Review: "Mrs. Kimble" by Jennifer Haigh

I picked this one up a long time ago- probably more than a year ago- at our local Coles store when they were having a 4/$10 sale. I was intrigued by the premise- three very different women all marry the same man (at three different times). This story is essentially their story- the story of how one man can be perceived in so many different ways.

Mrs. Kimble opens with the story of Birdie, Ken Kimble's first wife. He's just left her, alone with two children and no income, to chase greener pastures (read: younger women). She had an idea that he was cheating, but refused to admit the facts even to herself. It's at this point that we meet Charlie, his son, whose point of view is the only male perspective in the book. From here we meet Joan, a wealthy woman in her own right, a breast cancer survivor, and a woman who has never been married but deep down has wanted to be all along. Ken arrived in Joan's town with his young girlfriend in tow, but quickly realized that it would never work with the young girlfriend. Finally we meet Dinah, who coincidentally was the baby-sitter for Ken's children with Birdie way back in the day. Despite their age difference the two marry, and create a life with one another. Dinah is the one who attempts to reconcile Ken with his older children, but when a scandal breaks, the truth about Ken becomes glaringly apparent.

Mrs. Kimble was interestingly enough not focused on Ken, even though he was the thread that held all of the stories together, but is focused on each individual woman- their downfalls and their self-esteem issues. Ken is so thoroughly unlikable, smooth like snake oil salesman, but not much substance, that the reader wonders what these three women saw in them. In fact, Ken seems to prey on women's insecurities about themselves, and makes them feel good about themselves by doting on them. It was an interesting character study, about women, our individual hang-ups, and the lengths that we'll go to just to "belong" to someone.

The well-developed characters were what made this book so compelling, although the plot was interesting as well. I especially like that the ending is left open to interpretation; each individual reader could create their own happy (or not so happy) endings. This is yet another book that I have read recently that I can highly recommend.

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of women's/general fiction
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, RYOB Challenge 2010, Read Remember Recommend Fiction Reading Challenge

Review: "Sleeping Arrangements" by Madeleine Wickham

Chloe and her blended family need a holiday. Her partner Phillip is having trouble at work. She's sick of making wedding dresses for stressed out brides and could use a change of scenery. Hugh and his wife Amanda also need a holiday. Their two girls are incredibly adorable and well-behaved but Amanda could use a break from all of the pressure of being a stay-at-home mom and Hugh just wants to get to know his little girls, since he sees them so little.

When friend of the family Gerard lends both families his villa in Spain, disaster is imminent. Neither family is aware that the other famil will be present until they arrive, and sparks will fly. Will they all make it through the vacation unscathed or will there be bloodshed?

I'm going to make this review short but sweet. I liked Sleeping Arrangements, but didn't love it. Parts of it seemed too coincidental for me, and one part in particular actually angered me because I disagreed with how the author dealt with a particular situation. In short, it was nothing that I'll be shouting from the rooftops about, but I won't hesitate to pick up another book by Madeleine Wickham (aka. Sophie Kinsella) in the future.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of Madeleine Wickham, chick lit in general
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, RYOB Challenge 2010

Review: "The Year of Fog" by Michelle Richmond

I don't feel that I can truly express to you how much I loved this book. Funnily enough, I don't think that I would ever have picked this one up had it not been for the fact that WalMart made this book one of their book club picks of the month. I had run in there for something else and happened to see a prominent display of this book. I picked it up, read the back, and was hooked. For some reason the title didn't appeal to me, it sounded depressing, and even though this book is not filled with sweetness and light, it was compelling and I'm so glad that I read it.

The Year of Fog tells the story of Abby Mason, a photographer, a fiancee, and a soon-to-be stepmother. Abby is both excited and fearful about becoming a stepmother to 6-year-old Emma. Emma's own mother essentially abandoned her when she was young, and keeps in only sporadic contact. Abby knows that there will be walls that need to be broken down in order for the little girl to trust, and hopefully love, her, but Abby holds out hope that someday they will have a good relationship. Everything changes in an instant. Emma's father goes out of town for the weekend and leaves Abby in charge. The two go for a walk on the beach, Emma wanders ahead in the dense fog, and she disappears without a trace.

The rest of the book focuses on the search for Emma, and the search for answers. Jake, Emma's father and Abby's fiancee, is beside himself with grief and refuses to give up his search for her. Abby, devastated by the fact that her actions have led to so much pain, searches tirelessly for her. Michelle Richmond's decision to tell this story from the point of view of Abby, essentially an outsider, was a wise one. We, as readers, could experience the horror of the loss of a child, but we never get quite close enough that this pain and grief becomes too much to handle.

The Year of Fog was written with a delicate touch, and I'm not surprised that so many readers have devoured this one. I'm only surprised that it took me this long to pick up a copy. The characters were fleshed out and relatable, the plot realistic, and the conclusion fitting. Alternately horrifying, devastating, and complex, Michelle Richmond has written a gem of a book. This one is a must-read for any parent.

Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of fiction, parents
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010, RYOB Challenge 2010, Read Remember Recommend Fiction Reading Challenge

Review: "Fairytale of New York" by Miranda Dickinson

When I received this surprise in my mailbox last week (courtesy of HarperCollins UK) I was instantly drawn to the beautiful purple cover (I have a weakness for purple- show me a purple cover and I'll buy that book!) and the image of the woman looking up towards the sky and falling snow. Given that it's the winter season I decided to read this book sooner rather than later, considering that I probably won't be drawn to a winter book while lying on the beach.

Fairytale of New York is the story of Rosie Duncan, a woman who has been hurt in the past (yes, by a man) and who is afraid to open herself up to love again. She owns a flower shop in New York called Kowalski's and her co-designer Ed and her assistant Marnie are as close to family as she has on this side of the pond. Throw in her bossy but well-meaning best friend Celia and her devious brother James and there's definitely the possibility for complications.

I liked this book, but I didn't love it. Given the fact that I read book after book after book I've been spoiled by some truly spectacular writing, and Fairytale of New York didn't measure up for me. I found some of the dialogue and writing awkward, and the whole book could have used one more good edit. The character development was spot- on in places, but other characters failed to come alive for me. Celia, Rosie's best friend, was the one that I had the hardest time with. I just didn't get why Rosie liked her so much. To me she seemed a little shallow and selfish at times. Add to this the fact that this story is yet another one set in the city of New York (seriously, people, there are other great cities out there!), and this one fell flat for me.

Rest assured that it did have its good points. The reader is left in the dark about the nature of Rosie's past hurts until midway through the book and I liked having to guess what was going on. The chemistry between Rosie and her two gentlemen callers was sizzling, and the ending was incredibly satisfying. For those reasons, I wouldn't hesitate to read another book by Miranda Dickinson. I just wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this one.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of chick lit set in New York
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010, RYOB Challenge 2010

Review: "The Thin Pink Line" by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Jane Taylor is pregnant. Or at least she thinks she is. A couple of days late, she can't help but share the great news- with her best friend David, with random strangers, and with her unable-to-commit boyfriend, Trevor. Suddenly obsessed with pregnancy, Jane gets a glimpse into how the other half lives. Men hold open doors for pregnant women, they have a certain glow, and she can't wait to be a visible part of that community. When Jane finds out a couple of weeks later that she is most certainly not pregnant, she is unable to give up the illusion. Despite the fact that her flat stomach remains flat, she continues with the charade at the office and at home, desperate to be pregnant even though she really isn't.

I picked this one up a couple of weeks ago at one of my favourite bookstores. Light and fun chick lit never fails to amuse me, and I've been reading a quite a bit of it lately while we get ready for the Christmas season. I love books that entertain me, and maybe even make me laugh. Jane Taylor is a fun protagonist. She reminded me a little of Becky Bloomwood from the Shopaholic series. Jane gets herself into this impossible situation by lying to almost everyone around her, and once she discovers how hard it is to keep up the illusion of being pregnant, she's in too deep to simply tell the truth. I was curious as to how Lauren Baratz-Logsted would have this one play out. How would Jane maintain the illusion of her pregnancy? When would the truth come out? At the beginning I couldn't see how the plot would work out in a way that wasn't too far-fetched, but I was pleasantly surprised with what she came up with.

There was also a rather fun romance thrown into the mix of this as well. I really liked Tolkien, the love interest, but to be honest I wish that there would have been a few more scenes between the two of them as the romance developed. I felt a little blindsided by it all- one moment the two are just meeting for the first time, and the next moment they are in love. It was enjoyable nonetheless, but I would have liked the developments to be a little more gradual.

Overall, this was a fun read, great for when you're looking for something to read that isn't too heavy, but isn't dumbed down either. There's a sequel to The Thin Pink Line called Crossing the Line and I'm having a little trouble tracking one down from my independent bookstore. Does anyone have a copy of it that they would like to trade?

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of fun chick lit, possibly fans of the Shopaholic series
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010, 2010 Chick Challenge, RYOB Challenge 2010

Review: "The Other Family" by Joanna Trollope

When Chrissie's partner, once-famous pianist Richie Rossiter, dies suddenly of a heart attack Chrissie has to deal with more than just grief. She also needs to confess to her daughters that she and their father were never really married, despite Chrissie's desire to be. In fact, Richie never divorced from his first wife, Margaret, the woman whom Chrissie stole him away from all those years ago. Apparently she didn't steal him away entirely- in his will he leaves his legal wife and his grown son some particularly meaningful personal effects.

Chrissie and Margaret, along with Richie's three daughters and his son, find themselves in the middle of a very complicated situation. Resentment abounds as a treasured piano moves from one household to another and as both Margaret and Chrissie try to move on with their lives. The Other Family is the story of how complicated life's relationships can be.

One thing I have to say for The Other Family is that it grabbed me from the beginning. The reader is told right away that Richie and Chrissie were never legally married, despite the fact that they have spent the last 25 years together and have three daughters together. This scenario raises that complicated question: is marriage all that matters? Or is creating a life and family together what's important? Since my now-husband and I lived together for seven years before tying the knot, and we had our children during that time as well, this was a question that definitely grabbed my attention. I think that it is one of those questions that will have a different answer depending on who you're talking to, and I appreciated that Joanna Trollope addressed it.

I actually liked all of the characters that Trollope introduced throughout the book, and she does a great job of telling this story from both sides. I felt sympathy for both Margaret and Chrissie, and I felt a little disdain at times for both of them as well. Although the children's stories are not all delved into with much detail, I felt sympathetic towards them as they came to terms with their father's death and his loyalties to the "other family". The one character that I didn't like, and whom we never meet, was Richie. I thought that it was rather sneaky that he amended his will without Chrissie knowing, and he seemed like the kind of guy who wanted to have his cake and eat it too. He didn't want to be married to Margaret anymore, but he didn't want to be divorced from her either, and this wasn't fair to Chrissie or to Margaret.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and the questions that it raised. I appreciated the complicated family dynamics and the way in which this story was told. This was the first book by Joanna Trollope that I've read, but it won't be the last.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of women's fiction and stories about families
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010, RYOB Challenge 2010

Review: "The Girls" by Lori Lansens

I've had this one sitting on my shelf for a while, but I'm usually so busy reading review books and blogging that I don't have a lot of time to get to my own books (something that I'll be trying to remedy in 2011!). On the weekend I was in the mood for something other than what I was reading at the time, and this one caught my eye. I can't believe that it took me so long to get to it, because I absolutely loved it!

The Girls is the fictional story of Ruby and Rose Darlen, the world's oldest craniopagus conjoined twins. Joined at the head, the girls have had to learn to adapt to their limited circumstances. Ruby and Rose have been through far more than the average person, aside from the fact that they're conjoined. Their mother, young when she got pregnant with them, gives birth to them and flees. A kindly nurse present at the delivery, unable to have her own biological children, falls in love with the infants quickly and she and her husband, who the girls know as Uncle Stash, adopt them. Aunt Lovey, Uncle Stash, Ruby and Rose live in the small town of Leaford, Ontario and although a curiosity at first, Ruby and Rose quickly become an accepted part of the community. The Girls is their story, written in the alternating voices of Ruby and Rose.

I fell in love with this story within the first couple of pages. What stood out for me was the fact that this book wasn't written from a "poor me" point of view. Although Ruby and Rose could certainly justify being bitter given their unique challenges, they are filled with optimism and a certain gratefulness for their uniqueness. Ruby mentions at one point that she is happy that she can be with her sister, her best friend, all of the time; that she can tell by a quickening heartbeat or a heated cheek how her sister is feeling. The girls seem to tackle life's challenges with an overall grace and quiet charm, but that's not to say that they don't have their moments of being frustrated or wishing that they could do something simple, like sleep by themselves.

I especially loved this quote about books, found on page 187 of the edition that I read:

I feel, holding the books, accommodating their weight and breathing their dust, an abiding love. I trust them, in a way that I can't trust my computer, though I couldn't do without it. Books are matter. My books matter.

I loved Ruby and Rose and the people that filled their lives. I loved their town (and could relate directly to it since I live in a small Ontario town as well). I loved learning their story, their stories being very different depending on which of the sisters was telling it. I spent a lot of time while reading picturing the girls and how hard it was for them to move as a single unit, to sleep as a single unit, and to even use the bathroom as a single unit. I found the whole thing fascinating and couldn't put it down. Overall, I simply loved The Girls.

Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of general or Canadian fiction
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010, RYOB Challenge 2010, The Canadian Book Challenge 4, Read, Remember, Recommend Fiction Reading Challenge

Review: "10 Reasons Not to Fall in Love" by Linda Green

Jo Gilroy's boyfriend left her on their son's first birthday and she's not eager to jump back into the dating game. She can come up with lots of reasons not to: she would have to shave her legs, she'd have to put away her maternity underwear, her ex-boyfriend also happens to be her boss, and most importantly, she couldn't risk a potential boyfriend hurting her son, Alfie. Alfie's now two years old, and when they go to a children's Christmas party she's instantly attracted to the good-looking and sweet ballon man, Dan. Alfie takes an instant liking to Dan as well and the next thing that Jo knows, they're regularly meeting up with him. When will she admit that she's not meeting him just for Alfie's sake, but for her own as well? And is she ready to open up her heart again?

10 Reasons Not To Fall in Love was far deeper than I was expecting. Having been a single mother myself for a few years I could relate to Jo's hesitation to get involved with someone in order to protect her son. She wrestles with so many doubts and fears and is reluctant to jump back into the dating pool. I appreciated Linda Green's insight into this topic. Dating is difficult, and dating as a single parent? Near impossible.

As we get to know Dan the balloon man we find out more about him and his past as well, and Green deftly handles yet another difficult topic (one that I won't get into for the sake of avoiding spoilers). This is one of those cases when you shouldn't judge a book by its cover- it may look like this is yet another "typical" chick lit book, but it is most certainly not.

The characters were realistic, the plot engaging, and the ending incredibly satisfying. 10 Reasons Not to Fall in Love is a great read for those who enjoy their chick lit with a little substance on the side.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of Brit Chick Lit with substance
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010, RYOB Challenge 2010

Review: "The Love Goddess' Cooking School" by Melissa Senate

Holly Maguire's grandmother Camilla possesses the gift of sight. Known as the Love Goddess of Blue Crab Island, Camilla is able to make predictions based on feelings, and is known throughout the island for her talents. Holly doesn't receive her fortune until she is sixteen, at which point her grandmother tells her that her true love will like sa cordula, an unappetizing Italian dish made from intestines. Holly dates her share of the wrong men for her, none of whom like sa cordula, and has given up on finding "the one" when her current boyfriend, John, breaks things off with her.

Heartbroken, Holly returns to Blue Crab Island and is devastated when her beloved grandmother dies in her sleep a few days after her arrival. After the funeral Holly finds out that Camilla has given her the house and the Italian cooking business that goes along with it. Craving both a change and some peace in her life Holly is determined to keep the business going, despite the fact that she does not possess her grandmother's talents in the kitchen.

As Holly struggles to reconnect with her passion for cooking, which left her when she was a little girl, she decides to go ahead with teaching the cooking class that her grandmother had already signed people up for. As the class, filled with people battling their own personal demons, learns how to cook Italian food they also learn valuable lessons about themselves. Holly falls for the father of one of her young students, but will he have room in his heart for her? And will he like sa cordula?

It has been a long time since I've read any of Melissa Senate's books, but the one that I did read I loved, and I was excited to win a copy of this from Chick Lit Central. The Love Goddess' Cooking School was a truly enjoyable read. It had all of the elements that I look for when choosing a book to read: romance, a well-written story, supporting characters that you can't help but love, and a compelling plot. I loved how the cooking class that Holly teaches ties everything together. The people there were all in some sort of personal pain and hoped that cooking would be therapeutic. I adored the ragtag bunch, and cheered as they all started to get their personal lives in order.

The story wasn't all sunshine and rainbows- the characters in the book had to work to overcome some pretty daunting obstacles, and Holly has to practice intensely before she can cook a passable Italian dish, and this is one of the things that made this book so readable. Life is filled with obstacles and heartbreak, and it was refreshing for them to be tackled so realistically.

I can't think of one thing that I didn't enjoy about this book. I read it in about twenty-four hours, unwilling to put it down for any extended length of time. I highly recommend The Love Goddess' Cooking School to anyone looking for an addictive read, but I warn you not to start it until you have the time to finish it!

Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of women's fiction, fans of books that involve cooking and food, fans of Melissa Senate's other books
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, RYOB Challenge 2010

Review: "Time of My Life" by Allison Winn Scotch

I was first introduced to the books of Allison Winn Scotch through a combination of reading her blog, Ask Allison, and having had the opportunity to read her latest novel, The One That I Want (my review). I enjoyed Allison's writing style and I was intrigued by the premise of one of her previous novels, Time of My Life. One Book Depository order later, and I had it in my hot little hands. However, it suffered the same fate of so many of the intriguing novels in my possession; it languished in TBR purgatory (a.k.a. my overstuffed bookshelves) until I was "in the mood" to pick it up. After reading several review novels I was in the mood to read something not slated for immediate review, and Time of My Life caught my eye. I freed it from its spot on the bookshelf and 24 hours later I had finished devouring it.

Time of My Life tells the story of Jillian Westerfield, dedicated wife and mother, wasting away in the suburbs and wondering how her life had come to this. She adores her 18-month-old daughter and loves her husband, but their marriage has been growing stagnant of late, and that spark that they once felt has flickered and died. After hearing that her ex-boyfriend is getting married, and after receiving a particularly intense massage, Jillian wakes up to find out that she is no longer a wife and a mother, but has been sent back seven years in the past, to the time when she was still with her ex-boyfriend Jack, and had not yet met her husband Henry. Armed with the knowledge of what would happen in the next couple of years, Jillian is grateful for this opportunity to re-live her late twenties and quickly climbs the corporate ladder at her old job at the advertising agency where she worked until she got pregnant. She also works on strengthening her relationship with Jack before it crumbles the same way that it did in the past. But will Jillian find that she is happier in the past, or will she start longing for the present?

What a fascinating premise for a book! Who of us has never thought about what we would do differently if we could go into the past and change it? It's something that I try not to dwell on, because I think that everything happens for a reason and I'm content with how things are now, but I have wondered how my life would have been different had I not had my children so young, or if I had taken a different career path, or if I had had the opportunity to travel. I think that imagining how we could have done things differently is human nature, and Allison Winn Scotch examines this subject with a deft hand.

Is the ability to go back in our past and change things unrealistic? Yes. But was the book subject matter incredibly thought-provoking? Also yes. Well-written and engaging, I'm not surprised that Time of My Life was a New York Times bestseller. I highly recommend this book to both book clubs and fans of women's fiction.

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Book clubs, mothers, fans of women's fiction
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, RYOB Challenge 2010

Review: "How To Be an American Housewife" by Margaret Dilloway

I was thrilled when I won a copy of this book. Not only had I heard fantastic things about this debut novel, but my library didn't have a copy. I started it with the expectation that it would be engrossing, and I wasn't disappointed.

Shoko married an American man during the war, out of necessity and because of her burning desire to escape the Japanese way of life. Try as she might, she never quite fits in in America. Her accent and her way of dress set her apart and the other women in the community essentially shun her. Shoko is growing old now, and her heart is starting to give away for some unknown reason. When she receives a letter informing her that her little sister has died of heart complications, Shoko knows that she needs to return to Japan and make amends with her brother over a long-ago feud, but is too weak to do so. Instead of going herself, Shoko begs her grown daughter Sue to go in her place.

Sue is a single, divorced mother, disillusioned with all that being an American housewife was supposed to be. Sue agrees to travel to Japan to meet her long-lost relatives and she uncovers family secrets that change the way that Sue views her mother.

I thoroughly enjoyed How To Be An American Housewife, which was told from the point of view of Shoko and of her daughter Sue. As a reader I couldn't help but feel compassion for Shoko, who had given up so much in order to try to have a better life, and who was never quite able to fit in in the way that she hoped. Shoko appears to be a simplistic person in the beginning, but as the story progresses her layers are uncovered, and we find that she is actually quite complex.

I especially appreciated the insight into Japanese culture, and the comparisons between Japanese and American culture. Each chapter begins with a fictional excerpt from the book 'How To Be An American Housewife', based on excerpts from an actual book that the author found in her Japanese mother's posession. Like another book that I recently read, 'Moonlight in Odessa', it struck me that our culture and the things that are so familiar to us, are so incredibly different from the cultures around the world. Japanese households pride themselves on simple beauty, and Japanese women ensure that they look their best before they leave the house, which is a far cry from the yoga pants and sweatshirts that we (including me!) often don before leaving for the outside world in the morning.

So much more than just a cultural comparison, How To Be An American Housewife is the story of mothers and daughters, forgiveness, and making amends with your past. A beautifully written and engaging book, I highly recommend this novel to anyone in search of a charming read.

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Armchair travellers, fans of engaging fiction
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010, RYOB Challenge 2010

Review: "Mini Shopaholic" by Sophie Kinsella

Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood) is back! She's still married to handsome Luke, and now she has two-year-old daughter Minnie to contend with. Becky, Luke, and Minnie live with Becky's parents- they haven't had much luck in the house purchasing department.

When the financial world takes a turn for the worst, Becky and Luke's world seems a little more shaky. Everyone is looking for ways to cut costs. Two-year-old Minnie, however, is not looking for ways to cut costs. Her favourite word is "mine" followed closely by "Visa" and "Starbucks". Minnie wreaks havoc wherever she goes, and Becky has no choice but to face the fact that Minnie may be "a little" spoiled. In the midst of trying to get Minnie's behaviour under control, Becky decides to throw Luke a huge surprise party. But with her spending limited, will she be forced to accept help from the one person that Luke wants help from the least?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Becky's latest adventures. The Shopaholic series has always been fun to read and a great escape from the everyday. I did find that a few things about this book bothered me a little. Becky keeps constant secrets from Luke, whether they are about shopping, her job, or what she does in her spare time and I found myself wondering how strong a marriage can be when one partner seems to have an aversion to the truth. I know that Becky has been like this in her previous books as well, and that when her secrets catch up to her they certainly create some interesting entertainment, but for some reason that has started to bother me a little. The other thing that bothered me was the fact that Becky seemed, for the most part, oblivious to how bratty Minnie was behaving. Rather than being embarrased and correcting her behaviour, she seems content to overlook it.

The Shopaholic books are a great diversion from the everyday, and as such I don't expect them to be much more than entertainment. As long as I start one with accurate expectations, I always enjoy them. Kinsella has set up the last chapters of Mini Shopaholic to lead perfectly to a sequel, so I expect that Becky's not quite done with her adventures yet.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of the Shopaholic series and light women's fiction
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, RYOB Challenge 2010, 2010 Chick Lit Challenge

Review: "Caroline's Sister" by Sheila O'Flanagan

Life comes easy for Caroline O'Shaughnessy. She has good looks that make those around her adore her. She's her father's favourite. When she gets pregnant the first time she sleeps with new boyfriend Damien, he marries her and they create a family together. Caroline's little sister Tess doesn't have it as easy. She lacks her sister's good looks and easy charm, and it seems that absolutely nothing comes easily for her.

When Tessa makes a monumental mistake one night she leaves Ireland and tries to make a new life for herself in London. Caroline, meanwhile, isn't having an easy time of anything at the moment. She's struggling to make her young marriage work and raising her children with little help. Suddenly it doesn't look so easy being Caroline.

I picked this book up at the recent "Friends of the Library" sale that I attended. Funnily enough, when I got home I realized that I had bought the same book, with a different cover, at the previous year's sale. Even more humourous is the fact that I realized when I was about halfway through the book that I had already read this one. Minus points for memorability.

Ultimately this one ended up being just okay for me. Perhaps it would have been better if I didn't remember what happened at the end of the book, but I did. The characters were well-done and both sisters were ones that I could root for, the ending was satisfying enough, but something about the book just didn't grab me. This doesn't discourage me from reading more from Sheila O'Flanagan (which is good, as I have two more by her on my TBR shelves), but this isn't one that I'll go out of my way to recommend. Caroline's Sister is great if you're looking for a light read, but don't expect it to stick with you in the long run.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Anyone looking for a light read
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, 2010 Chick Lit Challenge, RYOB Challenge 2010

Review: "Life After Yes" by Aidan Donnelley Rowley

Despite the fact that I'd love to, I'm not able to buy a lot of brand new books. I'm a mom of three young boys and for now I only work part-time so that I can be home with my boys. However, when Meg at Write Meg! reviewed Life After Yes a while back (her review), I knew that I had to have it. Not only is the cover beyond gorgeous, depicting a girl wearing a gorgeous wedding dress, but Meg gave it a 5 out of 5- high praise from her indeed. So, I bought the book. Days after receiving it, I sat down and read it, unable to wait any longer.
Life After Yes tells the story of newly engaged Prudence Quinn O'Malley's complicated journey down the aisle. A lawyer with a prestigious firm, Quinn knows that she should be giddy wth glee at having a ring on her finger, but she's unable to shake the feeling that marriage just may not be for her. She's still reeling from the recent and unexpected death of her father, who was having breakfast with his financial advisor on the morning of September 11, when the Twin Towers tragically fell.

As her wedding date quickly approaches, Quinn questions why she doesn't feel more. She finds herself unable to get caught up in wedding plans, she's prickly with her fiance, who is only trying to create a life for them, and she can't envision herself becoming the kind of wife who wears lingerie and cooks for her husband every night. Sage has always been the nurturer in their relationship, and Quinn is unable to picture their roles reversed.

As the wedding comes closer, Quinn must decide if she is truly ready for "Life After Yes".

I've been following Aidan Donnelley Rowley's blog, Ivy League Insecurities, for a while now and she has mentioned that she writes about the shades of grey present in our daily lives. Life After Yes has the courage to address the grey that we find when we embark on marriage, and to reflect on it. For Quinn everything is not black and white- marriage carries with it the implication that she will change into someone that she decidedly is not. She loves her finance, but finds herself unable to buy into the myth of marriage. Many of Rowley's observations, written so lyrically that you can't help but want to read her words again, are spot on. Too many brides plunge into marriage thinking only of white gowns and place settings, but Rowley dares to address what happens after the presents are all put away.

Despite the fact that the character of Quinn could have come across as melancoly, and perhaps even ungrateful for the blessings all around her, she doesn't. Instead she comes across as someone practical, someone grieving the unexpected loss of her father, and someone who intends to enter into marriage and the rest of her life with her eyes wide open. Quinn is determined to choose happiness, rather than allowing it to just come to her. Rowley has fleshed out her characters with the greatest attention to detail, and I often felt as if I was in their heads.

I can't think of one darn thing that I didn't like about this book. This is women's fiction for women who want more from their women's fiction.

Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Women's fiction fans and readers who appreciate good writing and a solid plot
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010, RYOB Challenge 2010

Review: "Come, Thou Tortoise" by Jessica Grant

When I won Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant from Katrina at Stone Soup, I had never heard of it. Katrina called it "incomparable", and she had special ordered it from Canada, because it's not available in the US. Shortly after I had won it, but before I had actually received it, I was in the Indigo store in Toronto to attend Emily Giffin's book signing, and I saw this book on display with a whole bunch of stickers stuck to the front saying that various employees recommended it. Now I was really intrigued, so it wasn't long after I received it that I started reading it.

Come, Thou Tortoise is the story of Audrey (Oddly) Flowers. Her father is in a coma (or comma as Audrey refers to it) back home in St. John's, Newfoundland after being hit by an errant Christmas tree hanging off of a passing truck. Audrey flies home from her apartment in the United States, making arrangements for her tortoise, Winnifred, to stay behind with friends of hers. Audrey returns home to find that her father has passed away, and for the rest of her visit she spends time coming to terms with her father's death and how her life has changed. Parts of this novel are narrated by Winnifred, the tortoise, and other parts are narrated by Audrey, but all are highly enjoyable.

This novel is, quite simply, unlike anything that I've ever read. I don't believe that I can describe it in a way that would do it justice, but I'll try. One thing that sets this book apart from others that I have read is that it's not just about the plot. This book is filled with wonderful wordplay and witty puns. It's a book that you really need to be fully present for to appreciate. It's revealed that Audrey has a lower IQ than most, and she seems to be stuck in this place between childhood and adulthood and this comes out in the words that she chooses, and in how she views the word. Grant chooses to only use periods in the book, and leaves out the question marks, quotation marks, and exclaimation points. Quite simply, I loved this. It allowed me to let the characters speak in a unique voice in my mind. It's hard to describe this, so here are two of my favourite quotes from the book:

(Audrey is arriving home in St. John's and observing the landscape) I don't recognize this latest permutation of the Trans-Canada. It is wide and makes a wet sound. On either side there are pastel houses with their backs to the highway. They have that hunched look like, yuck, is that a highway behind us. Why yes, it is. And I am on it. And why did you get built out here on your fancy trebleclef streets if you did not intend to embrace your location. (p. 37)

(Audrey is describing Wednesday pond, which is right by her childhood home. Supposedly it is "bottomless") There are fourty-seven ducks (native) and two swans (not native) living on Wednesday Pond. When the swans put their heads underwater, they look like baby icebergs. When they lift their heads, they look surprised. Did you see the bottom. No. Did you. No. Let's check again. They have been checking for years and continue to be surprised. (p. 41)

Even though the book is not entirely plot-focused, there are a few parts that are particularly enjoyable to read. I enjoyed her blooming romance with Judd, the Christmastech guy. I loved the twist towards the end, and I especially loved the ending. This will make a fantastic read for just about anyone who enjoys fiction, and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to experience it.

Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Anyone who loves quirky fiction
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010, RYOB Challenge 2010, The Canadian Book Challenge 4

Review: "The Baby Trail" by Sinead Moriarty

Emma Hamilton is in her early thirties, married to her patient and loving husband James, and desperate to get pregnant. All around her, friends and family members are getting pregnant with ease, but no matter what they try, Emma just can't seem to get pregnant herself. Comments and questions from well-meaning yet intrusive family members only make things worse for Emma, as she can't understand why she and James can't get pregnant. Month after month, the couple faces disappointment, and finally decide to seek professional help and search out fertility specialists who, frustratingly, tell her that both of them are completely fine. They tell Emma to relax, and a baby will come.

But Emma is unable to relax. She wants this more than anything, and there is no reason that she shouldn't be pregnant by now. Frustrated beyond belief, Emma takes any and all advice thrown her way in her deperate attempts to conceive, driving her friends, family, and especially her husband crazy.

The Baby Trail is Sinead Moriarty's debut book. I was lucky enough to pick this one up at my favourite used bookstore, and couldn't wait to read it. I enjoyed it for the most part, but there were a few things that bothered me.

Let me start with what I enjoyed. Emma, our main character, was a lot of fun. She's obsessed with becoming a mother, something that I'm sure many women can relate to, and will do anything to become one. Sometimes she's a little like a bull in a china shop, plowing through in order to reach her goal, not really paying attention to anything else around her, but I'm sure that anyone who has ever been in her situation can relate to how making a baby can be all-encompassing. Moriarty has taken a very serious topic, infertility, and written about it with sensitivity, yet she keeps the whole thing from being overly sad by giving the book a chick lit feel. Quirky characters and funny situations abound, making this book on the whole enjoyable. I also enjoyed that the story was set in Ireland. I have a thing for books set in England and Ireland!

There were a few things that I didn't enjoy. I found the dialogue stilted at times, but as this was Moriarty's debut book, and she's written several others so I'm assuming that this has improved. The ending was particularly bothersome. There's incredible tension built throughout the book as the reader tries to figure out if Emma will be successful in her attempts to become pregnant, and then it ends. Abruptly. No one changes, nothing revolutionary is revealed and the reader is left hanging, wondering if there were a few pages left out of their copy. It was like encountering a brick wall in the middle of nowhere, and then running into it. This kind of ending left me less than satisfied, but I was happy to find out this morning that there are two additional books about Emma and her attempts to have a baby, so there was a reason for the abrupt ending. I still think that it could have ended a little differently, a little more gently, but it didn't scare me away from Moriarty completely, and I will seek out copies of her two subsequent books about Emma (like I need an excuse to hit to bookstore!).

Overall, this is a book worth reading, especially is you've ever had problems conceiving or know someone who has. Despite the fact that I haven't personally encountered any of these issues, I still really enjoyed it and the new perspective on baby-making that it gave me. My advice? Make sure that you have all three books in the series before reading this one, or else you'll be left feeling a little let down when you finish it.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (loses points for the abrupt ending, despite the fact that there are sequels)
Recommended to: Anyone who has had problems conceiving, chick lit lovers
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, 2010 Chick Lit Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010, RYOB Challenge 2010

This was my personally purchased copy.

Review: "Beach Week" by Susan Coll

Jordan Adler has had a rough go of things since her family moved to the D.C. suburbs. Not only was she forced to make new friends and new connections in the middle of her formative high school years, but she was injured by a wayward soccer player and had to endure a year of migraines and MRI's. Her parents haven't had the best time of it, either. Charles Adler had moved to D.C. in order to run a project to revitalize the downtown area. The project has encountered opposition, though, and until it is completed he doesn't receive the sizable bonus that he's been promised. The medical bills resulting from Jordan's injury continue to pile up, and Leah Adler, his wife, hasn't been able to find work. Leah, meanwhile, finds that she doesn't quite fit in in her new hometown. The other mothers have made an effort to exclude her, all she and her husband seem to do is fight, and her daughter is growing more distant.

Insert beach week into the mix, and they have a disaster on their hands. Beach week is a right of passage in D.C., where a group of girls go away to the beach on their own to celebrate their impending adulthood. Jordan doesn't really want to go, especially since she's met a handsome college man named Khalid, but her parents are insistent that she attend. The parents of the girls who are going get together to assess what their liability will be if things end up going horribly wrong, but beach week doesn't turn out at all like anyone thought that it would.

Beach Week is filled with sharp wit and dry humour, and it addresses something that every parent fears: when their child reaches that terrifying time of being not quite a teenager, but not quite an adult. The funny thing about the book is that I didn't particularly love any of the characters, which is usually a benchmark for me of how much I will enjoy the book, yet I appreciated the story and enjoyed it. The parents of all of the girls were the kind of people that you just love to hate- judgmental and cliquey, yet they were really no better than any other parent around them. Despite the fact that Charles (Jordan's father) was not a character that I particularly loved, I did appreciate the fact that he is portrayed as being flawed and quite human, even though he tries to keep it all together for the sake of his wife and daughter. You get the sense that he is quite overwhelmed by both of them.

Beach Week is a must-read for any parent of a teenager. Susan Coll examines the relationship between teenagers and their parents with humour and sensitivity, making this book one not to miss, even if you do want to slap some of the spoiled teenagers and their indulgent parents along the way.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Parents of teenagers, fans of Susan Coll's Acceptance
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010, RYOB Challenge 2010

I won a copy of this book.

Review: "Mixed Doubles" by Jill Mansell

I have the tendency to read review books through the week and to choose something off my own shelves to read on the weekend. It's not something that I plan, necessarily, although I do find that it's a good way for me to keep pace with the wonderful review books that I receive and keep up with Mt. TBR at the same time. Last weekend I was perusing my bookshelves and was seriously craving some British chick lit. It's been a while since I've read any of that, and if I had to pick an absolute favourite genre, it would be British chick lit all the way! My eyes fell on my unread copy of Mixed Doubles by Jill Mansell, and I thought how fitting it would be to feed my craving with a book by the author who started my addiction in the first place!

Mixed Doubles is one of Mansell's earlier works, originally published in 1998. It starts off just prior to the New Year. Three friends, Liza, Dulcie, and Pru are making New Years Resolutions, as has been their custom since they became friends. The three women couldn't be more different. Liza is a single, gorgeous food critic for a newspaper with a following. Everywhere that she goes, men fall in love with her, and despite the fact that she tries to have relationships with them, none of them last for more than a couple of weeks. She resolves to get married before the year's end. Dulcie is married to a handsome, devoted man but is bored with her life. Patrick works a ton, and has little time left over for Dulcie. She resolves to divorce her husband and get out there and have a little fun. Pru is married to the slimy Phil. He gambles, he cheats, and Pru overlooks everything in the name of love. Pru resolves to stay married.

The three friends have definite plans for the year ahead, but little do they know that the year ahead has some rather different plans for them.

Anyone who has read this blog before knows that I can get a little gushy when I start talking about Jill Mansell. I haven't met a book of hers yet that I didn't like, although I like some more than others. This one fell in the middle range for me, but not in a bad way. The friendship between the three women was interesting. I didn't get the impression that the three were joined at the hip, they all had different interests and ran in slightly different circles, yet you could tell that they really cared about one another. The characters and their various dilemmas were easy to relate to, and it was easy to root for their individual happy endings.

The various romantic relationships that form (and unform) in this book are part of what makes it so highly enjoyable. Mansell has a knack for creating characters and relationship pairings that you fall in love with within the first couple of chapters. Even when the characters themselves can't see how perfect their prospective mate is, I always have fun watching them figure it out for themselves.

Jill Mansell is my go-to author for when I need a fast, fun, and immensely satisfying read, and Mixed Doubles doesn't disappoint. If you're a fan of British chick lit, or chick lit in general, I recommend giving this one a try.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of chick lit
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, 2010 Chick Lit Challenge, RYOB Challenge 2010

I personally purchased my copy of this book.

Review & Giveaway: "The Opposite of Me" by Sarah Pekkanen

Lindsey Rose feels like she's finally going to get out of her gorgeous fraternal twin sister, Alex's, shadow: after many long hours spent working at an advertising agency, she is in line for the vice presidency. She'll be the youngest vice president that her company has ever had, and she will have everything that she's ever wanted in life. One devastating night takes it all out of her grasp, and she heads home to Maryland with her tail between her legs.

Lindsey has always been labelled "the smart one", while her sister has been labelled "the pretty one", so Lindsey decides not to tell her parents that she has lost her job and everything that she has worked so hard for, and instead decides to keep up the charade that she is scouting out a new location for her former employer.

As if living with her parents and being unemployed isn't bad enough, Lindsey is forced to become involved with Alex's wedding plans to Prince Charming. Watching her sister, who has always had everything handed to her on a silver platter, preparing to walk down the aisle nearly breaks her resolve to re-invent herself. However, when an old family secret is revealed, and when Alex faces some unexpected challenges, Lindsey and Alex discover that things are not always what they seem to be and they both come to see themselves and their role in their family in an entirely new way.

I love The Opposite of Me's gorgeous cover. I mean, I'm not one to generally judge a book by its cover and all that, but it certainly helps when the cover is as appealing as this one! The picture on the cover is of the back of the heads of two women, one a brunette and one a redhead, and when we learn that Lindsey is a brunette and Alex is a redhead, it made sense. I love that it doesn't show their faces, I like being able to imagine that for myself.

Beyond the obvious cover appeal, the story itself flows effortlessly. This is at first glance a larger book (400 pages), but the story is so enticing that I couldn't put it down. I didn't find the dialogue awkward like I have in some debut books- awkward writing is one of my biggest pet peeves and usually detracts from my overall enjoyment of any book. Instead, I found a carefully plotted story with words that flowed, and it easily held my attention.

The characters in this book were especially well-developed. The emphasis is on Lindsey, and the story is from her point of view, but we do get strong glimpses into Alex's mindset. Lindsey and Alex's parents were hilarious, and they provided comic relief at the more serious parts, which helped the book to maintain its overall lighthearted tone.

The ending was predictable, but that made it no less satisfying for me. In fact, one of the things that makes me sigh wistfully at the end of the book is how good the ending was. After I was done reading The Opposite of Me, you can rest assured that there was lots of wistful sighing.

Sarah Pekkanen has written a strong debut novel, and I'm thrilled that this will not be the last we hear from her (she's already submitted the manuscript for her next book). The Opposite of Me is a compelling look at the complicated bond between sisters.

You can browse inside this book here, or purchase it here. This book would also make a great book club choice, and the book club guide can be found here.

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Fans of women's fiction, those who enjoy reading stories about sisters
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, New Author Challenge 2010, RYOB Challenge 2010



Thanks to Crystal at BookSparks PR I have one copy of The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen to give away! To enter:

1. Leave me a comment and tell me if you have a sister, and if so, do you two have a complicated or an easy relationship. (Note: I personally do not have a sister, but am blessed that I now have 5 wonderful sister-in-laws!!!) Please leave me an e-mail address so that I can contact you if you are the winner. No e-mail= no entry!

2. *Bonus Entry* Become a follower on Google Friend Connect and leave me a separate comment letting me know that you now follow. Current followers are eligible as well, just leave me a separate comment letting me know that you already follow.

3. *Bonus Entry* Spread the word about this contest! How you do it is up to you: Facebook it, blog about it, post it on your sidebar, just leave me a comment letting me know how you spread the word.

This contest is open to both US and Canadian residents, no PO Boxes please! It runs until July 12, 2010 at midnight EST, and the winner will be contacted by e-mail. Good luck!

Review: "Heart of the Matter" by Emily Giffin

I'm pretty proud of myself: I waited two whole days before going out and buying Emily Giffin's latest, Heart of the Matter. It took a superhuman effort not to pre-order it, but my library had a copy on order, and I was trying to wait to buy it until it came out in paperback (my preferred format). Hubby saw me looking longingly at it on Amazon, though, and told me to buy it for myself as a late Mother's Day present. It didn't take much convincing, and I made a happy trip to the bookstore the next morning.

I've loved Emily Giffin's books since I first picked up Something Borrowed. Something Blue quickly became my favourite book of hers, and Love the One You're With and Baby Proof were good, but not as good as I had hoped. However, Heart of the Matter is, in my opinion, her best book to date. The subject matter is not as light as her previous books, but the depth of emotion and the skill with which she writes is incredible.

I'm going to be deliberately vague when describing this book, since the publisher's description is as well. Part of what made this book so compelling was discovering the various details of the plot on my own, and not having someone spoil it for me ahead of time. What I will say is that Heart of the Matter is written from the viewpoints of two very different women: Tessa Russo is the mother of two young children and married to a skilled pediatric surgeon. She has recently quit her job so that she can stay at home and focus on being a mom, but her decision has left her with a vague dissatisfaction. Valerie Anderson is a single mother to six-year-old Charlie, as well as an attorney. She's fairly satisfied with her life, but can't shake the feeling that something is missing. One night the lives of these two women intersect, and nothing will be the same for them again. (And for those who are wonderding, yes, Rachel and Dex do make a guest appearance!).

As I mentioned, Heart of the Matter is one of Emily Giffin's best books to date. She conveys such emotion with her words- at parts of the book I literally gasped out loud, finding it almost painful to continue reading the story. I felt as though I was experiencing the things that the characters were; that's how involved I was.

Giffin also takes a difficult situtation, one where there is not a wrong or a right answer, and tries to present two views without ever choosing sides. Women will sympathize with both main characters despite themselves. I had a favourite viewpoint, given the choices I've made in life, but towards the end I felt sympathy for the other character as well. Now that's powerful writing!

It's hard to review a book and remain vague, but I really don't want to give anything away. Giffin takes a story that has been done before and adds a fresh spin to it, resulting in a compelling read that you'll think about even after you've read the last page. In short: I loved it, and highly recommend it to any woman, even those who are not fans of Giffin's previous work. Heart of the Matter takes things to a whole new level.

Rating: Easily 5 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Women, mothers, fans of chick lit and women's fiction
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, 2010 Chick Lit Challenge, RYOB Challenge 2010