City People: five women take a hard look at themselves and their lives after the sudden death of a friend

City People by Elizabeth Topp is a story about a band of mothers who are forced to reevaluate their lives as they deal with the aftermath of the sudden loss of one of their friends. Susan Harris was beautiful and successful, so when she jumps from the roof of her apartment building, her New York City mothers’ group of five friends are left in shock, disbelief and with the question:. how did they not see it? Vic is a single mom with literary aspirations and a bad case of writer’s block. Bhavna is a makeup executive, focusing on her son’s future. Kara has experience dealing with suicide. Penelope and Amy in the middle of a business deal but is the toll worth it for their families? And Chandice is dealing with her own morality as she battles cancer. Between dealing with their friend’s death and their busy lives, they are desperate to get their children into a prestigious private school.

I haven’t read Elizabeth Topp before and City People is contemporary fiction story of five women who are forced to take a hard look at their lives in the wake of their friend’s suicide. The story reminded me of the 1996 movie The First Wives’ Club starring Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton and Bette Milder. Unfortunately, I found it hard to get through this story and it wasn’t the heavy topic of suicide and mental health. I think there were way too many POVs which changed every chapter. The parts of the book which were really heartbreaking for me were the ones from Susan’s POV. I didn’t care for any of the other women and I could easily see how these women missed the subtle signs. Overall, I did not enjoy this story. However, I do appreciate that the author included a note at the end about suicide and including a suicide hotline. I do not recommend City People. 

City People is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Our Place on the Island: second chances, self-discovery and finding home again

Our Place on the Island by Erika Montgomery is a story of three women finding home and a new future on a familiar island. Many occasions have been celebrated at the Campbell family’s seaside cottage. The beloved matriarch, Cora, is getting remarried and the town gossip whispers that he was the one that got away. Her granddaughter, Michelle “Mickey,” is a renowned chef with a popular, successful restaurant with her boyfriend, Wes. However, she is hiding a secret. She has mismanaged the restaurant into the red. Cora’s wedding gives her an excuse to hide. She comes to the island to regroup and figure out a solution. Mickey’s mother, Hedy, is still mourning the passing of her beloved father and is having a hard time welcoming this new man in her mother’s life. Everyone knows a woman’s heart holds many secrets and Cora is about to reveal a story that will have the three women reevaluating their views on marriage, motherhood and the joys of following one’s heart. 

Two years ago, I read Ms. Montgomery’s debut novel A Summer to Remember and when I was offered a chance to read her newest novel, I took it! Our Place on the Island is a story of second chances, discovering your true passions and finding home again. It is a story that did not disappoint. I thought I had figured it out; however, as the story unfolded, it took a surprising, heartwarming turn. I enjoyed every character. However, my favorite character was Cora. Her words of wisdom and insights were spot on. Word of warning: DO NOT read this book on an empty stomach! Cooking and food is an important aspect as the women bond over food and you will be craving every delicious dish as you read! Even the descriptions of the ingredients made me wish I had them in front of me! Ms. Montgomery describes Cora’s garden so well, I swear I could smell the fresh herbs and produce. I highly recommend Our Place on the Island. 

Our Place on the Island is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook

The Bookshop by the Bay: mothers, daughters and second chances

The Bookshop by the Bay by Pamela Kelley is the story of four women, at different stages in life, when circumstances open their eyes to new possibilities and new dreams. Jessica Coleman’s marriage has gone cold. When she discovers her husband has been having an affair with his assistant, she retreats to her hometown on Cape Cod. Caitlin, her daughter, decides to join her mother on the cape. Allison Page, Jessica’s lifelong friend, is at a crossroad in her life. While her daughter, Julia, has opened a successful jewelry shop, Alison is looking for a change. When a local bookstore comes up for sale, it is too good to pass up for Allison and Jessica. As they reopen the store and add a coffee shop, they find new romances, stronger bonds of mothers, daughters and friends, and new life in second chances. 

The Bookshop by the Bay is a women’s fiction about the unexpected changes of life and the strength to rise above them. All the characters were believable as to their reactions to the circumstances. Even when some characters tried to be hard nosed and the villain, they were quickly shot down and put in their place. I enjoyed Jessica and Allison’s friendship. I enjoyed their relationships with their daughters. I loved to see Julia and Caitlin develop a friendship despite never being close growing up. The potential romances were fun to watch develop. I loved how the characters came to realize what they thought they wanted wasn’t what they truly needed. Overall, I enjoyed The Bookshop by the Bay. If you enjoy women’s fiction with friends and second chances, you may enjoy The Bookshop by the Bay. 

The Bookshop by the Bay is available in hardcover, paperback, eBook and audiobook

The Night Travelers: Four Women, Four Different Times in History, One Journey

The Night Travelers by Armando Lucas Correa is a historical fiction which features four generations of women and three time periods as they experience love, loss and hope. The story begins in Berlin, 1931 as the rise of Nazism sweeps through Germany, Ally Keller gives birth to a mixed-race daughter, Lilith and hides her from the world. When time runs out, Ally puts together a desperate plan to save her daughter’s life. Havana, 1958, Lilith is now an adult, finds herself excited for her future with her husband, Martin. As the fires of revolution grow, Lilith finds herself facing an impossible choice, as her own mother did, in order to save her own daughter, Nadine.  Berlin, 1989 as the Berlin Wall falls, Nadine is now a dedicated scientist who has spent her life avoiding the truth about her family. When her own daughter, Luna, begins to uncover the family history, it will be Luna faced with an uncomfortable truth in their family’s past and their place in history.  

The Night Travelers is my first book by Armando Lucas Correa. I can see why he has a reputation for sweeping historical fiction with depth of the human stories we often forget. It is a story about four women, separated by time but united by sacrifice. They each embark on journeys of self-discovery which is forged by the power of a mother’s love. It is a wonderful story of the interconnectedness of history and that history is more than just dates and events. It is the individuals who lived and sacrificed during troubling times. It is also a story that details the disgusting things people have inflicted on others and if we are not careful, we will repeat the same. Overall, I enjoyed The Night Travelers. It is the type of historical fiction which leads one to further research events in more depth than what is highlighted in the story. To me, that is a feature of great historical fiction. I highly recommend The Night Travelers. 

The Night Travelers is available in hardcover

The Liar Next Door: a psychological thriller you won't want to put down

The Liar Next Door by Nicola Marsh is a psychological thriller with a web of lies that threatens to tear apart a seemingly close-knit community. Thirty houses surround a square garden that is the perfect playground for the kids. They gather there for holidays and community parties. It is there that Frankie Forbes meets Celeste. Little did she know that Celeste would tear apart their family piece by piece. There were signs and gut feelings that told Frankie that something was wrong from the beginning. She was too nice, too eager to join in and she seemed to know the things Frankie’s daughter liked and disliked. But why couldn’t she trust another mother? Meanwhile, Saylor, newlywed and pregnant, has a secret of her own and she must act quickly as someone is threatening to expose her and ruin her and her family. Secrets have a way of being discovered no matter how hard they are buried and hidden. How does this woman seem to know Frankie’s? Will Saylor be able to protect her secret? 

Who is the liar next door? Nicola Marsh can always be counted on for a great psychological thriller! I read and reviewed My Sister’s Husband last year and loved it. So when the opportunity to read The Liar Next Door came up, I had to read it! Told from the point of views of the three women, the reader is taken on a journey of twists and turns, ups and downs, as the web of lies is slowly untangled. As the story unfolds, there were a few clues that I was able to figure out but when the final stretch of the story begins and the secrets are revealed, there were shockers! From the beginning, Frankie, Celeste and Saylor are women you don’t know if you can trust as they present their point of view. Like a slow burning fuse, the story starts off slowly and gains speed as the women begin to interact until the powder keg explodes, the secrets are revealed and the masks are pulled off. I highly recommend The Liar Next Door. 

The Liar Next Door is available August 23 in eBook and audiobook. 

The Secrets Mothers Keep: a gripping tale of family, secrets and coming to terms with the past

The Secrets Mothers Keep by Jacquie Underdown is the story of three generations of women as deep secrets from the past are revealed and alter their futures. The story opens with the oldest sister, Mary Rivers, who lives in her late husband’s ancestral home, Viewtree House, in Tasmania, Australia. The house is in desperate need of repair. She calls on her sisters, June, who lives with her, and Grace, as well as her daughter, Lily Rose, and granddaughter, Pia, to come together, pool their resources and save the house. The request comes at a time when all the women need a break or escape from their lives. Grace is dealing with the aftermath of her husband’s death and discovers he had been hiding a terrible secret. Lily-Rose, a famous actress, is on the verge of divorce after an affair was exposed by the media. Pia, who broke up with her boyfriend, sees the request to put some distance between them. Told from the different perspectives of the five women, the story follows them as renovations on the house threatens to reveal deep secrets Mary and her sisters hold. Will their plans for the house bring them together or finally tear them part?

The Secrets Mothers Keep was a gripping story as the secrets are revealed, the women must decide who they are and who they will become as a family. At the heart of the story is a quote from June as she says, “Mothers in difficult circumstances, have had to life since forever in order to protect their child or themselves.” At the heart of the secrets is the desire to protect their family from scandal, pain and being torn apart. Another character reminds readers that “We can’t make judgments about decision made at different times and under conditions we don’t understand.” The Secrets Mothers Keep is a good story of family, secrets, and coming terms with the past. I enjoyed reading a story set in a different part of the world than is normally written about. I recommend The Secrets Mothers Keep.

The Secrets Mothers Keep

is available in paperback and eBook

Mrs Everything: a painful story about women and life

Mrs Everything by Jennifer Weiner is the story from two sisters, Josette “Jo” and Elizabeth “Bethie” Kaufman. From the idyllic 1950s through the turbulent 1960s to today, the sisters face choices as women in the society around them. Jo is the tomboy who turns into a wife and mother without much thought if she really wanted to and Bethie is the princess who turns to drugs and a vagabond lifestyle when events in her life throw her for a loop. As time goes on, the sisters learn to embrace who they really are and live their lives as they find that suits them. Through infidelity, divorce, sexual assault, eating disorders and drug use, the sisters struggle to find a purpose or meaning in the event of their lives. After her divorce, Jo reunites with her first love. Bethie finds peace with herself on a farm. It is a book about woman who try to be everything to everyone and finds out that you simply can’t.

I’m not a big fan of Jennifer Weiner. I have read a few of her earlier books so when I had the opportunity to read this book, I thought, why not? From the open pages to the closing chapter, this book was hard to read. It is overwhelming and I’m not just talking about the number of pages. At 460 pages it is a long book, but I’ve read longer books that I sped through, captivated by the story. Mrs Everything is not that book. The story is divided into 7 parts with most of the book dragging along with the events of these sisters’ lives and speeds up as the book is ending as if the author realized she was running out of room. The sex scenes were graphic for me, who is a fan of romance novels, to put the book down and say “yikes.” I’m no prude when it comes to sex and sexuality, but it wasn’t necessary and felt out of place. There are just way too many social issues crammed into the book that it becomes less a story about two sisters navigating the changing social climate and becomes a political tirade. Plus, there were so many historical inaccuracies that a simple Google search would fix. Songs Jo listened to in college that could not have been playing as they were not released yet. Sloppy research with a bogged down plot, I did not enjoy this book. I do not recommend Mrs. Everything.