5*
This brilliant women’s fiction novel is an exploration of grief and a literal and figurative journey towards forgiveness. Told in alternating voices (mother Andrea through videos, audio clips, and written notes, her daughters Rose and Poppy, and even her best friend Lewis and Rose’s son Joe), it begins with the surprising death of Andrea whose dying wish is for her estranged daughters to reunite, remember the good times in their early lives, and ultimately forgive each other. Her masterful plan, The A to Z of Everything, is full of activities that go from emotionally heavy to lighthearted while exposing secrets, forcing Rose and Poppy to be vulnerable with each other, and even bringing some enlightenment, all well navigating their grief.
Damn, this woman can write! Johnson masterfully balances everything from grief and postpartum depression to hilarious karaoke nights and glitter-adorned dice games, allowing her readers to experience the emotional highs and lows of her well-drawn characters. It elicited both laughter and tears and captivated me from the start. This is a reissue, originally published in the UK in 2017. Highly recommended.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Harper Muse through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
I struggled for much of this story because I really couldn’t see a redemption arc for Charlie. He destroyed their marriage with his drinking, disregard and callousness, yet forty years after his and Vivian’s divorce and now very comfortably retired, he’s still drinking and being less than forthcoming. I also didn’t see the appeal of Vivian. She’s a very poor woman who has been beaten down by life, but who pours all of her love and attention into her daughter and granddaughters. She leads a very insular life, and understandably, has trust issues with men. So, it was difficult for me to cheer for the rekindling of their relationship.
Having said this, it was very life-affirming to see two people in their 60s realize that they’ve grown up a lot in forty years and that loneliness (even when surrounded by people) and forgiveness are choices. They can choose to let past hurts and mistakes keep them from moving forward, or they can acknowledge the hurt, forgive each other, and embrace a new life together. Butler intentionally chose dual narration which was a wise decision because it gave clearer insight into Charlie and Vivian’s insecurities, regrets, and secrets. I still don’t understand why Charlie never told Vivian where his money came from, especially since she had such a problem with him spending it on her and because he had shared the truth with her daughter, Melissa. Finally, I also didn’t like the choice to limit punctuation. I’m a grammar snob, so it was difficult, at times, to distinguish what was dialogue without the use of quotation marks. A minor quibble, but one that took me out of the story more than once.
I recommend this to readers who are looking for a mature, closed door romance and women’s fiction. Yes, it’s written by a man, but not from the male gaze, in my opinion.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Sourcebooks Landmark through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
Rachel Reid writes beautiful, heartwarming hockey romances that get me every time. That this one is a second chance romance between former best friends and teammates makes it even more special. Professional male athletes, especially hockey players, are “liars” as Adam says. They lie about their pain, their mental illness and addictions, and, sometimes, their sexuality as well. Reid gently explores the pressure to “man up” in this story, with Adam denying his love for and attraction to Riley for over two decades. In the process, he hurt Riley deeply and himself as well. It isn’t until two years into retirement that he reconnects with Riley at his father’s funeral, and it’s anything but smooth sailing.
I thoroughly enjoyed the way these two navigate their second chance, with honesty, humility, forgiveness, and a good deal of steaminess. The choice of a dual point of view really helps to round out the relationship. I highly recommend this beautiful soulmates’ love story.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Carina Adores through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
What a beautiful, heartwarming story! Set in a small town in Australia, it’s about an 82-year-old widower named Fred who is mistaken for a recently deceased nursing home resident named Bernard. Due to their uncanny resemblance and Bernard’s dementia, nobody believes Fred when he tries to correct the misunderstanding, and he finally gives up trying to convince the staff because living as someone else with a comfy room, 3 meals a day, and the friendship of his fellow residents to stave off his crushing loneliness is much better than being homeless, which was his next step had fate not intervened. However, when he learns that Bernard has a daughter he was estranged from for over 30 years, Fred has to make the difficult decision of whether to come clean or try to be a father to this lovely woman who has already lost so much in her life.
Author Johnston has written a unique story that highlights the plight of the elderly which is universal. Although the message is ultimately uplifting and redemptive for Fred, it also illustrates how shamefully inadequate the social safety nets are for some of society’s most vulnerable citizens. Fred is as healthy as an octogenarian can be, with no signs of dementia, but thanks to medical debt he incurred when his late wife was battling cancer, he was forced to sell his home and is eventually evicted with nowhere else to go. More fortunate seniors are able to afford decent nursing homes, but they are still at risk of shabby treatment by staff if oversight is lacking, which is portrayed in this book by a nurse who is barely coping with the dissolution of her marriage by turning to alcohol. Johnston also uses a delightful character named Albert to portray dementia and Fred’s friendship with him to demonstrate the correct way to interact so as to cause the least emotional upset and heartbreak. There is plenty of humor as it relates to the human condition, but also plenty of tears. As someone who witnessed her own mother’s long battle with dementia, this story was sometimes painful to read, but I have no regrets thanks to Johnston’s thoughtful handling of the disease.
If you’ve read and enjoyed Remarkably Bright Creatures, you’ll want to read this book as well. Highly recommended.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from William Morrow through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
4*
Two damaged women, one due to parental abandonment and the other due to a traumatic event in her teens, have shut themselves off from love. Their friendship has been the one relationship where they’ve both opened up and found (platonic) love, but they can’t see that this is proof that they’re capable of romantic love. Luckily for them, they’ve both found men who are kind, loving, patient, and understanding. They both just need to believe that they’re worthy of love.
I really appreciated the terrifying meet-cute between Levi and Jane, when a near-death experience bonds them in a way nothing less could. In that short time in the swinging gondola, they expose their true selves. When they embark on a fake relationship, it’s inevitable that strong feelings will grow and that Jane will have to make a choice.
As for Charlotte and Mateo, theirs is an enemies-to-lovers tale but Mateo never saw her as the enemy. It was more like a Taming of the Shrew scenario where Charlotte is trying to protect herself from further emotional damage from a man. So, it doesn’t make sense when she uses the excuse that people you love leave when this was Jane’s reality, not hers. In fact, she has family that love and miss her.
Overall, this was a beautiful dual love story in which female friends who choose each other as family agree to support each other in overcoming trauma and opening to the possibility of life. It’s also about chosen family and forgiveness. These women are fortunate to find men who come from loving families, so that when they and their partners eventually choose each other, the familial embrace is expansive and hugely heartwarming.
Shalvis proves, once again, why she is one of the reining queens of contemporary romance. This is the first in her new series Sunrise Cove, set in the Lake Tahoe area, so her fans have much to look forward to.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from William Morrow through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
5*
Possible spoilers:
Cassie Hanwell is a stellar, tough-as-nails firefighter and paramedic with the progressive and modern Austin Fire Dept. After a moment of passionate, righteous anger, she puts her job in jeopardy when she refuses to apologize. When her estranged mother asks Cassie to move east to help her after she loses sight in one eye, she agrees because taking a job in a chauvinistic, old-school Massachusetts firehouse is her only hope of salvaging her career. She is counseled by her female fire chief in Texas to be better than the men, to not show emotion, and to not date a fellow firefighter if she hopes to be accepted as one of the guys. This won’t be a problem because she doesn’t believe in love and her job is her life. However, her resolve is tested when she begins to fall for the sweet, kind-hearted rookie, Owen Callaghan, who faints at the sight of blood and bakes cookies in his free time.
On her 16th birthday, Cassie’s mother moved away and she was raped by the boy she had a crush on. In the decade since, she has walled herself off from emotion and focused on routine, order, and safety. She has survived, but the price has been loneliness. As she begrudgingly spends more time with her mother whose health continues to decline and acknowledges that she feels safe with Owen, she begins to realize how much she has lost by pushing away the people she loves. Ultimately, this is a book about forgiveness, feminism, and toxic masculinity, and how destructive and lonely it is to hang onto anger. This is one woman’s journey to rediscover love after devastating loss and betrayal. It speaks to how talented author Center is that she has managed to infuse humor and a sweet romance into a story that could easily have been darkly dramatic. Highly recommended for fans of Susan Wiggs and Kristan Higgins.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
