Same Beach, Next Year

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Author: Dorothea Benton Frank
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Fiction
Source: William Morrow

 

Goodreads:  New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank returns to her magical Lowcountry of South Carolina in this bewitching story of marriage, love, family, and friendship that is infused with her warm and engaging earthy humor and generous heart.

One enchanted summer, two couples begin a friendship that will last more than twenty years and transform their lives.

A chance meeting on the Isle of Palms, one of Charleston’s most stunning barrier islands, brings former sweethearts, Adam Stanley and Eve Landers together again. Their respective spouses, Eliza and Carl, fight sparks of jealousy flaring from their imagined rekindling of old flames. As Adam and Eve get caught up on their lives, their partners strike up a deep friendship—and flirt with an unexpected attraction—of their own.

Year after year, Adam, Eliza, Eve, and Carl eagerly await their reunion at Wild Dunes, a condominium complex at the island’s tip end, where they grow closer with each passing day, building a friendship that will withstand financial catastrophe, family tragedy, and devastating heartbreak. The devotion and love they share will help them weather the vagaries of time and enrich their lives as circumstances change, their children grow up and leave home, and their twilight years approach.

Bursting with the intoxicating richness of Dorothea Benton Frank’s beloved Lowcountry—the sultry sunshine, cool ocean breezes, icy cocktails, and starry velvet skies—Same Beach, Next Year is a dazzling celebration of the infrangible power of friendship, the enduring promise of summer, and the indelible bonds of love.

Ope’s Opinion: I have read many of Dorothea Benton Franks books, this one seemed to move slower then most of her stories.  I did like the format of the book.  Hearing Eliza’s and Adam’s perspective gave you the whole story.  It was an enjoyable way to read this story.

The setting was wonderful as usual.  The beach is always my favorite place for a story to take place.  Just recently I had the opportunity to visit the Isle of Palms and it made the story even more real to me.

The ending was fun!  It was a nice way to bring everyone together and finish the story.

 

Happy Blogaversary!!

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Hard to believe five years ago I started talking about books and haven’t stopped!

Not only have my books taken me all over the world, but I have taken my books with me where ever I go.  One of my great pleasures is reading a book and leaving it where I finished it, expecting someone to pick it up with excitement to read it.

The happiness I feel when a book arrives at my door or in my mailbox is as exciting as when I first started blogging.  I enjoy my relationship with authors, publishers and other bloggers, they have become friends.

Thank you for joining me on this journey!!

 These are my current reading shelves.

This Just In….

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Publication Date:  June 27, 2017
Publisher:  Atria Books

Goodreads:  Twenty-four-year-old truck stop waitress and single mother Catherine Wright has simple goals: to give her five-year-old daughter a happy life and to never again be the talk of the town in Balsam, Pennsylvania: population two thousand outside of tourist season.

And then one foggy night, on a lonely road back from another failed attempt at a relationship, Catherine saves a man’s life. It isn’t until after the police have arrived that Catherine realizes exactly who it is she has saved: Brett Madden, hockey icon and media darling.

Catherine has already had her fifteen minutes of fame and the last thing she wants is to have her past dragged back into the spotlight, only this time on a national stage. So she hides her identity. It works.

For a time.

But when she finds the man she saved standing on her doorstep, desperate to thank her, all that changes. What begins as an immediate friendship quickly turns into something neither of them expected. Something that Catherine isn’t sure she can handle; something that Catherine is afraid to trust.

Because how long can an extraordinary man like Brett be interested in an ordinary woman like Catherine…before the spark fades?

Thank you Tory for adding this to my TBR list!  I am excited about reading this one.

Published:  June 13, 2017
Publisher: Atria Books

Goodreads:  From Taylor Jenkins Reid comes an unforgettable and sweeping novel about one classic film actress’s relentless rise to the top—the risks she took, the loves she lost, and the long-held secrets the public could never imagine.

Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated. Regardless of why Evelyn has chosen her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s Upper East Side apartment, Monique listens as Evelyn unfurls her story: from making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the late 80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way. As Evelyn’s life unfolds through the decades—revealing a ruthless ambition, an unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love—Monique begins to feel a very a real connection to the actress. But as Evelyn’s story catches up with the present, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

Filled with emotional insight and written with Reid’s signature talent, this is a fascinating journey through the splendor of Old Hollywood into the harsh realities of the present day as two women struggle with what it means—and what it takes—to face the truth.

Thank you Stephanie for sending this book! 

Inconceivable

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Author: Carolyn & Sean Savage
Publisher: HarperOne
Genre: Nonfiction, Autobiography
Source:  Library

 

 

Goodreads:  A medical mistake during an IVF procedure. An unthinkable situation . . . you’re pregnant with the wrong baby. You can terminate, but you can’t keep him. What choice would you make?

Carolyn and Sean Savage had been trying to expand their family for years. When they underwent an IVF transfer in February 2009, they knew it would be their last chance. If they became pregnant, they would celebrate the baby as an answer to their prayers. If not, they would be grateful for the family they had and leave their fertility struggles behind forever.

They never imagined a third option. The pregnancy test was positive, but the clinic had transferred the wrong embryos. Carolyn was pregnant with someone else’s baby.

The Savages faced a series of heartbreaking decisions: terminate the pregnancy, sue for custody, or hand over the infant to his genetic parents upon delivery. Knowing that Carolyn was carrying another couple’s hope for a baby, the Savages wanted to do what they prayed the other family would do for them if the situation was reversed. Sean and Carolyn Savage decided to give the ultimate gift, the gift of life, to a family they didn’t know, no strings attached.

Inconceivable provides an inside look at how modern medicine, which creates miracles daily, could allow such a tragic mistake, and the many legal ramifications that ensued with both the genetic family and the clinic. Chronicling their tumultuous pregnancy and its aftermath, which tested the Savage’s faith, their relationship to their church, and their marriage, Inconceivable is ultimately a testament to love. Carolyn and Sean loved this baby, making it impossible for them to imagine how they could give him life and then give him away.

In the end, Inconceivable is a story of what it is to be a parent, someone who nurtures a life, protects a soul, only to release that child into the world long before you’re ready to let him go.

Ope’s Opinion:  I rarely read nonfiction, but I was very interested in reading this story.  It was well written – some parts were repetitive.  The Savages were very honest with their emotions and how they saw things.  I do wish I had the Morell’s perspective at the same time.  I felt the Savages were a bit critical at times of the Morells, but not being in that position I may have been too. 

It was a gift that Carolyn chose to give the Morells.  I am not sure how many people could do that.  There is really no ending – I just hope both families can heal and enjoy their children.

Ten Beach Road

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Author: Wendy Wax
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source:  Library

Goodreads:  Another perfect beach read from the author of The Accidental Bestseller.

Madeline, Avery, and Nikki are strangers to each other, but they have one thing in common. They each wake up one morning to discover their life savings have vanished, along with their trusted financial manager- leaving them with nothing but co-ownership of a ramshackle beachfront house.

Throwing their lots in together, they take on the challenge of restoring the historic property. But just as they begin to reinvent themselves and discover the power of friendship, secrets threaten to tear down their trust-and destroy their lives a second time.

Ope’s Opinion:   I just received Wendy Wax’s book One Good Thing from Kristin of Kritters Ramblings.   She suggested that it would be better if I started this series from the beginning.  So here I am at book one of the series that is five deep now.  I hope I can catch up. 

The introduction of these three women was detailed, so you could understand them and how they ended up working on a house together.  I like independent women who step up and take care of things and that is how these woman are.

The ending left things open because there are more books in this series to be read.   I will review them as I read them.

Come Sundown

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Author: Nora Roberts
Publisher: St. Martin Press
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Source:  Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

Goodreads:  A saga of love, family ties, and twisted passions from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Obsession…

The Bodine ranch and resort in western Montana is a family business, an idyllic spot for vacationers. A little over thirty thousand acres and home to four generations, it’s kept running by Bodine Longbow with the help of a large staff, including new hire Callen Skinner. There was another member of the family once: Bodine’s aunt, Alice, who ran off before Bodine was born. She never returned, and the Longbows don’t talk about her much. The younger ones, who never met her, quietly presume she’s dead. But she isn’t. She is not far away, part of a new family, one she never chose—and her mind has been shattered…

When a bartender leaves the resort late one night, and Bo and Cal discover her battered body in the snow, it’s the first sign that danger lurks in the mountains that surround them. The police suspect Cal, but Bo finds herself trusting him—and turning to him as another woman is murdered and the Longbows are stunned by Alice’s sudden reappearance. The twisted story she has to tell about the past—and the threat that follows in her wake—will test the bonds of this strong family, and thrust Bodine into a darkness she could never have imagined.

Ope’s Opinion:  This wonderful mystery has a lot of characters.  At first it was hard to keep up with everyone.  Slowly the major characters became obvious and it was easier to keep track of everyone.  There is also some past and present going on, but it is well mark – you know which time period you are reading.

This definitely has it’s romance side.  There are several couples falling in love with some detailed descriptions of their physical relationship, but that is not the focus of their whole relationships.

I think my favorite part was all the family relationships and how they all loved and supported each other.  It was great to see multiple generations living near each other or together and taking care of each other.  That part was heart warming.

Overall, it is a little predictable and thoroughly enjoyable.

This Just In….

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From MIRA

Published:  December 29, 2016
Publisher: MIRA

Goodreads:  She’s watching you, but who’s watching her?

Lily Gullick lives with her husband Aiden in a new-build flat opposite an estate which has been marked for demolition. A keen birdwatcher, she can’t help spying on her neighbours.

Until one day Lily sees something suspicious through her binoculars and soon her elderly neighbour Jean is found dead. Lily, intrigued by the social divide in her local area as it becomes increasingly gentrified, knows that she has to act. But her interference is not going unnoticed, and as she starts to get close to the truth, her own life comes under threat.

But can Lily really trust everything she sees?

Also In….

Published:  April 11, 2017
Publisher: St. Martin Press

Goodreads:  On paper, Chris Brennan looks perfect. He’s applying for a job as a high school government teacher, he’s ready to step in as an assistant baseball coach, and his references are impeccable.

But everything about Chris Brennan is a lie.

Susan Sematov is proud of her son Raz, a high school pitcher so athletically talented that he’s being recruited for a full-ride scholarship to a Division I college, with a future in major-league baseball. But Raz’s father died only a few months ago, leaving her son in a vulnerable place where any new father figure might influence him for good, or evil.

Heather Larkin is a struggling single mother who lives for her son Justin’s baseball games. But Justin is shy, and Heather fears he is being lured down a dark path by one of his teammates, a young man from an affluent family whose fun-loving manner might possibly conceal his violent plans.

Mindy Kostis succumbs to the pressure of being a surgeon’s wife by filling her days with social events and too many gin and tonics. But she doesn’t know that her husband and her son, Evan, are keeping secrets from her – secrets that might destroy all of them.

At the center of all of them is Chris Brennan. Why is he there? What does he want? And what is he willing to do to get it?

Enthralling and suspenseful, One Perfect Lie is an emotional thriller and a suburban crime story that will have readers riveted up to the shocking end, with killer twists and characters you won’t soon forget.

MORE GREAT BOOKS TO READ!

Coming Soon…..

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…. On a Bookshelf near you!

In June hope to read….

Publication Date:  June 27, 2017
Publisher:  Harlequin Books

Goodreads:  In the town of Haven Point, love can be just a wish—and one magical kiss—away… 

Computer-tech millionaire Bowie Callahan is about the last person that schoolteacher Katrina Bailey wants to work for. As far as she can see, he’s arrogant, entitled and not up to the task of caring for his young half brother, Milo. But Kat is, especially if it brings her closer to her goal of adopting an orphaned little girl. And as her kindness and patience work wonders with Milo, she realizes there’s more to sexy, wary Bo than she’d ever realized.

Bo never imagined he’d be tasked with caring for a sibling he didn’t know existed. Then again, he never pictured himself impulsively kissing vibrant, compassionate Katrina in the moonlight. Now he’s ready to make her dream of family come true…and hoping there’s room in it for him, too…

What is coming soon …. to a bookshelf near you?

Let me know – I am always looking for a good read!

This Just In…

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Both of these books came from Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

 

Publication Date: June 6, 2017
Publisher: Berkley Books

Goodreads:  The New York Times bestselling author of Falling presents a warm, wise, and wonderfully vivid novel about a mother who asks her three estranged daughters to come home to help her end her life.

Ronni Sunshine left London for Hollywood to become a beautiful, charismatic star of the silver screen. But at home, she was a narcissistic, disinterested mother who alienated her three daughters.

As soon as possible, tomboy Nell fled her mother’s overbearing presence to work on a farm and find her own way in the world as a single mother. The target of her mother s criticism, Meredith never felt good enough, thin enough, pretty enough. Her life took her to London and into the arms of a man whom she may not even love. And Lizzy, the youngest, more like Ronni than any of them, seemed to have it easy, using her drive and ambition to build a culinary career to rival her mother’s fame, while her marriage crumbled around her.

But now the Sunshine Girls are together again, called home by Ronni, who has learned that she has a serious disease and needs her daughters to fulfill her final wishes. And though Nell, Meredith, and Lizzy are all going through crises of their own, their mother s illness draws them together to confront old jealousies and secret fears and they discover that blood might be thicker than water after all.

Published: June 26, 2012
Publisher: Berkley

Goodreads:  Wendy Wax, author of the “warm [and] wry” (St. Petersburg Times) Ten Beach Road, returns with a novel of three women in need of a second chance…or is it a third?

Unlikely friends Madeline, Avery and Nicole have hit some speed bumps in their lives, but when they arrive in Miami’s South Beach neighborhood, they are all hoping for a do-over. Literally. They’ve been hired to bring a once-grand historic house back to its former glory on a new television show called Do-Over. If they can just get this show off the ground, Nikki would get back on her feet financially, Avery could restart her ruined career, and Maddie would have a shot at keeping her family together.

At least, that’s the plan – until the women realize that having their work broadcast is one thing, having their personal lives play out on TV is another thing entirely. Soon they are struggling to hold themselves, and the project, together. With a decades-old mystery—and the hurricane season—looming, the women are forced to figure out just how they’ll weather life’s storms…

More Great Books To Read !!!

In This Moment

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Author: Karma Brown
Publisher: Row Parks Books
Genre: Fiction
Source:  Row Parks Books

Goodreads:  Bestselling author Karma Brown is back with a morally infused and emotionally riveting exploration of one woman’s grief and guilt over an unexpected yet avoidable tragedy.

Meg Pepper has a fulfilling career as a real estate agent, a hardworking husband on the verge of starting his own medical practice and a surprisingly good-natured teenage daughter. Most days Meg is able to keep it all together—thanks to an endless stream of alerts on her phone—and (more or less) seamlessly glide through life.

After school pickup one day, Meg and her daughter, Audrey, are driving home when they see Jack, the twin brother of Audrey’s boyfriend, up ahead. Seeing a group of boys on the other side of the road, Meg stops her car to wave him across the street just as an SUV comes hurtling down the road and slams into Jack. The driver—a high-school teacher in the process of texting—did not see Jack crossing the road.

Meg can’t help but blame herself for this horrific accident. Guilt-stricken and desperate with grief, Meg throws herself into helping Jack’s family as he rehabs from his injuries. But the more she tries to absolve herself of what she feels responsible for, the more she alienates her own family. The ripple effects that follow tear at the ties that bind her to those she loves the most, causing her to risk losing everything she holds dear to her heart.

Ope’s Opinion:  This book was about how one decision can effect the rest of your life.  After stopping to let Jack cross the street, Meg’s entire life’s course changed.  It really made me think about something I think as so simple, may end up being a fork in the road that makes a big difference.

Although I am a huge fan of Karma Brown, and I did like this book, it is not my favorite of hers.  If you read her before, you don’t want to miss this one.  If you haven’t read her before, look on Goodreads and start with a different one.

I will definitely be reading her next one.  Keep writing Karma Brown and I will keep reading.