The Finishing Touches - Hester Browne

 

Synopsis:
Twenty-seven years ago, an infant turned up on the Academy's doorstep, with a note tacked to her blanket by an elegant golden brooch -- Please take care of my baby. I want her to grow up to be a proper lady. Loved by Lady Frances Phillimore and her kindhearted staff, Betsy grew up aspiring to be an Academy girl. But when Franny and her husband, Lord Phillimore, advise Betsy to instead hone her considerable math skills at college, she brokenheartedly leaves behind the only family she's known.

Now, on the sad occasion of Lady Frances's memorial service, Betsy comes back to find the school in disrepair, the enrollment down, and Lord P. desperate to save his legacy. Enter Betsy, the numbers genius, and her business plan -- to replace dusty protocol with the essentials girls need today: cell phone etiquette, eating sushi properly, handling credit cards, choosing the perfect little black dress, negotiating a pre-nup, and other lessons in independent living.

But Betsy may have bitten off more than she can chew. Can she win over the school's snobby headmistress and its handsome but risk-averse treasurer? Returning to London also means facing her own unfinished business, as she crosses paths with her sexy girlhood crush...and blowing the dust off clues to a lifelong mystery: who were her parents, and why did they abandon her? If knowledge is power, Betsy is on the brink of truly becoming her own woman, and embracing the one thing she's wanted all along: a place to call home.


Cole's Review:
When this book's opening pages was a funeral, I didn't hold too much hope for a good book.  Boy, was I wrong!!  This book is epitome of modern British chick-lit.

The beginning of Betsy's life was quite eventful.  Left on the doorstep of a highly popular London finishing school, Betsy is brought up by the owners and taken under the wing of their staff.  When it comes time Betsy to choose a university, her adopted parents push her to pursue that instead of attending the finishing school she was brought up in.

Flashing forward, we see Betsy attending the funeral of her adopted mom.  While she loves her adopted dad, you can palpably feel the love between Betsy and her mom.  Meanwhile, she quickly determines that the finishing school needs some serious updating - both in upkeep of their facility and the courses taught to their students, and that's is finally time to determine her biological origins.

With her best friend Liv and Liv's brother, Jamie - can they save the finishing school?  Will Betsy finally admit to her lifelong crush on Jamie and find love?  Her endearing goofy clumsiness will have you routing for her from start to finish!

Grade: A

A Modern Witch - Debora Geary

Synopsis:

Can you live 28 years without discovering you're a witch?

Lauren is downtown Chicago's youngest elite realtor. She's also a witch. She must be - the fetching spell for Witches' Chat isn't supposed to make mistakes. So says the woman who coded the spell, at least.

The tall, dark, and handsome guy sent to assess her is a witch too (and no, that doesn't end the way you might think). What he finds in Lauren will change lives, mess with a perfectly good career, and require lots of ice cream therapy.


Cole's Review:
I admit it.  I am a sucker for all things witchy.  This book sucked me in right away.  Lauren is a successful Chicago real estate agent, has an amazing best friend and a life she's content with. Unfortunately, Lauren is no good at keeping her kitchen stocked and while setting up a grocery delivery online she gets transported into a chatroom for witches.

Lauren has NO IDEA that she's a witch and when Jamie is sent to investigate, the journey really begins.  While Jamie, is quite the hottie - there aren't any sparks between him and Lauren.  No fear, this is chick-lit and Jamie, who has pre-cog abilities does have sparks with Lauren's best friend.

This book is filled with magic, family and a host of joyously fabulous characters.  While this is a book about Lauren, 4 year old Aervyn really stole the show.  I can't wait to read more about Jamie, Lauren, Aervyn, Nell, Moira, Aunt Jennie and everyone else.

Grade: A

Always the Baker, Never the Bride - Sandra D. Bricker

Synopsis:

Thirty-six-year-old Emma Rae Travis has been baking specialty cakes and melt-in-your-mouth pastries at The Backstreet Bakery in historic Roswell, just outside of Atlanta, for the last six years. But here’s the rub about her job as a baker … Emma is diabetic. When she tastes her creations, it can only be in the most minute portions. Emma is considered an artisan for the stunning crème brulee wedding cake that won her the Passionate Palette Award last year, but she’s never even had one full slice of it.

When Jackson Drake hears about this local baker who has won a prestigious award for her wedding cake artistry, he tells his assistant to be sure and include her in the pastry tastings scheduled at his new wedding destination hotel the following week. And for Jackson, that particular day has started out badly with two workmen trapped in a broken elevator and a delivery of several dozen 300-thread-count bed linens in the wrong size abandoned in the lobby. But when the arrogant baker he met a week prior in Roswell stumbles into the dining room with a platter of pastries and a bucketful of orders, he knows for certain: It’s going to be a really rotten day.

Can these two ill-suited players master the high-wire act and make a go of their new business venture? Or will they take each other crashing downward, without a net? And will the surprise wedding at The Tanglewood be theirs?

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Cole's Review:
I found this book endearingly sweet (no pun intended). Emma Rae Travis is an award winning baker, who can't taste her own creations because she's diabetic.  How unfair is that?!  Jackson Drake has just bought the Tanglewood Inn for he and his sisters to bring back to its former glory with his eccentric and hysterical sisters decide that the Tanglewood should specialize in weddings.  What does every good wedding need?  A great cake!  With the help of her fabulously unique assistant, Fiona, Emma takes the Tanglewood and Jackson by storm.

The interaction between Emma, Jackson, Fiona, and all of their families to be realistic and fun to read.  It's a quick read for a rainy day.

This is your typical chick-lit.  However, it is a Christian novel as well, so there's more focus on character development and life's plan, but rest assured - the book never feels "preachy",

Grade: B

The Gift of Love - Lori Foster

Synopsis:

Families come in many configurations, and every one is unique, made up of the personalities of each member. But the love that connects families is universal. Whether it is the love of parents for their children, the love between a husband and wife, the love between siblings, a love that transcends generations, or even the love for a family member never met, the family ties that bind us are the strongest and deepest emotional connections we experience. Families influence a person's development, how they treat others, and how they view life. In The Gift of Love, eight exceptional writers offer a variety of unique perspectives on what family love means and how it impacts our lives in ways profound and often surprising.


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Cole's Review:

Can I tell you how much I loved this book?!?!  It was so good.  Really, my only regret is that some of the stories are so short.  Almost half of the eight vignettes would make fabulous full length books.

Because each story is so short, it's a little hard to give you plot points on all of them without giving away the entire story but I'll try.

For The Love of Wendy - The tale of Jack a widowed father, as he realizes that he loves Brianna - his daughter Wendy's caretaker.

Ava's Haven - Olivia made some mistakes in her youth.  Now she runs a shelter and runs into the man that broke her heart but could be the one to piece it back together.

Atticus Gets A Mommy - Keenan is quadriplegic who makes his way through life with the help of Atticus his rhesus monkey.  He loves Diana but believes she deserves a "whole" man - something he doesn't believe he is.

The Redemption of Brodie Grant - Brodie comes back to town to attend his sister's wedding to a man he loathes.  Instead he finds himself attracted to the groom's sister.

The Wolf Watcher's Diet - Ella gets in a car accident and finds herself getting grabbed by a man.  A "big dog" rushes in to save her but accidentally bites her.  It turns out that this big dog is actually a wolf; a man she teaches with, named Luke.

A Fairy Precious Love - Honeysuckle lost her wings to a fairy blight, and must find a way to exist without them.

Second Time Around - Serena is a high school teacher who has her childhood crush, Heath's son in her class.  Heath had a bright future he gave up to become a single dad, but still can't forget Serena. 

The only thing that kept me from giving this book an "A" was the aforementioned desire to see full length versions of some of these stories.  While these stories were great - they lacked some of the detail that I wanted.

Grade: B

Hope In A Jar - Beth Harbison

Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Shoe Addicts Anonymous and Secrets of a Shoe Addict comes a tale of old friends, new loves, and the undeniable power of a little face cream.


Twenty years ago, Allie Denty was the pretty one and her best friend, Olivia Pelham, was the smart one. Throughout high school, they were inseparable . . . until a vicious rumor about Olivia---a rumor too close to the truth---ended their friendship.

Now, on the eve of their twentieth high school reunion, Allie finds herself suddenly single, a little chubby, and feeling old. Olivia, successful beauty editor in New York, realizes she’s lonely, and that she’s finally ready to face her demons.

Sometimes hope lives in the future; sometimes it comes from the past; and sometimes, when every stupid thing goes wrong, it comes from a prettily packaged jar filled with scented cream and promises.

Beth Harbison has done it again. A hilarious and touching novel about friendship, Love’s Baby Soft perfume, Watermelon Lip Smackers, bad run-ins with Sun-In, and the healing power of “Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific.” Hope in a jar: We all need it.

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Cole's Review:

 

This book was a quick read, and you just couldn't help but have flashbacks to your own high school experience - the pretty girls, the smart girls...and the MEAN girls.

 

Allie's reunion is coming quickly and she is falling apart.  In order to help her boyfriend build his career, she's forsaken her own in favor of temp jobs; she's not enjoying her body image and then she comes home to find her boyfriend in bed with someone else!!  Her ex-best friend Olivia has moved beyond her rough childhood and become a beauty editor in NYC - who has come to realize that she has nothing she wants out of life.

 

Allie and Olivia's mutual friend Noah convinces them both to come to their 20th high school reunion - and the hijinks really begin when they try and stop Noah from doing something that they believe would ruin his life.

 

Grab this book and enjoy the last few "beach" days of the year.

 

Grade: B 

 

The Kitchen House - Kathleen Grissom

Summary:

Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master’s illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin.


Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk.

The Kitchen House is a tragic story of page-turning suspense, exploring the meaning of family, where love and loyalty prevail.

Cole's Review:

This books uses the dual narration of Lavinia and Belle.  As Lavinia grows, you get to experience her change in point of view; her maturing before our eyes.  Belle, on the other hand, tells us the much darker reality of how their farm is run and the bad things happening around her.

I really enjoyed this book.  You are quickly drawn into these characters and those around them.  I felt for Lavinia as she realized that she wouln't be able to stay with her adoptive family of house and field workers, for Belle as she watched the man she loves love another woman, as they both struggle for "free papers" and what they should do if/when they get them.

I'll be honest...I haven't read a lot of books about slavery. If they were all this beautifully written- I'd read a lot more of them.
 
Grade: B

What To Do When Someone Dies - Nicci French

Summary:

'This is not my world. Something is wrong, askew. It is a Monday evening in October. I am Ellie Falkner, 34 years old and married to Greg Manning. Although two police officers have just come to my door and told me he is dead . . . '

It's devastating to hear that your husband has died in a horrific car accident. But to learn that he died with a mystery woman as his passenger is torment. Was Greg having an affair?

Drowning in grief, Ellie clings to Greg's innocence, and her determination to prove it to the world at large means she must find out who Milena Livingstone was and what she was doing in Greg's car. But in the process those around her begin to question her sanity ... and her motive. And the louder she shouts that Greg might have been murdered, the more suspicion falls on Ellie herself. Sometimes it's safer to keep silent when someone dies ...

Cole's Review:

I haven't read a Nicci French book in a while, but recall shear artistry in word choice and delightful mystery.  This book?  Well...it disappoints.  Don't get me wrong, it's a good book.  Just not nearly as good as a Nicci French book should be.

The story is great.  Ellie's husband dies - with another woman in his car.  Was Greg cheating?  If so, when?  How do you prove his innocence or guilty when everyone presumes that he was cheating?  How far will Ellie go to find out about Milena - the other woman?  However, I got caught up a lot in the details.  So many of them didn't add up.  Ellie runs out of food and money...but still can go out drinking with all her friends.  There is reference to Ellie's family being nearby...but there is virtually no support or even reference to them again.  Milena's family shows no interest in finding out about her death.

I'd only recommend this book as an easy read at the beach or to keep you entertained if you get sick.

Grade: D

My Enemy's Cradle - Sara Young

Synopsis:

Cyrla's neighbors have begun to whisper. Her cousin, Anneke, is pregnant and has passed the rigorous exams for admission to the Lebensborn, a maternity home for girls carrying German babies. But Anneke's soldier has disappeared, and Lebensborn babies are only ever released to their father's custody -- or taken away.


A note is left under the mat. Someone knows that Cyrla, sent from Poland years before for safekeeping with her Dutch relatives, is Jewish. The Nazis are imposing more and more restrictions; she won't be safe there for long.

And then in the space of an afternoon, life falls apart. Cyrla must choose between certain discovery in her cousin's home and taking Anneke's place in the Lebensborn -- Cyrla and Anneke are nearly identical. If she takes refuge in the enemy's lair, can Cyrla fool the doctors, nurses, guards, and other mothers-to-be? Can she escape before they discover she is not who she claims?

Mining a lost piece of history, Sara Young takes us deep into the lives of women living in the worst of times. Part love story and part elegy for the terrible choices we must often make to survive, My Enemy's Cradle keens for what we lose in war and sings for the hope we sometimes find.

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Cole's Review:

My mom handed me this book this morning, saying that I had to read it.  A book about Nazis in WWII Germany and Holland?!?!  Uh, no thanks mom.  But, I trust her and gave the book a shot. I really glad I did.  While this is a fiction, the issues covered in the book are very real.

Cyrla is a young woman who has lacked stability in life.  She was sent from her home in Poland to life with her aunt, uncle and cousin - Anneke in Holland when the Nazi regime starts encroaching.  Soon, Anneke announces her pregnancy with a Nazi soldier and her shamed father gets her into a German maternity home.  All hell breaks loose when a note announces that someone knows Cyrla is Jewish, Anneke dies unexpectedly, and the man Cyrla loves pushes her to flee.

Cyrla isn't pregnant.  Can she feasibly take the place of Anneke in the maternity home?  Will she ever see her family again?  Can she trust anyone with her secrets?  

I really enjoyed this book (obviously...I read it in under a day!) and think that anyone interested in historical fiction would too.

Grade: B 

The Opposite of Me - Sarah Pekkanen

Synopsis:

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

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Cole's Review:

I picked up this book and couldn't put it down.  This is the tale of Lindsey - a woman on the cusp of having everything she wanted...until office politics, a little bit of alcohol and some bad timing come into play.  Lindsey is her family's "smart one", while her twin sister Alex is the "pretty one" and she's very hesitant to let her family know she failed.  What to do?  LIE!!

And in the course of these lies - Lindsey encounters people that change her perspective on life, what she thinks she knows about being the "smart one", and finds a life she never knew she always wanted.

This book is funny, a bit bittersweet and I think everyone with a sibling should read it. (And then go hug said sibling!)

Grade: A

Perfect Family - Pam Lewis

Synopsis:

From the acclaimed author of Speak Softly, She Can Hear, a literary page-turner about a proper New England family and the dark secrets that undo them.


Pony Carteret -- the lovely headstrong youngest member of the Carteret family -- has always been a strong swimmer. So when she is discovered drowned at the family's summer home on Lake Aral, Vermont, her red hair tangled in an anchor chain and her baby abandoned on shore, her family is stunned by disbelief.

As the police conduct their investigation, Jasper Carteret, the patriarch, calls an urgent family meeting. Had any of her siblings known that Pony would be at the house that day? Was she having personal problems, was she depressed? Had she ever revealed the true identity of her baby's father? Neither sister -- Tinker, the family caretaker, nor Mira, the moody, thoughtful one -- has any information, and ultimately the police rule the drowning an accident.

But William Carteret, Pony's older brother, can't accept the explanation that his favorite sister's death was an accident. Determined to uncover the truth, he eventually learns the disturbing fact that a stranger had been present at the house the evening Pony died. Who was this man, what was he doing at the house, and why hasn't he stepped forward? As William digs deeper, his investigations quickly lead him to a new and more daunting series of questions, not only about the mysteries in Pony's life but also about the shadowy details of his deceased mother's past and even his own. Before long, he has opened a Pandora's box of family secrets, including one dangerous fact his mother has kept hidden for a generation.

Pam Lewis's Perfect Family is a masterful, atmospheric tale about the ways in which family secrets, no matter how long they're buried, can wield their tremendous power.

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Cole's Review:

This book draws you in quickly, reading more like a family saga than a murder mystery at times.  The tension between various family members is palpable - a power struggle between father, Jasper and son, William; the overt sexuality of Pony and converse repression of Tinker.

Pony, the youngest daughter of the Carteret clan dies under odd circumstances, leaving her father and siblings to unravel her past and their own - discovering exactly how many secrets they were keeping from each other.  Truthfully, some of these secrets are believable...but a few were just a stretch instead of the author's intent of being jaw-dropping.

This is a quick and enjoyable read for those that can get past the goofy nicknames given to the girls in the family (Pony, Tinker and Mira).

Grade: C

Bed of Roses - Nora Roberts

Synopsis:
Since she was a little girl, Emma Grant has always loved romance. So it’s really no surprise that she has found her calling as a wedding florist. She gets to play with flowers every day and work with her three best friends in the process. She couldn’t ask for a better job.


And on the surface, Emma’s love life seems to be thriving. Slim and sultry, she brings color into every room she enters, just like the arrangements she creates. Men swarm around her, yet she still hasn’t found Mr. Right. And the last place she’s looking is right under her nose.

But that’s just where Jack Cooke is. He’s been best friends with Parker’s brother for years, which makes him practically family. The architect has begun to admit to himself that his feelings for Emma have developed into much more than friendship. And when Emma returns his passion — kiss for blistering kiss—things start to get complicated at Vows.

Jack has never been big on commitment. Emma yearns for a lifelong love affair. If the two are to find common ground, they must trust in their history — and in their hearts…

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Cole's Review:

This is the second in Nora Robert's "Bride Quartet" and I utterly adored this book.  The characters are so heart-warming and rounded.  It would have been easy to be put off by Emma's perfection.  She smart, funny comes from money, is absolutely beautiful and is perky like nobody's business.  However, by showing Jack's agitation with her perkiness from time to time and the other girls envy at her dedication to working out - she comes across as amazingly likeable.

Didn't read Vision in White?!?!  No problem!  The beauty of this book is that, while the series will cumulatively show the relationships that the "Vows" girls enter into - it can be taken as a stand alone book and enjoyed as well.  I particularly like all the wedding hijinx that the girls encounter. Outside of the love story that is the center of this book - you'll get lots of chuckles at the MBs (monster brides), SMOB/Gs (step mother of the bride/groom), ex-boyfriends and wedding guests!

Next stop, Savor the Moment - the third book in the series!

Grade: A

Vision in White - Nora Roberts

Synopsis:

 #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts presents her first trade original-a novel of love, friendship, and family-Book One in the Bride Quartet.


Wedding photographer Mackensie "Mac" Elliot is most at home behind the camera, but her focus is shattered moments before an important wedding rehearsal when she bumps into the bride-to-be's brother...an encounter that has them both seeing stars.

A stable, safe English teacher, Carter Maguire is definitely not Mac's type. But a casual fling might be just what she needs to take her mind off bridezillas. Of course, casual flings can turn into something more when you least expect it. And Mac will have to turn to her three best friends-and business partners-to see her way to her own happy ending.

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Cole's Review:

Nora Roberts has written so much, that it's easy to identify her standard formula to romance writing - and this book definitely follows that formula. 

However, for all the girly-girls out there - this book hits the spot.  I dove right in and immediately fell for Mac & Carter, the fabulous photographer and hapless high school English teacher.  I also enjoyed their extended family, and there was just the right amount of tension; the "will they or won't they" before you get the fun, romantic ending that you can expect with Nora Robert's books.  I can't wait to read and review the remainder of this series!

Grade: B

The Postmistress - Sarah Blake

Synopsis:

"On the eve of the United States's entrance into World War II in 1940, Iris James, the postmistress of Franklin, a small town on Cape Cod, does the unthinkable: She doesn't deliver a letter.


In London, American radio gal Frankie Bard is working with Edward R. Murrow, reporting on the Blitz. One night in a bomb shelter, she meets a doctor from Cape Cod with a letter in his pocket, a letter Frankie vows to deliver when she returns from Germany and France, where she is to record the stories of war refugees desperately trying to escape.

The residents of Franklin think the war can't touch them- but as Frankie's radio broadcasts air, some know that the war is indeed coming. And when Frankie arrives at their doorstep, the two stories collide in a way no one could have foreseen."

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Cole's Review:
 
I'm a history buff, Anglophile, resident of Massachusetts and both my grandfathers served during WWII.  To say that this book spoke to me is an understatement.
 
The book is told from the point of view of our three main characters - Iris, Frankie & Emma and set in both Europe and Massachusetts.  Ordinarily, I'm not a big fan of story with multiple points of view, but this book transitions from character to character extraordinarily well.  In a way - this book isn't a shocker.  Everyone who has sat through an American History class knows the general timeline of the war and many of us have heard stories from grandparents, great aunts/uncles, elderly neighbors, etc.  Instead, this book is a moving story of the people behind the war.  The people left behind; the media point of view; the uncertainty of our involvement in the war for quite awhile; that so much of life truly is a series of accidents.
 
The one flaw that is obvious to me (but might not to you) is that Sarah Blake is not a Massachusetts native.  She is describing Providencetown, but gave it the fictional name of Franklin.  Unfortunately, the town of Franklin really does exist - 35 miles from Boston, not on Cape Cod!
 
That said; I loved this book and would recommend it to just about everyone.
 
Grade: A

Waking Up In The Land of Glitter - Kathy Cano-Murillo

Synopsis:With glue guns, glitter, twigs, or yarn, the ordinary can become extraordinary. . . especially at La Pachanga. Owned by Estrella "Star" Esteban's family, the restaurant has a rep for two things: good food and great art. La Pachanga brings people together-even when it looks like they couldn't be further apart. One ill-fated evening, Star jeopardizes her family's business, her relationship with her boyfriend, and her future career. To redeem herself, she agrees to participate in a national craft competition, teaming up with her best friend, Ofelia-a secretly troubled mother whose love for crafting borders on obsession-and local celebrity Chloe Chavez-a determined television personality with more than one skeleton in her professional closet. If these unlikely allies can set aside their differences, they'll find strength they never knew they had, and learn that friendship, like crafting, is truly an art form.

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Cole's Review:

When I'm not stalking the aisles of a craft store, I have my nose in a book.  A book that combines both loves?  Even better!  The author, Kathy Cano-Murillo is a crafter that can be seen on DIY and HGTV, so I knew that if nothing else - there would be a few really interesting craft projects.

Right away, I was impressed with the detail in which each scene is described.  A series of unlikely events brings a group of women together to look for a second chance at love, life and joy in crafting.  Along the way - Star, her best friend Ofelia and television personality Chloe Chavez deal with 350 pounds of German glass glitter, conflicts with each other and the upcoming CraftOlympics.  The author uses a heavy dose of Spanish and Spanglish through the book.  Don't speak Spanish?  No problem - a glossary is at the back of the book.  The one thing that detracts from this book is that there are too many points of view. I counted seven different points of view in total.  It would have been easier to keep track of if just told from the point of view of our three heroines.

I laughed a lot and cried a time or two as well reading this book.  I'd recommend this book to anyone that enjoys crafting, and hope to see Kathy Cano-Murillo write more books.

Grade: B