A Perfect Summer in Starshine Cove by Debbie Johnson

4*

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this new addition to the Starshine Cove series, especially since I assumed Book Four ended the series. Although I enjoyed revisiting this quirky, welcoming village, Suzie’s story wasn’t as compelling as those in the previous books. The friends to lovers romance with Guy is a very slow burn, and there is no spice if that’s your thing. They are in their forties, and have each spent their entire adulthood wandering the world solo. Not surprisingly, they consider themselves “flight risks.” Suzie has come home after about a decade and is nervous about her family’s welcome, and Guy, who has never had a family or a stable home, is visiting Starshine Cove for the first time, hoping for a chance to right a wrong. They serendipitously meet while she’s stuck up a tree, and their friendship blossoms.

The best part of the book is the reunion with Suzie’s family and the rest of the villagers. It’s like being wrapped in a warm hug. There are some trigger warnings for miscarriage, cancer, and accidental death, and there’s a big feeling of grief for much of the story. However, there are still plenty of the funny, heartwarming moments which readers of the series will appreciate. Although it could be read as a standalone, I highly encourage you to read the first four books in the series. Recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Storm Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Love Song by Elle Kennedy

5*

As a big fan of Kennedy’s Off-Campus, Briar U and Campus Diaries series, I was excited to read the romance between John Logan’s daughter Blake and Garrett Graham’s son Wyatt, both of whom we met in previous books. I was not disappointed. Childhood friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and throw in some forced proximity and a bunch of steam and voila…another winner! Readers will be delighted by how many of the characters from both series are prominently featured, often through hilarious group chats this close-knit chosen family uses to communicate. There are so many of them now that it was hard to keep all their names straight.

The family dynamics enhance the slow burn romance between Blake and Wyatt rather than detracting from it. The focus is on both of them working through their insecurities about their futures, feeling like they don’t measure up to the successes their parents, siblings and friends have achieved, However, they end up becoming each other’s champions as Wyatt navigates the music industry and Blake tries to figure out what career she might be passionate about as she approaches graduation. A subplot of a ghost story that Blake begins researching adds a mysterious element to the novel.

Although this isn’t technically part of the Campus Diaries series, it seems to me that it should be other than the fact that it doesn’t take place at Briar U. So, if you’re looking for a delightful, heartfelt story while waiting for the Off-Campus television premiere later this year, pick this one up. (On a personal note, the actor playing Allie DiLaurentis is a former student of mine. Big glow up from her days on the Barnie show!) Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Bloom Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Secret Life of Beatrice Alright by Brooke Harris

 

5*

My first 5* rating of 2025 goes to this beautifully written story of a young single mother who, despite the toxic men in her life, will do anything to protect her young daughter, even temporarily living in the storage closet in the hospital where she works as one of the cleaning crew. Beatrice (Bea) grew up in foster care after losing her parents at age 11. It wasn’t until she made friends in college that she had a semblance of family again, that is until she met much older Declan and got pregnant at 25. Giving up everything to move in with him and raise their daughter, she’s blindsided when he not only leaves her but also forces her out of her home just before Christmas. Little does she know that, when she meets octogenarian Malcolm, her life will grow in ways she never anticipated.

Set during the Christmas season, this is a heartwarming story of chosen family, the resilience and fierce protectiveness of mothers, the plight of homelessness with inadequate safety nets, the power of friendship, and the kindness of strangers. There is a romantic element, but it is not the focus of the book. Bea’s daughter Ellie is absolutely precious, her lovely nature in stark contrast to her father and Finton, Bea’s best friend Cora’s live-in boyfriend. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Storm Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner

 

5*

Damn, this woman writes incredible stories! This isn’t an easy book to read, but it is so timely and important. In dual timelines beginning in the late 1930s as the Nazis consolidated their power, Meissner tells the tragic story of a young orphan with synesthesia who, after becoming pregnant, is forced into a California system that dehumanizes her and strips her of all autonomy. Rosie Maras’s inner strength is admirable, especially in light of the horrendous way she is treated by the medical profession and a social service program that should support our most vulnerable citizens. It is also the story of Helen Calvert, the sister of Rosie’s legal guardian, who befriended Rosie when she was a child. Helen is a nanny to an Austrian family, and it’s the youngest child, Brigitta, who captures Helen’s heart with her sunny, loving personality despite the severe disabilities she was born with. Rather than return to California as war looms, she remains with the Maier family until an unspeakable tragedy tears them apart. When Helen finally returns to the States in 1949, she learns of Rosie’s plight and is compelled to right the wrongs perpetuated against her. It’s both a way to atone for her mistakes and to create a chosen family.

Until reading this book, I had no idea that the U.S. had a eugenics program that included the forced sterilization of over 60,000 people, including both women and men. While reading, I did a small bit of research and found that the Nazis modeled their T4 genocide program on the U.S. This shameful part of U.S. history is bound to repeat itself if we don’t vote out the Fascist, white supremacist politicians who are currently stripping women of their reproductive rights, supposedly sterilizing illegal immigrants in Southern detention centers, and attacking the LGBTQ community. It’s a slippery slope from where we are now to where the Nazis were by the end of the war, and it’s admirable how Meissner has shone a spotlight on the atrocities currently being perpetuated on American soil without politicizing it or drawing overt comparisons between Nazi Germany and recent legislation and fomenting violence against marginalized groups in America. It’s a simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking story that not so subtly reminds us not to let our guard down. Very highly recommended!

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Ready or Not by Cara Bastone

 

4*

Shep’s the perfect book boyfriend in this friends-to-lovers, best friend’s older brother romance with an accidental pregnancy set in New York City.

Eve floats through life, never really knowing what she wants. When she accidentally gets pregnant after a one-night-stand with Ethan, she struggles with acknowledging that her life is going to profoundly change once she has a child. When she tells her best friend Willa the news, her response is angry instead of congratulatory, since Willa and her husband has been trying to get pregnant while Eve never even talked about wanting children. Shep is the only one who’s happy for her and is there for her every step of the way.

Eventually, Willa accuses Eve, in the gentlest of ways, of never knowing what she wants, whether it’s having a baby, starting a romantic relationship with Shep, or even getting promoted at work where her dream has always been to be a policy analyst in wildlife conservation (if she’s willing to get her Masters to earn the promotion). As her pregnancy advances and her crush on Shep grows, she has to do a lot of soul-searching and growing up.

This is a charming, sexy romance with really likable characters. The chemistry between Eve and Shep is hot, as evidenced by how even a seemingly innocent hand massage is titillating. The lifelong friendship between Eve and Willa is tested, but their bond is so strong that it withstands Willa’s distancing herself and the natural displacement of being number one in each other’s lives when they each find their life partners. I really appreciated how Ethan wants to be involved in his baby’s life and that Eve helps him clear a path to make that happen. Shep is loving, kind, supportive and so tuned into her needs, instinctively knowing that he must play nice with Ethan because anything less will hurt Eve and the baby. If you’re looking for a feel-good, low angst, somewhat steamy, slow burn romance, here it is. Recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from The Dial Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard by Natasha Lester

5*

The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard exemplifies the best of historical fiction, seamlessly blending real events and people with fictional characters whose lives intersect. It combines a family saga, the mystery surrounding both Astrid’s disappearance and the identity of her father, and an exposé on the misogynistic toxicity of the fashion industry.

In the author’s note, Lester mentions that Mizza Bricard, Astrid’s biological mother, was a real person, knowledge which led me down a Google rabbit hole. Fictional Mizza was the first generation of Bricard women who gave birth out of wedlock (what an archaic term), thus passing on the common surname, but that’s not where the commonalities end. Beautiful MIzza, who began her fashion career almost by accident, grew up fast in the salons of Paris on the eve of World War I, rubbing elbows with everyone from Coco Chanel to Pablo Picasso. Despite her incredible design talent, she was relegated to being a “muse” to Christian Dior with a sordid reputation thanks to the misogynists with fragile egos who rule the world of haute couture, both then and now. As Lester mentions, “I believe the truth is more likely to be found in the accounts of those who knew her, rather than men reporting on her thirty or forty years after her death who’ve decided that the racier the anecdote, the more chance they have of being published.” If you’d like to read more about Mizza, I’ve included a link at the bottom of this review to an article written by Lester for the Sydney Morning Herald.

Mizza’s fictional daughter Astrid, who was raised by her adoptive parents, enrolled in Parsons School of Design in NYC in 1970 at age 24, and, despite not being raised by Mizza, she suffered a similar fate by virtue of association. Hawk Jones was a wunderkind who started his own design house right out of school. From the moment they met in the Parsons Archives, the pull between them was undeniable and unavoidable. Although Astrid’s designs inspired Hawk and he was adamant about giving her credit, the toxic and petty fashion patriarchy persisted in undermining her talent and painting her as a muse as well. Like her mother, whose famous, somewhat scandalous photograph sealed her fate, Astrid was captured wearing a silver lamé dress and nothing else while dancing at a disco. As months passed, she and Hawk pumped out hot-selling pieces while rubbing elbows with the likes of Mick Jagger, and ultimately fell in love. When it all came to a head at the Battle of Versailles in 1973 (an actual event that had the established and favored French designers competing against the upstart, risk-taking American designers), Astrid disappeared, and no one knew if she was dead or in hiding for the next 40 years.

Mizza Bricard at age 55, photographed by Louise Dahl-Wolfe

Blythe Bricard, daughter of Astrid and Hawk and divorced from fashion mogul Jake Black, is at the tipping point of her fashion career. Like her parents, she and Jake met in design school and vowed to support each other’s dreams. However, the pressure and fickle nature of the industry has led her to the point that she must decide if she will continue designing costumes for film (which would mean giving up her dream) or revive her mother’s fashion brand, Mizza, either with Jake’s competitor, with Jake’s company if they can first overcome their personal differences, or by taking the reins herself with investments from other women. In a world heavily populated by female customers, workers, and talent but still run mostly by men, it’s a point of pride and ownership she craves. And, of course, she wants to be the first in her family’s line to get credit for her work and shed the heavy mantle of “muse.”

Although this isn’t a romance, the relationships each woman had are intrinsic to the plot and it’s impossible not to root for both Astrid and Blythe to find some happiness. However, the over-reaching theme is the damage caused by generational trauma and parental neglect and abandonment as well as the repeated messaging that talented women in fashion, especially ones who are trying to be innovative (like Astrid with her mix-and-match separates for ‘working women’, modeled after Anne Klein, the actual female designer at Versailles) will be suppressed, rejected and ridiculed by both petty journalists (like real-life Women’s Wear Daily’s John Fairchild) and most male designers.

“Dior didn’t know Mizza would be reduced in later years. And she was his muse. But she was a designer too. History forgot the second half because it’s a man’s name on the awning. History kept the first half because that’s the way stories of male creators working with women are written.” (Blythe's niece Coco in response to her question about why Dior allowed the press to slander Mizza)

Lester has written characters so compelling and well-rounded and settings so alive with imagery that you can’t help but put yourself in their place. As the mother of a fashion model, I was also affected by the knowledge of how men treated female designers because they were threatened by their talent. I really appreciate Lester’s extended author note, showing readers the depth of her research and findings.

The only slight criticism I have is that the multiple timelines got a bit confusing at times, and I personally would have preferred a first-person point of view from each of the Bricard women. It’s a minor quibble that doesn’t negate the power and appeal of this story. Highly recommended.

For more information on Mizza Bricard, read

She was known as Christian Dior’s muse, but Mizza Bricard was so much more than that.

https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/she-was-known-as-christian-dior-s-muse-but-mizza-bricard-was-so-much-more-than-that-20230914-p5e4ro.html

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Forever Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.