Meet Me at the Seaside Cottages by Jenny Colgan

 

4*

It was so nice to revisit the Scottish coastal village of Carso and a number of characters from Colgan’s previous books. Once I got used to the British slang and colloquial phrases scattered throughout, I was able to fully immerse myself in this double romance. As with all of Colgan’s books, there’s a big, potentially damaging problem to solve which anyone with even a basic knowledge of finance saw coming a mile away. Luckily, the village came together to make everything right.

Central to the story is the strained relationship between Janey and her daughter Essie who blames her mother for her parents’ divorce rather than her cheating father. It took a considerable amount of growing up for Essie to see the kind, caring woman that everyone else recognizes. I appreciated the mature, slow burn romance between Lowell and Janey and that the smarmy, stuck-up finance bros (including Essie’s (ex) boyfriend) got their comeuppance. Dog lovers will enjoy the subplot of a litter of puppy mutts, too. Recommended.

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

Stranger Things Have Happened by Kasie West

 

4*

Although the premise of this new romance by West is a fun one, there are subjects that are emotionally heavy and take away from the otherwise lightheartedness of the story. Foremost is Sutton’s mother who is one of the meanest characters I’ve ever read about. Her obsession with the husband who left when Sutton was 13 and never returned is in direct opposition to the love she should have for her daughter, especially since she dropped everything (including being at her new and struggling restaurant) to take care of her mother who was injured in a serious car accident. I kept hoping she had walked out and left her ungrateful mother to figure out how to pay for a caregiver/nurse.

Although I enjoyed the progression of Sutton and Elijah’s journey from strangers to lovers, any relationship that begins with deceit is bound to be rocky. Add to that the fact that Sutton would need to return to LA as soon as her mother is healed enough to take care of herself, and Elijah feels obligated to work at a job he hates in order to pay his father back for funding a boxing gym Elijah didn’t even want, and it’s no surprise there’s a third act breakup (my least favorite romantic plot device). However, I really appreciate how West resolved the conflict. Overall, this is still a funny story and one that readers will enjoy. Recommended.

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

The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn

 

5*

I’ve read other fictionalized accounts of Titanic survivors, but this one is the first where there’s a focus on the PTSD and survivor guilt they endured following the unspeakable tragedy.

Elinor Coombes, believer in true love and happily-ever-afters thanks to the books of Austen and Brontë, was tricked into a loveless marriage with an heir to an earldom so they could get a huge dowry from her industrialist father. Shortly after giving birth to a son and heir, she learns that aristocratic women don’t raise their sons, whose upbringing is left to a nanny and then boarding school by age 7. When she finds out that, in the event of her husband Frederick’s death, her disapproving and hard-hearted in-laws would gain custody, it is an abstract worry since he’s young and healthy; that is, until the Titanic sinks and the worst comes to pass. Desperate to save her son from the cold, callous path set out for him, she assumes a deceased woman’s identity to start a new life, but will she always be looking over her shoulder?

Quinn paints a clear picture of life in the Lower East Side tenements of NYC, putting a human and compassionate face on the squalor and seeming chaos of the poor neighborhood. Her story is a testament to the immigrants who came from Europe for a better life and the hard work they put in to make their dreams a reality and to the human spirit and the strength and courage of women who are underestimated by both men and other women who see them as weak. Finally, it’s a beautiful portrayal of chosen family and the capacity for forgiveness. Fans of Susan Meissner, Fiona Davis, and Beatriz Williams will love this. Highly recommended.

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

The (Fake) Dating Game by Timothy Janovsky

 

4*

The (Fake) Dating Game is a sweet, relatively quick read that reminds readers that good guys don’t always finish last. Holden and Leo, who meet when Holden checks into the Los Angeles hotel where Leo is a concierge, strike up a friendship and quickly bond over painful break-ups, karaoke, and maternal obligations. Holden, whose mom died several years before, wants to honor her memory by participating in their favorite game show, Madcap Market. Unfortunately, when he presents the idea to his longtime boyfriend, he ends up getting dumped and in need of a partner. Leo, who is still living with his mother, has been trying to save money so he can get a place of his own. So, they agree to pair up and fake a relationship in the hopes of being selected to compete. Will they be able to keep their secret and win the $100,000 prize despite an unexpected challenge?

One of the most refreshing and appealing aspects of this story is that Holden and Leo genuinely care for each other and, even as new acquaintances, are very honest, willing to communicate, and comfortable with each other. They have loving and supportive parents who are proud of them, which isn’t the norm in most LGBTQ romances. Bottom line, they’re just so damn cute together, and you can’t help but root for them both to win the competition and have their happily-ever-after. This is the first book I’ve read by Janovsky, but it won’t be the last. Highly recommended!

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

All the Flowers in Paris by Sarah Jio

5*

Like one of its final lines, Sarah Jio’s beautiful and haunting time-slip novel is “tragic and heart-breaking but also redemptive and triumphant.” Caroline Williams is an American woman in modern-day Paris who suffers from amnesia due to an accident. After she is released from the hospital, she meets Victor, the chef at Bistro Jeanty, and begins to fall in love with him as he helps guide her through her slowly-emerging, painful memories. She has random glimpses of a past that includes a child. This is also the story of Céline, a young widow during the Nazi occupation who works in her family’s florist shop and cares for her young daughter Cosi. She’s in love with her childhood friend, Luc Jeanty, but when he leaves for a few weeks, the Nazis take her half-Jewish father and daughter away and she is forced to live with a cruel and sadistic Nazi officer who continually rapes her. (Both her neighbors and Luc’s mother turned them in.) Her daughter escapes from the truck carrying her away, and is hidden under the floorboards for almost a year before Paris is liberated.

Caroline, who is living in the same apartment where Céline was imprisoned, finds a box containing letters written by Celine to Luc. With the help of a graduate student who is doing research on Celine and a Bistro Jeanty patron and the building’s doorman (both of whom suffered losses in the war), Celine’s full story emerges. Like all great time-slip novels, there are distinct parallels between the dual storylines. In this case, it’s about two ferocious moms who will do anything to protect their daughters. Both female protagonists suffer devastating losses, and it’s an artifact from Celine’s time during the war that enables Caroline to emerge from her amnesia and grief to rejoin the living and accept love. In the words of Celine’s daughter Cosi, written in her childhood journal, “I think that the most important things in life are thankfulness, forgiveness, and love.” Very highly recommended.

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

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center

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.

The Weight of a Thousand Feathers by Brian Conaghan

5*

What do you do when the person you love most in the world asks you to help them die? This is the heart-wrenching moral dilemma 17-year-old Bobby Seed faces when his mother Anne, who is reaching the final stages of Multiple Sclerosis, asks him to end her suffering. For five years, Bobby has witnessed her struggle and decline and has become her primary caregiver, a burden he gladly carries because of his profound love for her. “Funny how no one ever uses the word “love” when discussing my case. I do what I do because she’s my mum; she’s the only one I have, so I wouldn’t mind holding on to her for a bit longer. That pure and that simple.” For Anne, however, the pain, memory loss, and feelings of sadness and humiliation that her son must help with her personal needs add to her despair, to “exist without living.”

During all this time, Bobby also shoulders the responsibility for his 14-year-old brother Danny who is developmentally-delayed. He doesn’t want to tell him that their Mom isn’t going to get better. However, when Anne can no longer communicate clearly and fears she will forget her sons, she makes her decision and asks Billy to tell his brother. Although Danny is slow, he isn’t, in his own words, “stupid” and has already researched the “right to die.”

Despite everything Bobby must juggle, he still wishes he could just be a typical teen without pity and allowances for his behavior. After joining the teen carer support group Poztive, Bobby meets other kids in the same situation, including American Lou who is an enigma. What is his mom suffering from that he won’t share and why does being around him make Bobby tingle? How will Lou’s experiences and potentially unhealthy influence on Bobby affect the major decision he has to make?

Conaghan has gifted us with a story that is life-affirming even in the face of suffering and death. The love between the mother and her sons and between the brothers is intensely moving while, at the same time, full of sarcasm and humor. The descriptions of the disease are written with dignity, honoring both the victim and her sons. There are also several beautiful poetic verses written by Bobby interspersed throughout. (With an Advanced Reader Copy, it’s unclear how they’ll appear in the published book.) This is a valuable and worthy addition to YA literature on death and is essential for any library that serves teens.


I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bloomsbury YA through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.