Coming Soon…..….

Posted on January 31, 2017 by opesopinions

…. On a Bookshelf near you!

In February I hope to read….

abby

Publication Date: February 14, 2017
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Goodreads: Twenty-year-old Abigail Turner has only known her mother, Claire—who died shortly after she was born—through letters, videos, postcards, and journals. Abby’s father, Josh, has raised his precious daughter himself, but his overprotectiveness has become stifling. Abby longs to forge out on her own and see the world after a childhood trapped indoors: she suffers from bronchopulmonary dysplasia, which means a case of the sniffles can rapidly escalate into life-threatening pneumonia.

But when Abby’s doctor declares her healthy—for now—her grandmother Millie whisks her away to Europe to visit the Christmas markets that her mother cherished and chronicled in her travel journals. Despite her father’s objections, Abby and Millie embark on a journey of discovery in which Abby will learn secrets that force her to reevaluate her image of her mother and come to a more mature understanding of a parent-child bond that transcends death.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Steena Holmes offers a tender and heartfelt exploration of parental love and a daughter’s longing for connection in the poignant next chapter following Saving Abby.

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

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

Falling

Posted on November 17, 2016 by opesopinions

Author: Jane Green
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

Goodreads:

The New York Times bestselling author of The Beach House, Jemima J, and Summer Secrets presents a novel about the pleasure and meaning of finding a home—and family—where you least expect them…

When Emma Montague left the strict confines of upper-crust British life for New York, she felt sure it would make her happy. Away from her parents and expectations, she felt liberated, throwing herself into Manhattan life replete with a high-paying job, a gorgeous apartment, and a string of successful boyfriends. But the cutthroat world of finance and relentless pursuit of more began to take its toll. This wasn’t the life she wanted either.

On the move again, Emma settles in the picturesque waterfront town of Westport, Connecticut, a world apart from both England and Manhattan. It is here that she begins to confront what it is she really wants from her life. With no job, and knowing only one person in town, she channels her passion for creating beautiful spaces into remaking the dilapidated cottage she rents from Dominic, a local handyman who lives next door with his six-year-old son.

Unlike any man Emma has ever known, Dominic is confident, grounded, and committed to being present for his son whose mother fled shortly after he was born. They become friends, and slowly much more, as Emma finds herself feeling at home in a way she never has before.

But just as they start to imagine a life together as a family, fate intervenes in the most shocking of ways. For the first time, Emma has to stay and fight for what she loves, for the truth she has discovered about herself, or risk losing it all.

In a novel of changing seasons, shifting lives, and selfless love, a story unfolds—of one woman’s far-reaching journey to discover who she is truly meant to be…

Ope’s Opinion: OH My!! Read this book! It is an amazing story. The characters are deep and wonderful. They will slowly seep into your heart.

I have read Jane Green before, but I believe this is a favorite for me. She really showed me that love can come at any time in your life. I held my breath a few times and the ending was very satisfying.

One True Loves

Posted on August 25, 2016 by opesopinions

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Source: Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

Goodreads: From the author of Maybe in Another Life—named a People Magazine pick and a “Best Book of the Summer” by Glamour and USA Today—comes a breathtaking new love story about a woman unexpectedly forced to choose between the husband she has long thought dead and the fiancé who has finally brought her back to life.

In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.

On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.

Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.

That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.

Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?

Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying.

Ope’s Opinion: You know how some authors have a similar rhythm to their books and after you have read a couple, you sort of know where the story is going to go? Well Taylor Jenkins Reid is not one of those authors. Each of her books is amazingly unique. You will not know where she is going until she goes there.

If you have not read Reid before – go get any one of ( or all ) her books. You will not be disappointed in any one of them. One True Loves took me down a road I did not expect and I enjoyed the journey. She made me feel each character’s deep feelings.

Do you believe there is only one person in this world for you? If you do, read this book and see if you still believe it or if this book changes your mind….

The ending is wonderfully satisfying.

The Weekenders

Posted on August 22, 2016 by opesopinions

Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: Mary Ann ( a friend )

Goodreads: Some people stay all summer long on the idyllic island of Belle Isle, North Carolina. Others come only for the weekends-and the mix between the regulars and “the weekenders” can sometimes make the sparks fly. Riley Griggs has a season of good times with friends and family ahead of her on Belle Isle when things take an unexpected turn. While waiting for her husband to arrive on the ferry one Friday afternoon, Riley is confronted by a process server who thrusts papers into her hand. And her husband is nowhere to be found.

So she turns to her island friends for help and support, but it turns out that each of them has their own secrets, and the clock is ticking as the mystery deepens…in a murderous way. Cocktail parties aside, Riley must find a way to investigate the secrets of Belle Island, the husband she might not really know, and the summer that could change everything.

Told with Mary Kay Andrews’ trademark blend of humor and warmth, and with characters and a setting that you can’t help but fall for, The Weekenders is the perfect summer escape.

Ope’s Opinion: There was a nice blend of story and mystery in this book. I do wish the reader had been given more clues to attempt to figure out who did the murder. I did care about the whole Griggs / Nolan family. The characters were interesting and well developed.

I enjoyed the mother – daughter relationship between both Riley and her mother and Riley and her daughter. They were both loving and difficult – which felt very realistic to me ( with two daughters of my own ).

The murder wrap up of the story seemed to come to a conclusion too quickly for me. The rest of the story finished with satisfying ending. I have another Mary Kay Andrews sitting on shelf waiting to be read.

The Choices We Make

Posted on July 12, 2016 by opesopinions

Author: Karma Brown
Publisher: Mira
Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Source: HarperCollins

Goodreads: Following her bestselling debut novel Come Away with Me, Karma Brown returns with an unforgettable story that explores the intricate dynamics between friends and mothers

Hannah and Kate became friends in the fifth grade, when Hannah hit a boy for looking up Kate’s skirt with a mirror. While they’ve been close as sisters ever since, Hannah can’t help but feel envious of the little family Kate and her husband, David, have created—complete with two perfect little girls.

She and Ben have been trying for years to have a baby, so when they receive the news that she will likely never get pregnant, Hannah’s heartbreak is overwhelming. But just as they begin to tentatively explore the other options, it’s Kate’s turn to do the rescuing. Not only does she offer to be Hannah’s surrogate, but Kate is willing to use her own eggs to do so.

Full of renewed hope, excitement and gratitude, these two families embark on an incredible journey toward parenthood…until a devastating tragedy puts everything these women have worked toward at risk of falling apart. Poignant and refreshingly honest, The Choices We Make is a powerful tale of two mothers, one incredible friendship and the risks we take to make our dreams come true.

Ope’s Opinion: This is the one book so far this summer I would say ” Read it Now”! It is the most amazing story of two wonderful marriages with bumps along the way and friendship that lasts forever. There aren’t enough positive adjectives to describe this book.

It was a joy to read! As you read, if you think you know where the story is going… keep reading. You will need a few tissues before it is all over. Then you will want to pass this book on to your best friend, mother, sister and anyone else you know who reads.

The ending was exactly what I needed to complete this wonderful book. I closed it and sighed just a little – so satisfying, but didn’t really want it to be done.

This is the second book by Karma Brown I have read and loved. I will be looking for her next one.

Let me thank Shara Alexander for sending me this book.

A Window Opens

Posted on August 25, 2015 by opesopinions

Author: Elisabeth Egan
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: August 25, 2015
TODAY!!

Goodreads: In A Window Opens, beloved books editor at Glamour magazine, Elisabeth Egan, brings us Alice Pearse, a compulsively honest, longing-to-have-it-all, sandwich generation heroine for our social-media-obsessed, lean in (or opt out) age.

Like her fictional forebears Kate Reddy and Bridget Jones, Alice plays many roles (which she never refers to as “wearing many hats” and wishes you wouldn’t, either). She is a mostly-happily married mother of three, an attentive daughter, an ambivalent dog-owner, a part-time editor, a loyal neighbor and a Zen commuter. She is not: a cook, a craftswoman, a decorator, an active PTA member, a natural caretaker or the breadwinner. But when her husband makes a radical career change, Alice is ready to lean in—and she knows exactly how lucky she is to land a job at Scroll, a hip young start-up which promises to be the future of reading, with its chain of chic literary lounges and dedication to beloved classics. The Holy Grail of working mothers―an intellectually satisfying job and a happy personal life―seems suddenly within reach.

Despite the disapproval of her best friend, who owns the local bookstore, Alice is proud of her new “balancing act” (which is more like a three-ring circus) until her dad gets sick, her marriage flounders, her babysitter gets fed up, her kids start to grow up and her work takes an unexpected turn. Readers will cheer as Alice realizes the question is not whether it’s possible to have it all, but what does she―Alice Pearse―really want?

Ope’s Opinion: Alice is a character most people can relate to. Trying to be part of a family, supporting everyone and still trying to fulfill your own dreams. She has a lot to balance. My thinking is you can have it all, just not all at once. I feel like Alice showed us what really happens to families – everyone changes and adapts with different circumstances.

Having a book about books, is always a good thing for me. I enjoy the whole book industry – it fascinates me. It was interesting to see her dream job not always be a dream.

Elisabeth Egan’s writing meandered for me. The meanderings gave you back ground and explained things. But at times, in those meanderings, I lost where the story was going.

Rating: 4 – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.

The Summertime Girls

Posted on August 13, 2015 by opesopinions

Author: Laura Hankin
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Source: BEA

Goodreads: When two lifelong friends reunite for one more summer in small-town Maine, they must bridge the gap caused by the dreams and secrets that tore them apart…

Ally Morris and Beth Abbott were beyond inseparable. From the very first time they met, the girls knew they’d found a once-in-a-lifetime friendship. But sometimes, life can’t help but get in the way.

As time goes by, disappointments and petty resentments begin to alter what they once thought was forever. Ally’s boho lifestyle leaves her drowning in confusion and cheap whisky, while a terrible secret threatens to shatter Beth’s carefully controlled world. By the time they need each other most, Ally and Beth are nearly strangers to each other.

When a family crisis prompts Beth to contact Ally for help out of the blue, the girls reunite in Maine. But the distance between them is overwhelming. To save their friendship, Ally and Beth will have to confront painful moments in their past and redefine who they are—before their incredible connection fades away for good…

Ope’s Opinion: The friendship story was very enjoyable. I liked that their was a friendship between two young women paralleled two older women. Female friendships cross time lines. It was interesting to see the older women learn from the younger women.

The story, the characters and their feelings were all very realistic. I did not care for the casual attitude toward sex. Ally acted like it was a sport or a time killer instead of something with meaning.

I would have given this book a 4 rating, but the constant use of the “f” word made me feel like I could not recommend this book to several of my friends. I wish authors would be more creative and find other words to express their characters thoughts and words.

Rating: 3 – I like the book enough to suggest it to a friend or two.

The Guest Cottage

Posted on May 12, 2015 by opesopinions

Author: Nancy Thayer
Publisher: Ballentine Books
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Source: Netgalley

Goodreads: The New York Times bestselling author of Nantucket Sisters whisks readers away to the island of Nantucket in this delightful story about two single parents who accidentally rent the same house one sunny summer.

Wendy Anderson is 35, the mother of two children, and happily married—until she discovers her husband Zack has cheated on her. Confused, angry, and lost, she rents a house on Nantucket for two summer months. When she and her children arrive at Isle Stay, she discovers that Trevor Black, 30, recently widowed, and his son Dylan, 5, have also rented the house. Neither one is willing to give up their much-needed vacations, so Wendy and Trevor devise a plan to share the house for the summer. Preparing meals in their one kitchen, Wendy and Trevor become friends, and chemistry builds throughout the seabreezy summer. But the house is full of their children, and neither is sure they’re ready to move on after recent heartbreaks. Over the last sun-soaked weekend of the summer, as chaos reigns and emotions run as high as the temperatures, Wendy must decide where her heart truly lies.

Ope’s Opinion: This story started out very slowly. I felt like Trevor and Sophie’s thoughts were on constant repeat. At first I thought the pace was appropriate – a woman with children contemplating divorce, not wanting to jump into a new relationship seemed like it should move slow. As I kept reading I wanted the story to move along a little faster. All of a sudden the story took off, then ended.

The subject of divorced was dealt with so casually, as if it’s no big deal. Neither Sophie nor her children were very upset about the pending divorce.

The story was good, the pace just seemed off for me.

Rating: 3 – I like book enough to suggest it to a friend or two.

Dear Carolina

Posted on May 4, 2015 by opesopinions

Author: Kristy Woodson Harvey
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Source: Kristy Woodson Harvey

Publication Date: May 5, 2015
Tomorrow!!

Goodreads: A moving debut novel about two mothers—one biological and one adoptive—from a compelling new voice in Southern women’s fiction.

One baby girl.
Two strong Southern women.
And the most difficult decision they’ll ever make.

Frances “Khaki” Mason has it all: a thriving interior design career, a loving husband and son, homes in North Carolina and Manhattan—everything except the second child she has always wanted. Jodi, her husband’s nineteen-year-old cousin, is fresh out of rehab, pregnant, and alone. Although the two women couldn’t seem more different, they forge a lifelong connection as Khaki reaches out to Jodi, encouraging her to have her baby. But as Jodi struggles to be the mother she knows her daughter deserves, she will ask Khaki the ultimate favor…

Written to baby Carolina, by both her birth mother and her adoptive one, this is a story that proves that life circumstances shape us but don’t define us—and that families aren’t born, they’re made…

Ope’s Opinion: Kristy Woodson Harvey has written the two voice in this book very distinctly. Even if there were not titles of who is talking at the beginning of each chapter, you would know whose voice you were reading.

These two woman have a unique relationship before Carolina becomes a part of their lives. It was very interesting to see adoption from both mothers perspectives. This is the most precious adoption story I have ever read. All the characters in this book did a lot of growing up.

The quote from the book ” You can never have too many people love you.” is what I used to tell my children as they were growing up.

I would definitely read another book by Kristy Woodson Harvey.

Rating: 4 – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.

New Uses for Old Boyfriends

Posted on February 17, 2015 by opesopinions

Author: Beth Kendrick
Publisher: NAL Trade
Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Source: Booksparks

Goodreads: After growing up in privilege and marrying into money, Lila Alders has gotten used to the good life. But when her happily-ever-after implodes, Lila must return to Black Dog Bay, the tiny seaside town where she grew up. She’s desperate for a safe haven, but everything has changed over the past ten years. Her family’s fortune is gone—and her mother is in total denial. It’s up to Lila to take care of everything…but she can barely take care of herself.

The former golden girl of Black Dog Bay struggles to reinvent herself by opening a vintage clothing boutique. But even as Lila finds new purpose for outdated dresses and tries to reunite with her ex, she realizes that sometimes it’s too late for old dreams. She’s lost everything she thought she needed but found something—someone—she desperately wants. A boy she hardly noticed has grown up into a man she can’t forget…and a second chance has never felt so much like first love.

Ope’s Opinion: It was fun to revisit Black Dog Bay. Lila’s story was a fun, fresh read. I couldn’t believe how fast I read it. I am a slow reader and I went through this book in no time.

I really liked Lila and Daphne’s relationship. They are what I think a typical mother – daughter is really like. They love each other, support each other, but don’t always agree or get along. I enjoyed seeing an adult child and a mother relationship. All the women (and there are a lot of them) in the book are strong independent people, good examples.

I like how Lila’s male relationships ended up. I don’t want to spoil it, but it did have a few curves along the way to keep it interesting and it was very positive.

I would read another Beth Kendrick. She writes such easy fun reads.

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

Ope's Opinions

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Tag Archives: Contemporary Women’s Fiction