Category Archives: Light (vacation) Reads

Adult Assembly Required [Book Review]

May 20, 2022

Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman

Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman (cover) Image: a graphic picture of several young adults work on "assemgling" the block letters title

Genre/Categories/Setting: Contemporary Fiction, Women’s Fiction, RomCom, Mental Health, Los Angeles

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Thanks #NetGalley @BerkleyPub #BerkleyWritesStrongWomen #BerkleyBuddyReads for a complimentary eARC of #AdultAssemblyRequired by Abbi Waxman upon my request. All opinions are my own.

Laura arrives in Los Angeles hoping to start over but as a result of an apartment fire, she finds herself homeless after one week. Fortunately, she meets Polly and her friends including Nina (The Bookish Life of Nina Hill) and impossibly handsome Bob. Polly takes her in and invites her to rent a room at the boarding house where she lives. Laura joins a trivia team, struggles with PTSD (from a tragic car accident), finds courage, and appreciates support and encouragement from her new “found family.”

My Thoughts:

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The Summer House [Book Review] #ThrowBackThursday

April 28, 2022

The Summer House by Lauren K. Denton
#throwbackthursday

The Summer House by Lauren K Denton (cover) Image: a blue wooden swing on a wide white porch

Genre/Categories/Setting: Light Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Southern Fiction, Uplit, Multigenerational, Divorce

Welcome to Throwback Thursday where I highlight an older review or post a current review of an old read. Today, I’m re-sharing multigenerational “uplit,” The Summer House by Lauren K. Denton.

I’m linking up today with Davida @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog for #throwbackthursday.

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

From the author of Hurricane Season and Glory Road…

Lily is devastated to find a goodbye note and signed divorce papers on the kitchen table when she awakens. Before her brief marriage, she was a hairstylist, and she contemplates the possibility of leveraging this skill to make a fresh start. By chance, she notices a flyer advertising the need for a hairstylist in a nearby retirement community. Desperate for a job, she makes the call and shows up for the interview and also negotiates for the apartment above the salon.

Second chances….

Continue here for my full review of The Summer House..

QOTD:

Have you read Summer House or is it on your TBR?

 

Spring Tides at the Starfish Cafe [Book Review]

April 5, 2022

Spring Tides at the Starfish Café by Jessica Redland

Spring Tides at the Starfish Cafe by Jessica Redland (cover) Image: a rustic red cafe sits on the bluff overlooking an inlet....a sailboat sails in the water and a lighthouse sits on the opposite bluff

Genre/Categories: Women’s Contemporary Fiction, (Closed Door) Romance

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Thanks #NetGalley @BoldwoodBooks for a complimentary eARC of #SpringTidesAtTheStarfishCafe upon my request. All opinions are my own.

Hollie, owner of the Starfish Cafe, and her boyfriend Jake (and adorable Pickles the dog) have found each other and are living a contented and full life and looking forward to their bright future…..until an act of vandalism affects the future of the Starfish Cafe and puts their livlihood in jeopardy. An unexpected friendship is formed and new characters are introcuded as Hollie and Jake recover from their losses and rebuild.

Spring Tides at the Starfish Café is the second in the Starfish Cafe series but it can be read as a standalone.

My Thoughts:

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Castle of Water [Book Review] #ThrowBackThursday

March 10, 2022

Castle of Water by Dane Hucklebridge
#throwbackthursday

Castle of Water by Dane Hucklebridge (kindle propped against a softly muted floral pillow shows cover)

Genre/Categories/Setting: Contemporary Fiction, Survival, Action/Adventure, Love Story, Uninhabited Island

Welcome to Throwback Thursday where I highlight an older review or post a current review of an old read. Today, I’m re-sharing a survival story, Castle of Water by Dane Hucklebridge.

I’m linking up today with Davida @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog for #throwbackthursday.

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

“And so it came to pass that two utterly disparate lives happened to overlap … bound together on an uninhabited island some 2,359 miles from Hawaii, 4,622 miles from Chile, and 533 miles from the nearest living soul.
Crap, as Barry liked to say.
Putain de merde, as Sophie was known to exclaim.”

Sophie, an architect and honeymooner, and Barry, disillusioned with his career in finance and seeking inspiration for his love of art end up on one very small island when their plane is hit by lightning and crashes in the middle of the South Pacific. Strangers and sole survivors and as different as night and day, Sophie and Barry wash up on a small uninhabited island and survival becomes their primary objective. Sophie and Barry draw from each other’s strengths and skills and through harrowing experiences, keep the hope of rescue alive.

 Themes of home, love, loss, sadness, perseverance, heartbreak, hope, resiliency, friendship, and desperation…

Continue here for my full review of Castle of Water…

QOTD:

Have you read Castle of Water or is it on your TBR?

 

This Won’t End Well [Book Review] #ThrowBackThursday

February 10, 2022

This Won’t End Well by Camille Pagán
#throwbackthursday

This Won't End Well (cover) .... a young woman peeking through some bushes

Genre/Categories/Setting: Contemporary Fiction, Women’s Fiction

In 2020, I decided to systematically revisit my older review posts and update them. On Thursdays, I’ll be re-sharing a few of these great reads. Today, I’m re-sharing a fun romcom, This Won’t End Well by Camille Pagán.

I’m linking up today with Davida @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog for #throwbackthursday.

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

“In the long tradition of other beloved, quirky characters, Annie Mercer feels best when she limits her interactions with new people. As a scientist, she analyzes her life experiences through the lens of science. Suddenly her organized life is turned upside down: she loses her job, curiosity about a new neighbor consumes her, her fiance takes a leave of absence, and a personable and charismatic private investigator surprises her. Ultimately Annie is faced with some big, life-changing decisions.”

…Quirky + Snappy + Epistolary = a fun read! 

Continue here for my full review of This Won’t End Well…

QOTD:

Have you read This Won’t End Well or is it on your TBR?

The Golden Girls’ Getaway [Book Review]

December 10, 2021

The Golden Girls’ Getaway by Judy Leigh

The Golden Girls Getaway by Judy Leigh (cover) Image: white text against a blue sky and three women sitting in camp chairs with their backs to the camera on a green expansive lawn area

Genre/Categories/Setting: Contemporary Fiction, Women’s Fiction, UpLit, England/Wales Countryside

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Thanks @BoldWoodBooks #NetGalley for a complimentary eARC of #TheGoldenGirlsGetaway by Judy Leigh upon my request. All opinions are my own.

At the end of the Pandemic lockdown, three women borrow a motor home and escape their boredom and isolation by touring the British countryside. Vivienne (popular soap actor), Mary (retired nurse), and Gwen (retired opera singer) are all mature women in their 70s and 80s. Even though they live in the same building, they don’t know each other very well. Throughout the trip, their friendship deepens and and they rediscover joy and laughter, the power of sisterhood, and good times.

a motor home driving along a scenic highway

My Thoughts:

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All I Want For Christmas is the Girl Next Door [Book Review]

October 27, 2021

All I Want For Christmas is the Girl Next Door by Chelsea Bobulski

All I Want For Christmas is the Girl Next Door by Chelsea Bobulski (cover) Image: white text on a red background.....a scene of snow and small homes at the bottom margin

Genre/Categories/Setting: Fiction, Contemporary Romance. YA, Christmas, Virginia

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Thanks #NetGalley @WiseWolfBooks for a complimentary eARC of #AllIWantForChristmasIsTheGirlNextDoor upon my request. All opinions are my own.

Sixteen-year-old Graham has been in love with Sarah, the girl next door, for several years. However, she’s been dating his best friend for the last two years. Graham makes a wish upon a star….all he wants for Christmas is Sarah. In the morning, Graham wakes to a new reality…..he is the one that has been dating Sarah for two years, not his best friend. As he spends more time with Sarah, he wonders whether or not they are right for each other. Further complicating the situation is that Graham is spending a lot of enjoyable time with the new girl in town.

My Thoughts:

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The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady [Book Review] #BlogTour

October 4, 2021

The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady by Sharon J. Mondragón

The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady by Sharon Mondragon (cover) a ball of yarn and two silver knitting needles

Genre/Categories: Christian Comtemporary Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Friendship, Prayer, Ministry

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Out of your comfort zone and into the mall!

Thanks #NetGalley @KregelBooks and the I Read With Audra Blog Tour for a complimentary eARC of #TheUnlikelyYarnOfTheDragonLady upon my request. All opinions are my own.

The Heavenly Hugs Prayer Shawl Ministry consists of four women (Controlling Margaret, Positive Rose, Hurting Jane, and Lonely Fran) who meet weekly in the lovely and quiet Prayer Chapel of their church to knit shawls for the prayer shawls ministry. When the pastor announces that the prayer chapel is being painted and they will need to find another place to sit and knit, he suggests they knit out in public somewhere like the local mall. Grumpy and difficult-to-love Margaret vehemently resists the idea of knitting in the mall with all its distractions. However, the others are open to the idea. After they get kicked out of the bookstore cafe (for never ordering anything), they find a satisfactory place to knit using the comfortable seating display in front of Macy’s department store. And, yes, there are distractions and encounters with the people they meet taking them out of their comfort zones in many ways.

My Thoughts:

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The House Swap [Book Review]

September 24, 2021

The House Swap by Jo Lovett

The House Swap by Jo Lovett (cover) Image: white text on a salmon background...graphic images of a young man and woman above the title

Genre/Categories/Settings: Light Women’s Contemporary Fiction, Romance/Rom-Com, Luxury Flat in London/Beach House in Maine

My Summary:

Cassie needs to work with her agent in London for a few months and James needs a break from London and has work he can do in Boston. They meet on a house swapping website when each other’s home seems like the answer to their search. They are quite opposite in every way: personality, lifestyle, and attitudes. This deal leads to humorous communication and house swapping experiences. Do opposites attract?

My Thoughts:

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The Last Chance Library [Book Review]

August 30, 2021

The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson

The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson (cover) Image: white block text on a blue background.....text forms 3 shelves which hold graphic images of books and library scenes

Genre/Categories/Settings: Contemporary Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Books About Books, Librarians, Library, English Village

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

Thanks #NetGalley @BerkleyPub #BerkleyWritesStrongWomen #BerkleyBuddyReads for a complimentary eARC upon my request. All opinions are my own.

A shy, lonely, and quirky librarian, June Jones, and a colorful cast of characters band together to fight against the closure of their local public library. Can June find courage for the fight and forge true friendships?

My Thoughts:

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