Author:  Laura Harrington
Publisher:  Penguin Books
Pages:  320
Genre:  Young Adult
Source:  Bird Bash










Goodreads:   Tomboy Alice Bliss is heartbroken when she learns that her father, Matt, is being deployed to Iraq. Matt will miss seeing Alice blossom into a full-blown teenager: she’ll learn to drive, join the track team, go to her first dance, and fall in love—all while trying to be strong for her mother, Angie, and her precocious little sister. But the phone calls from her father are never long enough. At once universal and very personal, Alice Bliss is a profoundly moving story about those who are left at home during wartime and a small-town teenage girl bravely facing the future.


Ope’s Opinion:  IF I were to suggest this to a young adult to read, I would highly recommend the parent read it first.  This book is deeply emotional.  

Rating:  Three Chairs – I like the book enough to suggest it to a friend or two.

Author:  James King
Publisher:  Penguin Books
Pages:  304
Genre:  Literary Fiction
Source: Bird Bash

Goodreads:   “Part road odyssey, part coming-of-age tale, King’s novel achieves the exact right balance of humor, redemption, and reconciliation.” –Booklist

James King’s acclaimed debut novel is a rich multigenerational saga that soars with compassion and insight into the pain and joy of family life. Confronted with a diagnosis that threatens his most cherished memories, Bill Warrington-a monumentally stubborn ex-Marine-hatches a daring scheme to grab the attention of his three grown children and patch up their differences. April, his fifteen-year-old granddaughter, wants nothing so much as to become a rock star on the West Coast, making her the perfect-and perfectly willing-abductee on a cross- country trip. With the panorama of America as its backdrop, their adventure becomes an unforgettable journey of discovery and atonement.

Author:  Sheila Roberts
Publisher:  Harlequin MIRA
Pages:  400
Genre:  Women’s Fiction
Source:  BEA  

Goodreads:   Sweet Dreams Chocolate Company has been in the Sterling family for generations, ever since Great-Grandma Rose literally dreamed up her first fabulous recipe. But now it looks as if they’re about to lose Sweet Dreams to the bank—and that would be a disaster, not only for the family but for the town of Icicle Falls, Washington. Can Samantha, the oldest daughter and new head of the company, come up with a way to save it?After Samantha does some brainstorming with her mother and sisters, inspiration strikes. They’ll have a chocolate festival! Time’s running out, but the Sterling women are determined and the town’s behind them, so everything’s bound to go smoothly….

Or not. Events seem to be conspiring against Samantha, and her mother’s attempts to help aren’t helping. To make matters worse, the fate of her company is in the hands of her archenemy, Blake Preston, the bank manager with the football-hero good looks. It’s enough to drive her to chocolate. But Blake’s also enough to convince her that (believe it or not) there’s something even better than chocolate.

Ope’s Opinion:  This book was so cute!  I just enjoyed reading it.  It was relaxing and an easy read.  I would like a sequel to this book.  I want to know how Samantha’s sisters lives grow and change. I also want to hear about her mother making it on her own.
                             At the beginning of each chapter the mother had some wise words.  It added a nice touch to the book.
                             If you are looking for something quick, easy and light – this is a great book for you.
                           

Rating:  Four Chairs – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.

                       FTC – Disclosure of Material Connection: 

Author: Karen Kingsbury
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 300
Genre: Christian Fiction
Source: BEA

Goodreads:  Molly Allen lives alone in Portland, but her heart is back in Franklin, Tennessee, where five years ago she walked away from a man she cannot forget, a rare sort of love she hasn’t found since.
Ryan Kelly lives in Franklin and spends plenty of time at The Bridge-the oldest bookstore in historic downtown Franklin-remembering the long hours he and Kelly once spent there.
Now, Ryan and Molly’s favorite bookstore is in trouble. For thirty years, Charlie and Donna Barton have run The Bridge, providing the people of middle Tennessee with coffee, conversation, and shelves of good books-even through dismal book sales and the rise of eBooks. Then in May a flood tore through Franklin and destroyed nearly every book in the store. By Christmastime, the bank threatens to pull the lease on The Bridge and is about to take the Bartons’ house as well. Despondent, Charlie considers ending his life. And in the face of tragedy, miracles begin to unfold.

Ope’s Opinion:  I enjoyed this read!  It was predictable, but in a great way.  I feel like I just found a treasure on the beach when I read this book – simple and sweet. The Bridge is a light, very easy, enjoyable read. 

Rating:  Four Chairs – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.

Meanwhile, Keira’s beloved 17-year-old niece, Kirsten, has just discovered an unwanted pregnancy. Her boyfriend, Jose, is bound for college and Kirsten does not know what to do. As the family comes together for a reunion, Keira and Kirsten struggle with their fractured pasts and jumbled present. Will truth and honesty be the catalysts that allow the entire family to find peace?

Inspired by events in Lauraine Snelling’s own life, REUNION is the author’s finest novel to date.

–Marisa de los Santos, New York Times bestselling author of Falling Together

For her previous novels (Things We Didn’t Say, The Life You’ve Imagined, Real Life & Liars), author Kristina Riggle has garnered fabulous reviews and established herself as a rapidly rising star of contemporary women’s fiction. In Keepsake, she explores that most complicated of relationships, as two sisters raised by a hoarder deal with old hurts and resentments, and the very different paths their lives have taken. As always, Riggle approaches important topics poignantly and honestly–including hoarding and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in her remarkable Keepsake–while writing with real emotional power and compassion about families and their baggage. For readers of Katrina Kittle and Elin Hildenbrand, Kristina Riggle’s Keepsake is a treasure.

Author:  Charity Shumway
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Pages: 368
Genre:  Women’s Fiction
Source:  Atria Books Galley Alley

Goodreads:  A radiant debut novel about stumbling through the early years of adulthood— and a love letter to the role models who light the way. Like so many other recent graduates, Dawn West is trying to make her way in New York City. She’s got an ex-boyfriend she can’t quite stop seeing, a roommate who views rent checks and basic hygiene as optional, and a writing career that’s gotten as far as penning an online lawn care advice column.

So when Dawn lands a job tracking down the past winners of Charmmagazine’s “Ten Girls to Watch” contest, she’s thrilled. After all, she’s being paid to interview hundreds of fascinating women: once outstanding college students, they have gone on to become mayors, opera singers, and air force pilots. As Dawn gets to know their life stories, she’ll discover that success, love, and friendship can be found in the most unexpected of places. Most importantly, she’ll learn that while those who came before us can be role models, ultimately, we each have to create our own happy ending.

Author:  Lisa Hilleren
Publisher:  Self published
Pages:  305
Genre: Fiction
Source:  Lisa Hilleren



Goodreads:      Imagine you’re forty-four, you live in Jersey, your name is Eve—and a shiny red apple (in the form of thirty-one year old Aidan Wharton) has just been dropped into your lap. Do you resist the temptation or go for it?

Eve Merritt used to believe that being the perfect daughter, perfect wife, and perfect mom was her ticket to living happily ever after. When the good girl routine doesn’t pay off as expected, Eve vows that from now on, she’s having her apple and her Eden, too!

But right from the start, there’s trouble in paradise: Eve finds herself falling hard for Aidan, but with her family in an uproar over their affair and a stalker from Aidan’s past bedeviling them, it takes all of Eve’s courage to overcome the decades’ old conditioning of putting everyone else’s happiness and well-being ahead of her own.


Ope’s Opinion:  The story in this book is a good one.
                            The foul language and detailed sex, greatly limit who I could recommend to read this book.



Rating:  Two Chairs – I may have one friend who might like this book.

Author:  Susan May Warren
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Pages:  386
Genre:  Christian / Suspense
Source:  Litfuse Publicity




Goodreads:   To everyone who knows her, Annalise Decker is a model wife and mother. She’s a permanent member of the PTA, never misses her kids’ sporting events, and is constantly campaigning for her husband’s mayoral race.No one knows that Annalise was once Deidre O’Reilly, a troubled young woman whose testimony put a dangerous criminal behind bars. Relocated through the Witness Security Program to the sleepy town of Deep Haven, Deidre got a new identity and a fresh start, which began when she fell in love with local real estate agent Nathan Decker. Twenty years later, Annalise couldn’t be more unprepared for her past to catch up with her. When Agent Frank Harrison arrives with news that the man she testified against is out on bail and out for revenge, Annalise is forced to face the consequences of her secrets. Will she run again, or will she finally find the grace to trust those she loves most with both her past and her future?


Ope’s Opinion:  An amazing read!  From the beginning this story will draw you in.  You won’t want to do anything else but flip to the next page!  At times I found myself holding my breath while reading as fast as I could.
                                     
                                     Each person had a story line of their own, which intertwined with everyone else.  The maze that Susan May Warren wove was impressive.   You just couldn’t wait to see what would happen next to each one of them.  They became family to me.  I was wanting what was best for them.

                                    When you get half way through, make sure you have plenty of time to read because you will not want to put it down.  I was up very late reading, wanting to know how it ended.  It was worth every minute I stayed up.  The ending does NOT disappoint! 

Rating: Five Chairs – This book is so good it will be passed on and on and on …..