Author:  Ellen McClarety                                  
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster
Pages:  256
Genre:  Women’s Fiction
Source: Edelweiss    

Goodreads:  ELLEN M c CLARETY, a recent divorcée, has opened a new bake shop in her small Midwestern town, hoping to turn her life around by dedicating herself to the traditional Danish pastry called kringle. She is no longer saddled by her ne’er-do-well husband, but the past still haunts her—sometimes by showing up on her doorstep. Her younger sister, Lanie, is a successful divorce attorney with a baby at home. But Lanie is beginning to feel that her perfect life is not as perfect as it seems. Both women long for the guidance of their mother, who died years ago but left them with lasting memories of her love and a wonderful piece of advice: “At the end of every day, you can always think of three good things that happened.” Ellen and Lanie are as close as two sisters can be, until one begins keeping a secret that could forever change both their lives. Wearing her big Midwestern heart proudly on her sleeve, Wendy Francis skillfully illuminates the emotional lives of two women with humor and compassion, weaving a story destined to be shared with a friend, a mother, or a sister.

Ope’s Opinion:  I really enjoy stories about sisters and this one is a good one.  The story read fast.  It was not a deep story, but an enjoyable one.  Occasionally, the story did jump a little, but that kept it moving and kept my interest into what would happen next.
                                       
                                      I liked all the characters, except for Henry.  He was not very interesting.  I understand the strong, quiet type, but he did not have enough personality for me.  Ellen deserved someone steady and reliable, which Henry was, but she deserved someone willing to be a bit more demonstrative with his feelings.

                                   Overall, this was an easy, enjoyable read.  I would read another book by Ellen McClarety. Some books are just a good get away and this was one of them.



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

Author:  Sarah Pekkanen                                                          
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Pages: 352
Genre:  Fiction
Source: Edelweiss

Goodreads:  Paradise isn’t quite what it seems as four college friends meet for an island vacation in this captivating new novel from the acclaimed author of These Girls.Following a once-in-a-lifetime invitation, a group of old college friends leap at the chance to bring their husbands for a week’s vacation at a private villa in Jamaica to celebrate a former classmates’ thirty-fifth birthday.

All four women are desperate for a break and this seems like a perfect opportunity. Tina is drowning under the demands of mothering four young children. Allie needs to escape from the shattering news about an illness that runs in her family. Savannah is carrying the secret of her husband’s infidelity. And, finally, there’s Pauline, who spares no expense to throw her husband an unforgettable birthday celebration, hoping it will gloss over the cracks that have already formed in their new marriage.

The week begins idyllically, filled with languorous days and late nights of drinking and laughter. But as a hurricane approaches the island, turmoil builds, forcing each woman to re-evaluate everything she’s known about the others—and herself.

Ope’s Opinion:  Watching four college friends come together years later made me want to contact my old college friends.  The relationships remind me of when I go home – all my siblings and I retreat back into our roles when we had as children.  These college friends each have their roles in the group.
 
                            The story kept on the move.  It had a great pace throughout the whole book.  I enjoyed it.  It kept me turning the pages.

                            It was great to read a story about marriages that were real.  Every marriage has it’s ups and downs. Each one of these characters had struggles and came through it in their own way.

                           



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

Author: Tad Hill
Publisher:  Schwartz & Wade
Pages:  40
Genre:  Children’s picture book
Source:  Random House Open House


Goodreads:  This irresistible sequel to the New York Times bestselling How Rocket Learned to Read is “a perfect choice to inspire new readers and writers,” according to a starred review from Kirkus Reviews.

Rocket loves books and he wants to make his own, but he can’t think of a story. Encouraged by the little yellow bird to look closely at the world around him for inspiration, Rocket sets out on a journey. Along the way he discovers small details that he has never noticed before, a timid baby owl who becomes his friend, and an idea for a story. This book is sure to appeal to kids, parents, teachers, and librarians.

Ope’s Opinion:  I love reading to my granddaughter.  Seeing her be a little sponge is so much fun!  This book kept her attention.  She enjoyed the characters in the book.

                              I did not realize there was a previous book – How Rocket Learned to Read.  I will have to go search that out for her.


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

Author:  Melanie Gideon                                                  
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Pages:  400
Genre:  Chick Lit
Source:  BEA

Goodreads:   For fans of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary and Allison Pearson’s I Don’t Know How She Does It comes an irresistible novel of a woman losing herself . . . and finding herself again . . . in the middle of her life.

Maybe it was those extra five pounds I’d gained. Maybe it was because I was about to turn the same age my mother was when I lost her. Maybe it was because after almost twenty years of marriage my husband and I seemed to be running out of things to say to each other.

But when the anonymous online study called “Marriage in the 21st Century” showed up in my inbox, I had no idea how profoundly it would change my life. It wasn’t long before I was assigned both a pseudonym (Wife 22) and a caseworker (Researcher 101). 

And, just like that, I found myself answering questions.

7. Sometimes I tell him he’s snoring when he’s not snoring so he’ll sleep in the guest room and I can have the bed all to myself.
61. Chet Baker on the tape player. He was cutting peppers for the salad. I looked at those hands and thought, I am going to have this man’s children.
67. To not want what you don’t have. What you can’t have. What youshouldn’t have.
32. That if we weren’t careful, it was possible to forget one another.

 Before the study, my life was an endless blur of school lunches and doctor’s appointments, family dinners, budgets, and trying to discern the fastest-moving line at the grocery store. I was Alice Buckle: spouse of William and mother to Zoe and Peter, drama teacher and Facebook chatter, downloader of memories and Googler of solutions.

But these days, I’m also Wife 22. And somehow, my anonymous correspondence with Researcher 101 has taken an unexpectedly personal turn. Soon, I’ll have to make a decision—one that will affect my family, my marriage, my whole life. But at the moment, I’m too busy answering questions. 

As it turns out, confession can be a very powerful aphrodisiac.

Ope’s Opinion:  The format of using Facebook, email and texting moved the story along.  It was a fun, easy read.  I enjoyed watching the characters develop.  They seemed like a real family.  Everyone going in different directions, having different things going on.
                             I liked that this reminded me to appreciate my husband.  It also reminded me that even when things aren’t perfect, they are still good and love is still there.
                              A nice fun read.


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

                                    FTC – Disclosure of Material Connection: 

      I received one copy of this book free of charge from BEA. 

            I was not required to write a positive review

                 in exchange for receipt of the book;

         rather the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

                                                       

Author:  Rosalind Noonan                    
Publisher:  Kennsington
Pages:  352
Genre:  Fiction
Source:  Edelweiss

Goodreads:    Chelsea Maynard has spent her lifetime planning for the much awaited start of her family, the joy of caring for a new life in the world, the intimacy of bonding with a child. But after a difficult birth, her careful planning is shattered by exhaustion. Numbness replaces her connection to the people around her and the baby daughter who needs her. Her husband Leo Green, her sister Emma and friends keep telling her she’s not herself, but no one can seem to help her find her way back to the happiness that had warmed her life before little Annabelle came along.

When Leo heads off for a business trip, Chelsea is overwhelmed by the endless duties of caring for a crying baby and the dark mood that pulls her down, immobilizing her. Her sister says it’s postpartum depression, but the doctor passes it off as the baby blues and encourages her to get exercise and eat right. Easy for him to say. He doesn’t have a soft, pink baby shrieking at the top of her lungs, eliciting looks of annoyance and horror at the park and the grocery store. Chelsea’s collapse is inevitable, but what’s the harm in letting a baby cry it out? She collapses in bed. Restored by sleep, Chelsea goes to the crib in the morning but finds it empty.

Her baby is gone?

Maybe she left her in the stroller…or the swing…or the bouncy chair? But her panicked search turns up no sign of Annabelle. 

 Her baby is gone…

And Chelsea doesn’t have a clue as to who would have taken her away.

When the police respond with a thorough search and endless questions, Chelsea realizes she can’t clearly recall the details of that night. Why can’t she remember? Has she blocked it out? Could she have done something to make her own baby stop crying? Did she act on the dark visions that have paraded through her fractured mind?

The race is on to find baby Annabelle. Time is of the essence in a case like this. Her baby is out there…somewhere…and Chelsea is determined to cooperate with the police, even if the evidence points right back to her.


Ope’s Opinion:  The beginning of the book drug on a little for me.   You know from reading the synopsis that the child is missing, I kept waiting for it to happen.  Rosalind Noonan writes so well, that you root for the characters.
           
                             During the investigation, I felt like I was being lectured to about the profile of a kidnapper of infants.  It did have a small twist as to who the kidnapper was – that was really good.

                            I have read several Noonan books and loved them.  This just wasn’t my favorite and as you see I gave it four chairs.   I will read her again.  She is an awesome writer.

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

FTC – Disclosure of Material Connection: 

      I received one copy of this book free of charge from Edelweiss.

 I was not required to write a positive review

  in exchange for receipt of the book;

         rather the opinions expressed in this review are my own.