Custody

Posted on July 21, 2014 by opesopinions

Author: Nancy Thayer
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Source: Purchased

Goodreads:

When Kelly MacLeod becomes a Massachusetts Family Court judge, she is determined to do what is right. But what is right when one’s deepest personal emotions clash with the law?

Anne Madison, a respected state reformer with political aspirations, wants custody of her 12-year-old adopted daughter Tessa, as does Randall Madison, a prominent physician. Tessa, caught between warring parents, on the brink of her own sexuality, wonders who her birth mother is, and tries to please those she loves at a cost that just might be too high.

How does one balance public service with private desires? What does it mean, legally and emotionally, to be a family? How does one move past anger and sorrow toward compassion and wisdom? How do adults learn to temper their own wills with the best needs of the child?

In order to must answer these questions, Kelly MacLeod must judge her new and mysterious lover, her own past, and the complications of many kinds of love.

Ope’s Opinion: The prologue took my breath away and made me want to read this story. The story was a slow build of tension. I did not want to put this book down. There were some very interesting twists along the way.

All the characters were fascinating. Each had flaws that made them feel real. I really liked the family dynamics in this story. It was interesting to see each family member react to the custody.

I wish Thayer had made a sequel instead of wrapping it up at the end of this book. I still want to know where everyone is now.

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

Just One Day

Posted on July 18, 2014 by opesopinions

Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Speak
Genre: Young Adult
Source: Purchased

Goodreads: From the New York Times bestselling author of If I Stay

Allyson Healey’s life is exactly like her suitcase—packed, planned, ordered. Then on the last day of her three-week post-graduation European tour, she meets Willem. A free-spirited, roving actor, Willem is everything she’s not, and when he invites her to abandon her plans and come to Paris with him, Allyson says yes. This uncharacteristic decision leads to a day of risk and romance, liberation and intimacy: 24 hours that will transform Allyson’s life.

A book about love, heartbreak, travel, identity, and the “accidents” of fate, Just One Day shows us how sometimes in order to get found, you first have to get lost. . . and how often the people we are seeking are much closer than we know.

The first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon

Ope’s Opinion: To me this book is a coming of age book. It was a very slow start. The one day seemed to go on and on for me. I did get bored with it. After Allyson went to college the book improved some, but never really swept me away.

I was a little tired of being sad in this book. I like when a character has obstacles to overcome, but it feels good when you see them triumph. There didn’t seem to be any success in this book.

I liked that Willem encouraged Allyson in the beginning to step out of her comfort zone and do something on the spare of the moment. But he is self centered and doesn’t really take care of her like he should. I do not understand what Allyson sees in him.

This book did not keep my attention enough for me to be interested in Just One Year.

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

The Tailgate

Posted on July 16, 2014 by opesopinions

Author: Elin Hilderbrand
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: Purchased

Goodreads: A digital edition short story about young lovers at separate colleges, exploring the early years of the central relationship in Elin Hilderbrand’s forthcoming novel, The Matchmaker.

Clendenin Hughes first kissed Dabney Kimball during a Nantucket snowstorm freshman year of high school. Ever since that moment – God, the rush, the chemistry! – Dabney has known that she and Clen are an unsplittable unit – essentially the same person in two different bodies.

Of course, with Dabney now at Harvard and Clen at Yale, those bodies are 140 miles apart. And traveling is a serious challenge for Dabney, for reasons she’d prefer not to discuss, reasons having to do with her mother (or lack thereof). But with the big Harvard-Yale game coming up, Dabney is determined to make the trek to New Haven to see Clen. She’s even borrowed a sexy black outfit from a classmate down the hall.

But when she arrives at the tailgate to see sparks flying between Clen and Jocelyn, a girl with dark blue eyes and luscious black hair, Dabney fears the collapse of a bond she has never questioned before, a bond so important that she’ll be lost without it. A stirring portrait of young love at a crossroads,

THE TAILGATE introduces two irresistible characters and invites us into a world we don’t want to leave. To learn the fates of Dabney and Clen, read Elin Hilderbrand’s forthcoming novel, The Matchmaker.

Ope’s Opinion: This story is very short and so will this review be. It is exactly what it is meant to be – a sneak peak into The Matchmaker to tempt you into reading the book.

This introduction will make you want to know more about Clen and Dabney. If you have already read The Matchmaker ( which I did – review June 9th ) this will be an interesting look at where it all began.

As usual Elin Hilderbrand, caught my attention and left me wanting more!

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

Breathe, Annie, Breathe

Posted on July 14, 2014 by opesopinions

Author: Miranda Kenneally
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
Source: BEA

Available to buy tomorrow.

Goodreads: Annie hates running. No matter how far she jogs, she can’t escape the guilt that if she hadn’t broken up with Kyle, he might still be alive. So to honor his memory, she starts preparing for the marathon he intended to race.

But the training is even more grueling than Annie could have imagined. Despite her coaching, she’s at war with her body, her mind—and her heart. With every mile that athletic Jeremiah cheers her on, she grows more conflicted. She wants to run into his arms…and sprint in the opposite direction. For Annie, opening up to love again may be even more of a challenge than crossing the finish line.

Ope’s Opinion: This book flowed like Annie’s running. It started out slow with a few bumps and continued to get stronger and move faster. You can read a lot of metaphors in the book about life and running or you can just enjoy the story. It works really well either way.

Everyone deals with loss in their own way and in their own timing. I think Annie is very mature for her age and handles her loss in a positive way. It was fascinating to watch her become stronger in her running and her spirit at the same time. It felt like a realistic pace of healing her heart so she could be open to someone new.

This is the first book in this series I have read. Now I want to go back and read all the other books Miranda Kenneally wrote! I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

This would have been a five chair, but the details of the sexual scenes were not necessary – especially for a young teen reader.

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

Blessings

Posted on July 11, 2014 by opesopinions

Author: Anna Quindlen
Publisher: Random House
Genre: Adult Fiction
Source: Purchased

Goodreads: Blessings, the bestselling novel by the author of Black and Blue, One True Thing, Object Lessons, and A Short Guide to a Happy Life, begins when, late at night, a teenage couple drives up to the estate owned by Lydia Blessing and leaves a box.

In this instant, the world of the estate called Blessings is changed forever. The story of Skip Cuddy, the Blessings caretaker, who finds a baby asleep in that box and decides he wants to keep her, and of matriarch Lydia Blessing, who, for her own reasons, decides to help him, Blessings explores how the secrets of the past affect decisions and lives in the present; what makes a person, a life, legitimate or illegitimate, and who decides; the unique resources people find in themselves and in a community. This is a powerful novel of love, redemption, and personal change by the Pulitzer Prize winning writer about whom The Washington Post Book World said, Quindlen knows that all the things we ever will be can be found in some forgotten fragment of family.

Ope’s Opinion: I have had the privilege of hearing Anna Quindlen speak. I have read her non-fiction books. Now I have read her fiction. I think her fiction is my least favorite. I felt like her sentences ran on too long for me to keep up with what she was talking about ( maybe it was me ).

I did like the basic story Anna Quindlen was telling. Her idea for this book was an awesome one. I just kept getting lost in the descriptive details. It just moved too slowly for me.

The back story was necessary to understand why each person reacted the way they did, but it seemed to be most of the book. I wish this part had been a bit shorter.

I think I will look for a non-fiction from Quindlen for my next read of hers.

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

Eleanor & Park

Posted on July 9, 2014 by opesopinions

Author: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Young Adult
Source: Purchased

Goodreads: Two misfits.

One extraordinary love.

Eleanor… Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough…Eleanor.

Park… He knows she’ll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There’s a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises…Park.

Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

Ope’s Opinion: I believe this awesome story could have been told just as effectively without all the foul language. The story felt real, the characters felt alive.

Having been a new girl at a new school, I could feel Eleanor’s pain in the beginning of the book. She was a strong young woman. I really liked the way she was written. I think most people could relate to her.

It was great to read about a leading male character that isn’t ruggedly handsome. Park was an average guy. I liked him. I liked how he was gentle and tender with Eleanor.

I also liked how awkward things were with them at times – it made their relationship seem normal. I liked how they started out as friends. Their relationship was slow and progressive.

This would have been five chairs in my view, but the language makes me hesitate to recommend it to some of my friends.

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

Elly in Love

Posted on July 7, 2014 by opesopinions

elly Author: Colleen Oakes
Publisher: SprakPress
Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Source: BookSparks

Goodreads: The much anticipated sequel to the bestselling novel, Elly in Bloom, is finally here!

Curvy wedding florist Elly Jordan has had quite a year. First, she had to design her ex-husband’s wedding to the mistress who split them up, and then she broke up with the hottest musician this side of St. Louis. Three months have passed since then, and now Elly is primed for what promises to be the best wedding season of her life.

Helped by her loyal friends, Elly is on the verge of opening a chic flower boutique uptown when BlissBride, a popular wedding reality show, asks her to design the wedding of a famous—make that infamous–celebrity. Elly is about to get everything she’s ever wanted, when a stranger shows up at her store with a request that changes every aspect of her life–including her budding relationship with deli owner Keith. As she struggles to stay calm in the midst of growing chaos, Elly will learn the true meaning of love and sacrifice.

Filled with the heart, humor, and horticulture that made Elly in Bloom a bestseller, Elly in Love welcomes readers back to Elly’s big, beautiful, and messy life.

Ope’s Opinion: It was great to see Elly’s life move on after her husband cheated on her. I loved Elly being a real person with flaws. At times, I felt she was unrealistically clumsy. It seemed she fell, dropped stuff or knocked things over too often. I don’t want perfect characters – just realistic ones.

This book was a very easy read. It had some new people introduced ( don’t want to give anything away ) and a fun wedding. You will have to read it to see who all that includes!

I did feel like you could read this book as a stand alone. Colleen Oakes did a good job of giving you back story without boring those who had read Elly in Bloom. I felt the ending was a bit chaotic, then all of a sudden resolved too quickly.

Elly Inspired is her next book!

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

The Things You Kiss Goodbye

Posted on June 27, 2014 by opesopinions

Author: Leslie Connor
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
Source: BEA

Goodreads: Bettina Vasilis can hardly believe it when basketball star Brady Cullen asks her out, and she just about faints when her strict father actually approves of him.

But when school starts up again, Brady changes. What happened to the sweet boy she fell in love with? Then she meets a smoldering guy in his twenties, and this “cowboy” is everything Brady is not—gentle, caring, and interested in getting to know the real Bettina.

Bettina knows that breaking up with Brady would mean giving up her freedom—and that it would be inappropriate for anything to happen between her and Cowboy. Still, she can’t help that she longs for the scent of his auto shop whenever she’s anywhere else.

When tragedy strikes, Bettina must tell her family the truth—and kiss goodbye the things she thought she knew about herself and the men in her life.

Leslie Connor has written a lyrical, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful story about family, romance, and the immense power of love.

Ope’s Opinion: When I started this book, I just couldn’t get into it. It seemed slow moving. I almost gave up on it, BUT I am glad I didn’t. As I got to know the characters, I became attached to them.

I really liked that the abusive boyfriend wasn’t slamming her around in an obvious way. He kept making a joke out of it and apologizing. It felt like how I think it might really happen. It built slowly and subtly. I think it would make someone who was being abused open their eyes. I do wish that Bettina was more proactive about getting out of the relationship instead of accepting the abuse. Coming from the family Bettina comes from made her more vulnerable to an abusive relationship.

Even though Cowboy was significantly older then Bettina – it was good to see her recognize a more healthy relationship. He made her feel safe and important, neither of which she was getting at home or with Brady. I like how much Cowboy respected Bettina.

I really liked the twist toward the end of the book. I did not see it coming at all. It changed the rest of the book and the characters relationships. I am interested in reading another book by Leslie Connor.

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

Little Mercies

Posted on June 25, 2014 by opesopinions

Author: Heather Gudenkauf
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Source: BEA

Buy this book NOW!

Goodreads: In her latest ripped-from-the-headlines tour de force, New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf shows how one small mistake can have life-altering consequences…

Veteran social worker Ellen Moore has seen the worst side of humanity;the vilest acts one person can commit against another. She is a fiercely dedicated children’s advocate and a devoted mother and wife. But one blistering summer day, a simple moment of distraction will have repercussions that Ellen could never have imagined, threatening to shatter everything she holds dear, and trapping her between the gears of the system she works for.

Meanwhile, ten-year-old Jenny Briard has been living with her well-meaning but irresponsible father since her mother left them, sleeping on friends’ couches and moving in and out of cheap motels. When Jenny suddenly finds herself on her own, she is forced to survive with nothing but a few dollars and her street smarts. The last thing she wants is a social worker, but when Ellen’s and Jenny’s lives collide, little do they know just how much they can help one another.

A powerful and emotionally charged tale about motherhood and justice, Little Mercies is a searing portrait of the tenuous grasp we have on the things we love the most, and of the ties that unexpectedly bring us together.

Ope’s Opinion: This is a book I would like to put in everyones hands – even those who don’t read very often. I will pass my copy on to others, but they will have to return it. I will buy copies for those who will not be able to share my copy. This is absolutely a must read.

Emotional, intense, exciting, fast moving – these are just some of the words that come to mind to describe this book.

Heather Gudenkauf weaves a story that intertwines all the characters lives. While reading I found myself literally holding my breath! The twists and turns are not predictable at all. I am amazed at how Heather writes in such a way that I am drawn into the book so deeply I loose track of time.

Even though there are so many books to read, I want to make the time to read this one again. I can not wait for her next book.

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

The Promise

Posted on June 23, 2014 by opesopinions

Author: Robyn Carr
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Little Bird Publicity

Note: This will be available to buy tomorrow.
June 24th!

Goodreads: #1 New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr returns to Thunder Point with an uplifting story about overcoming loss and finding unexpected love

Scott Grant has a bustling family practice in the small Oregon community of Thunder Point. The town and its people have embraced the widowed doctor and father of two, his children are thriving, and Scott knows it’s time to move on from his loss. But as the town’s only doctor, the dating scene is awkward. That is, until a stunning physician’s assistant applies for a job at his clinic.

Peyton Lacoumette considers herself entirely out of the dating scene. She’s already been burned by a man with kids, and she’s come to Thunder Point determined not to repeat past mistakes. When Scott offers her a job, at a much lower salary than she’s used to, Peyton is surprisingly eager to accept…at least for now. She’s willing to stay for a three-month trial period while she explores other options.

Scott and Peyton know the arrangement is temporary—it isn’t enough time to build a real relationship, never mind anything with lasting commitment. But love can blossom faster than you think when the timing is right, and this short visit just might hold the promise of forever.

Ope’s Opinion: Reading this book is kind of like going home to visit and see how things have changed. This is the fifth in the Thunder Point series. Robyn Carr has done an awesome job of weaving the new comers to Thunder Point with the previous characters.

I like how Peyton was always trying to learn from her past decisions and mistakes. It made her a little cautious in her relationships. Scott and Peyton having their careers in common helped Peyton trust Scott. I really liked Peyton’s family. They were down to earth. They were her anchor – her stability. It was fun to see such a great family portrayed in this book.

It was great to see Ted and his family situation explored in depth, even though they do not live in Thunder Point.

I really liked how this book ended. It took place back at Peyton’s safe place (no more details – don’t want to spoil it ).

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

Ope's Opinions

Blogging about books, life, and the beach.

Category Archives: Book Opinion

Custody

Just One Day

The Tailgate

Breathe, Annie, Breathe

Blessings

Eleanor & Park

Elly in Love

The Things You Kiss Goodbye

Little Mercies

The Promise