasks Claire to work with him.  At first she is resistant, but eventually gets on board with the idea.  Watching all this unfold is a delight for the readers, especially when it comes down to her own sister's wedding--planned by her former boss.  

Mary Hollis Huddleston and Asher Fogle Paul have collaborated to create a fun read for whiling away an afternoon or two.  Four Stars.

Harper Muse provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

My Sunday Best

Dr. La Verne Ford Wimberly is a mover and shaker in the Tulsa, Oklahoma, education world.  What makes her stand out is her inimitable style, her faith, and her love of children.  When the world shut down because of Covid-19, and churches were meeting by Zoom or other streaming services, La Verne decided that she would bring her best to God, even in her dining room.  So every week for a year, she got dressed in a different outfit and hat, never repeating for the whole year.  It was quite the feat, but her outfits and hats were absolutely lovely.  I once read a comparison of style and fashion that said that fashion is a "me, too," kind of living, whereas style is an "only me" situation.  Dr. Wimberly is an "only me" kind of girl, and she does it with dignity, aplomb, and just a little bit of sass. 

Quite a number of year ago, I came across a book called "Having Our Say," written by two 100+ year old sisters who had much of the same attitude as Dr. Wimberly.  Their wit and repartee were very similar, as well as their outlook on life. 

One thing the reader learns about Dr. Wimberly is that she doesn't let the grass grow beneath her feet.  She's on the go and loves to travel.  Cruises are among her favorite modes of seeing and doing new things. 

This is a quick read with quite a bit of depth to it and it gives the reader a whole new outlook to life.  It's meant to be lived and Dr. Wimberly lives well. 

Four Stars. 

Nelson Books provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

 

Memory Lane

Remy Reed finds a person trying to swim to shore off the coast of Maine.  She is the only one with a boat close enough to go out and save him from a briny death.  When she gets him back to shore, he has no idea who he is, he has a head wound and some broken ribs.  She nurses him back to health until he develops pneumonia and has to be transported by plane to a hospital on the mainland. Once in the ER of the hospital, he is recognized by one of the staff.  After that, he begins to regain bits and pieces of his memory, but he just doesn't want to let go of Remy.  

Becky Wade has put into this book a bit of mystery, a bit of dysfunction, a bit of entitlement, and a bit of introversion.  I can relate to Remy's desire for a quiet life.  I am rather introverted myself.  

In navigating the ins and outs of this particular novel, the reader can become so engrossed as to not put the book down until it is finished.  It's not a particularly tough read, and there are some tender moments that just make the reader's heart sing.  Becky has also set up a scenario for the next novel in the series. It wasn't the most skillful set up, but it is there if you watch for it. 

Four stars. 

Victory Editing provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

 

The Girl from the Papers

 

This novel was ripped from the headlines in the early 1930s, and turned six ways to Sunday.  But it is based loosely on a criminal couple who made their name robbing banks, stores, and funeral homes (rather morbid, but it was what happened).  In this novel there were a few bank robberies, an overwhelming number of car thefts, one prison break that got several people killed, and several smaller store robberies.

The tale begins ten years prior to Black Tuesday when Wall Street crashed and sent the whole country (if not the whole world) into an economic depression.  Beatrice Calloway had been in the pageant circuit since she was a little child, but as she is growing up, the pageants are getting harder and harder to win.  Her mother seeks out men who have money to keep her in a lavish lifestyle and finds one Charles Thomas who abused Bea, her mother, and her little sister. His warped sense of who God is set the tone for Bea's opinion of God in a major way.  

Bea always knew she was destined for bigger and better things than what she had in her current situation.  After her stepfather nearly drowns her, she moves in with her grandparents.  Her mother is just as dysfunctional as her stepfather but in different ways.  When Bea meets Jack Turner, she knows her ticket to a grander life has been punched. The only fly in the ointment is that Jack doesn't play by any rules except his own.  He's not a Robin Hood who steals from the rich to give to the poor, he's an out-and-out thief.  Whenever he goes on a caper, he steals a different car to keep suspicion away from himself.  The first time he gets caught by the police and sentenced to jail time hardens him and he believes that the police have it in for him and will just pin any crime on him even if he were somewhere else far away. Soon enough Jack and Bea got enough of a reputation that newspapers around the area that they are even nicknamed The Dallas Desperado and his Salacious Sheba. While Bea did not actively participate in any of his crimes, she did aid and abet his crimes,  sometimes driving the getaway car or signaled to the ones committing the crimes.  

Jennifer L Wright loosely based this on Bonnie and Clyde who both died in a hail of bullets during the commission of one of their crimes. This is an interesting novel to read, with the parallel to historical facts.  It was fun to read Jennifer's take on how faith might have entered the picture and changed the outcome for Bea and Jack both.  Bea eventually chose her faith, while  Jack declined to participate in anything that would remotely hint of faith in anything but himself.  It lead to his eventual downfall. I appreciated Jennifer's handling of the situation and how she showed that true, everlasting love comes from somewhere, someone outside ourselves.  This is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and a friend who will lead you home when you've lost your way. 

Tyndale House Publishing  provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

The Swiss Nurse

This novel takes place during the Spanish Civil War and the days leading up to World War II.  Mario Escobar has taken real personalities from the era and  built a novel around things these people accomplished to help the disenfranchised and refugees from Spain.  The particular character, Elisabeth Eidenbenz, saw a great need among the Spanish refugees in France, and worked as hard as she could to fulfill that need with a maternity hospital.  She was outspoken, bold, and took no prisoners (so to speak) where fulfilling these needs was a necessity rather than a luxury.  The biggest need she filled was creating a maternity hospital for the expectant mothers. 

Isabel is one of the refugees who ends up needing the maternity hospital, especially after being malnourished in the refugee camp.  She is unsure where her husband, Peter is, but eventually finds him.  Peter spent an inordinate amount of time in prison camps in France for various slights against the powers that be at the time.  

Elisabeth, Isabel, and Peter have their own story lines throughout the plot, so it's like three plots in one cohesive novel.  This is the kind of book that takes contemplation to sense all of the nuances of the  times and events, the twists and turns of the plot, and the absolute horror that was going to be coming to France in the near future.  

For Isabel and Peter, and later their daughter Lisa, they not only had to get out of Spain, but they also had to find passage from France to America.  The State Department thwarted every attempt until they finally relented and gave them the Visas and documentation they needed to leave France, but they had to leave under assumed identities to get away from the camps. 

I found this book to be compelling and hard to put down.  It stretched my knowledge of World War II and the surrounding events and put faces and voices on people who would otherwise have no  representation.  Elisabeth is based on an historical person who did many of the things outlined in the book.  I give it Five Stars. 

Harper Muse provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

 

The Castle Keepers

Most of the anthologies of novellas are generally light in substance and depth.  That is not the case with The Castle Keepers.  Three different generations of the Alnwick family are desperately trying to hold on to their castle that has been part of their family lineage for generations.  In each of the stories there is a bit of intrigue in each of the stories, and a whole lot of PTSD in them.  Each of the stories includes a wounded warrior who has a hard time putting what he saw in the war behind him.  Each has a woman who is strong in her own right, but a little foreign to the aristocratic world.  The women in these novellas seek to love the men in a way that goes beyond appearances and surface characteristics.  

I found that each novella showed ways that the protagonists were trying to overcome negative connotations with the castle in the minds of the villagers surrounding it, how they were working to redeem the castle's poor reputation, how they were working to overcome their own hardships, and even how their faith, not only in God, but even in themselves was restored.  

These authors have done such a great job in pulling these narratives together to make a cohesive whole, even though generations separate them.  This is so very much a five star book.  It's hard to put down while you are reading the stories, but after you finish one, you have to let it digest before jumping into the next one.  The issues tackled are very real and common almost to every soldier or military man who has seen battle.  Read it, that's all I can say.  

Harper Muse provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

 

And Then There Was You

Everything I've read by Nancy Naigle, I've loved.  Imagine my surprise when I get an email from her publicist inviting me to read and review her newest novel.  And it was a welcomed invitation!

Taking place primarily in Chestnut Ridge, Virginia, near the North Carolina border, this is a book about overcoming adversity in the best way possible.  It's about picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and starting all over again after everything has been taken from you.  This is a book about finding help in unexpected places, of feeling alone but finding you never were alone, and especially about restoring what the locusts have eaten (Joel 2:25, if you are curious about the reference).  

Natalie was taken to the cleaners by a con artist.  The detective assigned to her case finds something in Natalie that compels him to want to know more.  He tries so hard to get a date with her to find her quite gun-shy.  At a loss for what to do about living arrangements, Natalie remembers that her husband has a hunting cabin in Chestnut Ridge.  So she packs up her few belongings and heads for the hills.  On the way she meets several characters who add color and light to her life, and eventually finds that she isn't as alone as she believed she was.  The detective, Randy Fellowes, still keeps in contact with her even though the case is seemingly at a dead end.  The breakthrough comes when Randy meets a detective from North Carolina who is investigating a similar case in his own jurisdiction.  

From the beginning it is not easily discernable if Natalie will have a love interest, or whom it will be.  There are two contenders for the role.  There are a few characters in the book who are throw-away characters that don't seem to have much of a role in fleshing out the plot, they are just there as place-holders--mentioned a couple of times and then disappearing from the warp and weft of the plot. The book is not easy to put down once you get caught up in the story.  I am so glad I was invited to read this offering by Nancy and hope to read her future novels. 

Four Strong Stars. 

St. Martins Press provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

 

Someone Else's Bucket List

This book has every feel the reader might possibly want to feel.  Sadness, joy, anger, humorous delight, exasperation, and a few others thrown in for good measure.  The term bucket list came into popularity because of a Morgan Freeman/Jack Nicholson movie of the same name.  In the movie both men are dying from whatever malady that has attacked their bodies and they each make lists of things to do before they "kick the bucket." This book has a slight departure from that premise in that the bucket list was made by someone who already kicked the bucket, so to speak. 

Bree Boyd is in the hospital for pneumonia when she finds out that her breathing troubles are not an infection, but actually leukemia.  She has made a connection with a representative of Iris Airlines to help her sister, Jodie, fulfill her bucket list and for every item ticked off the list, a portion of her hospital bills will be paid off.  

The list:

• Plant a tree
• Re-enact the deli scene from When Harry Met Sally at the same deli where it took place
• Get a walk-on part in a Broadway play
• Find Mr. Wong and take the piano lessons she ditched as a child but her parents paid for
• Fly Over Antarctica
• Fall in love

Cheryl, the airline rep, takes on the list by coordinating all the moving pieces, and, in the process, steamrolls Jodie into doing things her way instead of letting Jodie find her own way through the tangle of emotions and fears.  Each item that gets crossed off the list is another portion of Bree's hospital bill paid.  

One of the laugh-out-loud comedic moments in this novel is when Mrs. Wong tells Jodie that she had told Mr. Wong if he died first, she'd make his after-life miserable. Cheryl has arranged for Jodie's classmate/high school crush who is also Mr. Wong's son to give her the piano lessons.  Mrs. Wong remembers Jodie's tortured piano lessons and tells her there is no better revenge than to have her destroy another piece of music on Mr. Wong's prized Steinway. (I just googled Steinway pianos to find that they range in price from low five figures to low-to-mid six figures--well beyond my budget).  

At first Cheryl is pretty driven to see the bucket list through and doesn't mind pushing Jodie far beyond Jodie's own boundaries.  And it's not hard to be angry with her for that, but then Maya, the CEO's assistant, gets involved and makes the whole situation a three ring circus much to the chagrin of even--the CEO.  It takes a lot of feather-smoothing to get Jodie back on track, because Maya is an habitual boundary-stomper. By the end of the book, Cheryl has become a friend.  It was gratifying to see. 

Amy T Matthews has done a great job at pulling the emotions out of her readers in this book.  Even though the book is billed as a rom-com, it has more drama than actual comedy in it, and even in some places, tragedy.  And the romance is well under-stated.  Never-the-less, it is a good four stars. 

Kensington Books provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own.