What We Keep

What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm trying to catch up on Elizabeth Berg's writings and this one, as usual, didn't let me down. Berg's exquisite sense of sister/daughter/mother relationships shine through in What We Keep.

Looking back, a woman flying to a reunion of sorts, thinks back to the summer when everything went wrong... At 12 years of age, Ginny Young and her 13 year old sister Sharla felt safe in the cusp of their parent's love. Life was boring and predictable but that's what made them feel safe and secure. When a new neighbor moves in, right next door, the girls are excited to find that Jasmine is a very attractive woman, who dresses in the latest styles. The summer starts out well but begins to fall apart as Jasmine's influence takes over...

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The Longest Ride

The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

We can't get enough stories on love and relationships from super writer Nicholas Sparks. In his latest novel, two couples' courtships - one nearing its ending, one just beginning - are the love stories that Sparks explores. Ira, a widower, had one last mission to complete before joining Ruth, his beloved wife, forever, but fails when the car he is driving plunges over the side of a hill. Ira begins to see visions of Ruth, encouraging him to stay alive, and as he slips in and out of consciousness, Ira reviews their tender relationship over the previous decades. At the same time a young couple, Sophia, a college student and Luke, a bull rider and rancher, are being drawn into a relationship and suffer from expectations and immaturity. As the story nears its conclusion and both love stories unfold, the connection is finally revealed.

Written from different viewpoints, the characters' vulnerability and passion show through across a span of over 90 years.

Soon to made into a movie....

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The Wednesday Daughters

The Wednesday Daughters by Meg Waite Clayton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It all began with the Wednesday Sisters, published in 2008 - five moms that got together in the park to chat, discuss literary works, and share their lives with each other. Now Meg Waite Clayton is back with the Wednesday Daughters - daughters, of those same moms, that have grown up around each other and are closer than sisters. Hope goes on a trip to England to discover more about her mother, Allie, one of the five original moms who liked to write, who had recently passed. She carries her mother's ashes with her. Friends Anna and Julie, who are Wednesday sisters and who were also very close to Allie, travel with Hope, to give support but also looking for answers to their own issues at hand. Discoveries are made, new family is found, and secrets are unlocked and laid to rest.

All the references to Beatrix Potter really intrigued me, as did the setting in England's Lake District, as Allie spoke through Beatrix's voice and illustrations. Beautiful descriptions of the area bring the surrounding countryside to life.

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A Place in the Country

A Place in the Country by Elizabeth Adler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Caroline Evans, along with her very unhappy fifteen year old daughter, Issy, have high-tailed it out of a very comfortable life in Singapore. Her once happy marriage had turned into shambles when she found her husband, James, cheating with another woman. Without a pre-nup and any money except for the little bit that James inconsistently sends for Issy, things are going downhill fast. Tired of their tiny rented London flat, Caroline and Issy head for the Cotswolds for the weekend, and stumble upon an old country barn along a lazy river for sale.

Rather predictable, cheating husband, grouchy teen, and men who swoop in to help, especially financially, A Place in the Country is still a fun read. Throw in a murder and you have the mystery....

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Summer Breeze

Summer Breeze by Nancy Thayer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Three women, with common quandaries, move to beautiful Dragonfly Lake, surrounded by woodland in the Berkshires. For Bella, it's just a move back home - it's where she grew up surrounded by family. Her Mom unfortunately fell from a ladder, breaking her leg, so Bella gave up her teaching job in Texas and hurried home to run her Mom's shop. Natalie is house-sitting for her aunt and hoping the quiet summer will help her return to the passion of painting. Morgan, a hazardous materials expert, and married to a brilliant young man climbing the ladder at Bio-Green Industries , at first is happy to stay home and care for their young son, Petey, only a year old. As the families get to know each other and connect on deeper levels, the summer moves on, old romances grow deeper and new love begins around the lovely old lake.

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A Summer in Europe

A Summer In Europe by Marilyn Brant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gwendolyn's aunt Beatrice, at 67, had more fun with her S& M Club (sudoku and mah-jongg)in one day than Gwen did in a year, and she was only 30. Gwen loves stability, reliability, and structure - in other words boring according to Aunt Beatrice. When Gwen's boyfriend of two years gifts her with earrings instead of the engagement ring she so desires, Auntie offers her a frolicking five week trip through Europe with her S&M friends and the fun begins. Although it takes awhile Gwen finally succumbs to the allure of the beauty around her - Rome, Capri, Budapest, and Marseilles and two handsome brothers named Emerson and Thoreau.

As I have never been to Europe, it really was enjoyable to immerse myself into the descriptions of the lovely sights, sounds, and taste of the cities and countryside visited by Gwen and her friends. Ok, I'm up to a trip, who's with me?

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Longing (Bailey Flanigan #3)

Longing by Karen Kingsbury

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I believe I enjoyed this book, number three in the Bailey Flanigan series, more than the second release. Bailey and Brandon Paul's relationship grows stronger and moves forward, whereas Cody - thanks to his friend Cheyenne, discovers something about himself and reconnects with the Flanigan family. It seems to have a faster pace than number two and doesn't just bog down forever in the past relationship of Cody and Bailey. Bailey also finds her stint on Broadway ending, opening doors to new possibilities in Hollywood



This book is an emotional read as Cheyenne's illness worsens, but her faith in God remains strong, stretching Cody's own faith and beliefs. I look forward to the fourth and final book in this series, Loving to be released in the Spring of 2012. As much as I enjoy Kingsbury's books, I believe this series has been stretched a wee bit too long.....



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The Weird Sisters

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Such a trio of sisters - stalwart, bossy Rosalind(Rose), wild, willful Bianca(Bean), and spoiled, irresponsible Cordelia(Cordy) have shuffled back to their hometown for personal reasons - fear, theft, and pregnancy.

"We came home because we were failures. We wouldn't admit that, of course, not at first, not to ourselves, and certainly not to anyone else. We said we came home because our mother was ill, because we needed a break, a momentary pause before setting off for the Next Big Thing. But the truth was, we had failed and rather than let anyone else know, we crafted careful excuses and alibis and wrapped them around ourselves like a cloak to keep out the cold truth."

They move back in with their college professor father, who loves to quote all things Shakespearean and stay-at-home mom. The sisters grew up connecting with each other and their parents by speaking the Bard's words.

"How sharper than a serpent's tooth is it to have a thankless child"

The characters are deep and the relationships complicated. The sisters describe themselves as dysfunctional, but what is normal and what is not? The sisters learn to reconnect and move beyond their old fears and personas.


A delightful, enjoyable book - worth rereading, and written in first person plural style. Please read!



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Heartwood

Heartwood by Belva Plain

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Laura is the daughter everyone wants - reliable, loving, kind, and loyal. But Laura's marriage is in trouble - her loving support of her brilliant, but weak husband, Robbie, is waning. She puts her own talents and gifts down to build him up. Her mother, Iris, a professor and her father, Theo - a doctor, will not understand if steadfast Laura allows her marriage to fail. Unknown to either woman, Theo holds a secret that could hurt either one. A book about 4 generations of women who learn to cope with disappointment, lost love, and the crises that life always seems to hand out.

Belva Plain's final novel - Mom and I will miss her writings of family and relationships.



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Love Dogs??

Dog House: A Love Story by Carol Prisant

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A cute, funny little biography about a woman named Carol and her love/hate relationships with dogs. It's also a look at life with her mild-mannered husband, Millard, son Barden, and pet-challenged mother.

Available for holds through http://www.alleganycountylibrary.info



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Women Food & God

Women, Food, and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything