Beth & Amy

By: Virginia Kantra
Published Year: 2021
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 352

Amazon Barnes & Noble

I received a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this book.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Amy March is more like her older sister Jo than she'd like to admit. An up-and-coming designer in New York's competitive fashion industry, ambitious Amy is determined to get out of her sisters' shadow and keep her distance from their North Carolina hometown. But when Jo's wedding forces her home, she must face what she really wants...and confront the One Big Mistake that could upend her life and forever change her relationship with Jo.

Gentle, unassuming Beth grew up as the good girl of the family. A talented singer-songwriter, she's overcome her painful anxiety to tour with country superstar Colt Henderson. But life on the road has taken its toll on her health and their relationship. Maybe a break to attend her sister's wedding will get her out of her funk. But Beth realizes that what she's looking for and what she needs are two very different things....

With the March women reunited, this time with growing careers and families, they must once again learn to lean on one another as they juggle the changes coming their way.

First Impressions

I read the first book Meg & Jo when it first came out and really enjoyed it. I was excited to read the second one and then the pandemic happened and I kind of forgot about it. when I saw it was finally coming out in May I got really excited. I love the style of these covers and I love how the fit together.

What I thought

This was such a fun read and I flew through it.

Since the first book, Beth has been on tour for 3 years and is finally coming home. Amy returned from Paris to sell her purses for her line Baggage in New York City. The reason they are back in Bunyan is for Jo’s wedding to Eric. Will Beth discover who she is and who she wants to be? Will Amy get over Trey?

I love that this book both simultaneously did and did not pick up where it left off. It was fun to fast forward in Jo and Meg’s lives and the pick up with Amy and Beth. Jo has always been my favorite March sister so I was curious to see how I would enjoy a story focused on Beth and Amy. Surprisingly, this book really made me like Amy. I still feel meh about Beth but that’s nothing to do with the story. In fact, I did enjoy Beth’s story a lot but it’s just that overall she’s not my favorite.

In case you didn’t read my review of the first book, this duology is a modern day retelling of Little Women and it is done so well. I love seeing the March sisters brought into the 21st century and dealing with present day problems. If you’ve read the original, you know that Beth dies. Spoiler, she doesn’t die in this version which I very much appreciated. I don’t want to give too much away but I really liked the way they handled a modern day illness for Beth to deal with that didn’t end up killing her off.

The one issue I did have with the book is the time line was a bit confusing. I was never sure how much time passed between the alternating chapters. Sometimes Beth’s chapters would pick up a week after Amy’s ended and sometimes it would pick up back at the beginning of where the previous chapter had started. It wasn’t a major issue, but it did take me out of the story from time to time.

This series is very fun and well done. If you like Little Women you will enjoy this modern retelling. There are a lot of good lessons in this story and the writing is well done. I also liked reconnecting with Jo and Meg. I would definitely recommend this duology and look forward to other books by this author.

Social Graces

By: Renee Rosen
Published Year: 2021
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 400

Amazon Barnes & Noble

I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): In the glittering world of Manhattan's upper crust, where wives turn a blind eye to husbands' infidelities, and women have few rights and even less independence, society is everything. The more celebrated the hostess, the more powerful the woman. And none is more powerful than Caroline Astor—the Mrs. Astor.

But times are changing.

Alva Vanderbilt has recently married into one of America's richest families. But what good is money when society refuses to acknowledge you? Alva, who knows what it is to have nothing, will do whatever it takes to have everything.

Sweeping three decades and based on true events, this is a gripping novel about two fascinating, complicated women going head to head, behaving badly, and discovering what’s truly at stake.

First Impressions

I read Park Avenue Summer by Rosen and was a little surprised by how much I enjoyed it. When her newest book was offered to me, I knew that I had to read it. the idea of more modern historical fiction appealed to me and I don’t personally know much about the Vanderbilts so I was immediately into it.

What I thought

While this book did have a dip in the middle, I enjoyed it overall.

Caroline Astor comes from old money is the queen of Society. Alva Vanderbilt is nouveau riche and wants nothing more than to be welcomed into Society. This story tells the tale of how modern day high society came about as well as the uprising of the Vanderbilts.

I really enjoyed the first and last thirds of this story. The first third intrigued me and I was fascinated by Alva and how she had pulled her way up out of poverty and into one of the richest families of the time. It was also fascinating to read about the rivalry between old money and new money in society.

The middle third, however, was so boring and I almost put the book down because of it. Once Alva worked her way kind of sort of into society, nothing happened. I know that it’s historical fiction and so you can’t make up stuff that didn’t happen to make a story interesting, but I think maybe less time could’ve been spent on those middle years.

Alva’s life as she got older was intriguing. I learned a lot about her that I admired and had no idea. For example, she was very passionate about the women’s sufferage movement and was known to contribute a lot to it. I am now curious about the rest of the Vanderbilts, since this really only focused on Alva, but I probably won’t go looking too far into it. In case you are curious though, Alva is not Anderson Cooper’s grandmother. She would’ve been his great aunt and the story didn’t touch on his side of the family other that vague mention of his parents in passing.

Honestly, if the middle of this story had been a bit shorter or faster paced, I would’ve given the book 4 stars. But I can’t give a book a fourth star if I debated setting it down at about 60%. The story was very interesting and if you are intrigued by the subject matter then I do recommend picking this one up. I didn’t enjoy it as much as Park Avenue Summer but it was still very well written. If you are someone who can push through a slower middle, I definitely recommend picking this one up.

The Soulmate Equation

By: Christina Lauren
Published Year: 2021
Publisher: Gallery Books
Pages: 368

Amazon Barnes & Noble

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Single mom Jess Davis is a data and statistics wizard, but no amount of number crunching can convince her to step back into the dating world. Raised by her grandparents--who now help raise her seven-year-old daughter, Juno--Jess has been left behind too often to feel comfortable letting anyone in. After all, her father's never been around, her hard-partying mother disappeared when she was six, and her ex decided he wasn't "father material" before Juno was even born. Jess holds her loved ones close, but working constantly to stay afloat is hard...and lonely.

But then Jess hears about GeneticAlly, a buzzy new DNA-based matchmaking company that's predicted to change dating forever. Finding a soulmate through DNA? The reliability of numbers: This Jess understands. At least she thought she did, until her test shows an unheard-of 98% compatibility with another subject in the database: GeneticAlly's founder, Dr. River Pena. This is one number she can't wrap her head around, because she already knows Dr. Pena. The stuck-up, stubborn man is without a doubt not her soulmate. But GeneticAlly has a proposition: Get to know him and we'll pay you. Jess--who is barely making ends meet--is in no position to turn it down, despite her skepticism about the project and her dislike for River. As the pair are dragged from one event to the next as the "Diamond" pairing that could make GeneticAlly a mint in stock prices, Jess begins to realize that there might be more to the scientist--and the science behind a soulmate--than she thought.

First Impressions

I mean… do I even need to fill this part out at this point? It’s a Christina Lauren book. Obviously I’m going to read it.

What I thought

Love love LOVED this book. This was what I had been hoping for when I read The Love Proof.

Jess and her friend Fizzy meet River at their local coffee shop where they find out that he is creating a dating app that is based off of your DNA. He invites them to check it out and Fizzy jumps on it because she’s a romance novelist. Jess, a single mother and statistician is a bit more skeptical. When she finally decides to submit her sample, she ends up match with River with 98% compatibility. Problem is, neither of them have felt any type of compatibility with each other during their previous meetings.

How can I squeal about this book over writing? I just loved everything about this book and enjoyed every moment. I read it in just over three days, but mostly read it over the weekend because I couldn’t put it down. This is one of their less spicy romance novels, so if you’re wary of that, you will be safe with this one.

I loved the science aspect of this story. Does your DNA play a part in who you fall in love with? Does it predetermine who you will be attracted to? If you know that information, does it change how you view a person?

I’m also, as I’m sure many of you know by now, a sucker for the enemies to lovers trope in romance novels and this one definitely toes that line. Jess and River do not like one another at first which makes it all the sweeter when they find out that they’re meant to be. I also appreciated the point of conflict that was chosen. I don’t want to say much about it, but I didn’t see it coming and it didn’t make me angry.

River and Jess were also adorable. I loved their chemistry and was rooting for them the entire time. The side characters were great too! I loved Jess’s daughter Juno, her grandparents, and of course Fizzy. I know it’s not common for Christina Lauren to do sequels to these stories but I would love to see Fizzy get her own book.

How many times have I said I loved this book? The concept, the characters, the story, it was pure perfection for me. This may have moved up the list to become my second favorite Christina Lauren book and that’s saying something! Especially since I did really love their last book, In a Holidaze. But yes, this one is a close second in my mind to Josh and Hazel (which will likely never be beat).

Book Club May 2021- Ella Minnow Pea

The way this one came about is kind of funny. I had heard of this book online and thought it sounded like a really cool concept. My original pick had been Midnight Library, but then we were worried most of us wouldn’t be able to get it from the library in time. So, I then switched my pick to Ella Minnow Pea and Logan said we could do Midnight Library in May for her pick. Well, we ended up being able to get Midnight Library (obviously, haha you’ve read that review), so instead, Logan offered to do Ella for her May choice.

By: Mark Dunn
Published Year: 2001
Publisher: McAdam/Cage Publishing
Pages: 205

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Ella Minnow Pea is an epistolary novel set in the fictional island of Nollop situated off the coast of South Carolina and home to the inventor of the pangram The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog. Now deceased, the islanders have erected a monument to honor their hero, but one day a tile with the letter “z” falls from the statue. The leaders interpret the falling tile as a message from beyond the grave and the letter is banned from use. On an island where the residents pride themselves on their love of language, this is seen as a tragedy. They are still reeling from the shock, when another tile falls and then another.... Mark Dunn takes us on a journey against time through the eyes of Ella Minnow Pea and her family as they race to find another phrase containing all the letters of the alphabet to save them from being unable to communicate. Eventually, the only letters remaining are LMNOP, when Ella finally discovers the phrase that will save their language.

What I thought

Ella Minnow Pea is an epistolary novel about the island/country of Nollop which is named after the fictional man who created the sentence “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.” As a result, they greatly value language and they have a statue of Nollop and the sentence up on their town square. One day, the letter “Z” falls off of the statue and the council decides that this is a sign from the great Nollop that they must remove this letter from the alphabet. However, as each letter continues to fall, the council’s rules become more and more strict and difficult.

This was a fun and easy book that I’m excited to discuss with everyone. It was a bit crazier than I thought it was going to be. I didn’t’ realize that there were going to be such strict consequences for using the eliminated letters. I think there’s an important message within the actions of the council and how they worship Nollop as well as not listening to their community members.

I don’t know if I really had any feelings towards Ella herself, but I did like her cousin Tassie a lot. Maybe because a lot of her letters were written to Ella so we heard more from her point of view I connected with her more. But I don’t think connecting to the characters are the main point of this tale.

It was kind of fun to see how the writing changed as they lost more and more letters. It did get to a point where they started to substitute letters and therefore not use traditional spellings which made it a little trickier to read until you got the hang of it.

If you want a unique, fun, easy book and you enjoy language and epistolary novels I definitely recommend checking it out.

What Book Club Thought

We all enjoyed this one! It’s a very thoughtful novel ad we had a lot to discuss. We all agreed that there is a lot more to this novel that initially meets the eye. So many subtle themes and lessons that can be learned. We also talked about how this would be a great novel for middle schoolers to read and discuss. With the concept of group think, how language effects society, and even the idea behind false idealization leading to cult like behavior would be so great for them to read about and discuss. And since this novel is a pretty easy read, it would be accessible to most. Though the later part may be a bit difficult for students with dyslexia.

The Last Night in London

By: Karen White
Published Year: 2021
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 480

Amazon Barnes & Noble

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this story.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A captivating story of friendship, love and betrayal – and finding hope in the darkness of war.

London, 1939. Beautiful and ambitious Eva Harlow and her American best friend, Precious Dubose, are trying to make their way as fashion models. When Eva falls in love with Graham St. John, an aristocrat and Royal Air Force pilot, she can’t believe her luck – she’s getting everything she ever wanted. Then the Blitz devastates her world, and Eva finds herself slipping into a web of intrigue, spies and secrets. As Eva struggles to protect everything she holds dear, all it takes is one unwary moment to change their lives forever.

London, 2019. American journalist Maddie Warner travels to London to interview Precious about her life in pre-WWII London. Maddie, healing from past trauma and careful to close herself off to others, finds herself drawn to both Precious and to Colin, Precious’ enigmatic surrogate nephew. As Maddie gets closer to her, she begins to unravel Precious’ haunting past – and the secrets she swore she’d never reveal

First Impressions

Ooohhhhh I love this cover! It’s so pretty! Between the purple and then the lights it was too pretty to turn down. The story also sounded intriguing. Add to the fact that I have enjoyed White’s other books and I knew I had to accept this one.

What I thought

I have tried to explain this book to two separate people and both times it has taken me way longer than I intended. So, instead of trying to give my ow brief summary like I usually do, I recommend reading the summary provided above.

There is a lot going on in this book. Not only does it alternate timelines by chapter, but there are multiple storylines for multiple characters. Maddie, who is the present day main character, is mostly working on a story interviewing Precious, but she also has her own demons to deal with. Eva, who is the past day main character starts as a love story but then ends up becoming a story of betrayal.

For some reason, even though I really enjoyed the story itself, I found it moved a bit slow for me. At no point did I ever want to quite reading the book, but I also never found myself getting sucked in or not being able to put the book down. Maybe it was the writing? I’m not sure.

White’s books also often have a bit of a twist to them which can be fun. It’s been a while since I read one of her books so I can’t remember if I figured out the previous twists, but this one I had everything figured out by about 40%. That could have also been the reason why this book took me a little bit of time to get through, since I found myself just wanting to know whether or not I was right.

A lot of the time when books alternate timelines, I do find myself drawn to one era over the other and that was the case for this book as well. I found myself more invested in Eva’s story occurring in 1939 than I was in Maddie’s story occurring in 2019.

The historical fiction part of this story was intriguing. I wanted to know what happened and I enjoyed all of the characters. The present day part of this story didn’t do too much for me other than confirm my hunch as to what the twists of the story would be. It’s not one of my favorites by White, but it was still a solid read that I enjoyed.

Book Club April 2021- The Office of Historical Corrections

By: Danielle Evans
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Pages: 269

Amazon Barnes & Noble

Our book club has only done short stories (that I can remember) once before, so Stephanie decided it could be interesting to try them again. This book has also been listed for a few awards and Steph also felt it would be a good way to add diversity to our list.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Danielle Evans is widely acclaimed for her blisteringly smart voice and x-ray insights into complex human relationships. With The Office of Historical Corrections, Evans zooms in on particular moments and relationships in her characters' lives in a way that allows them to speak to larger issues of race, culture, and history. She introduces us to Black and multiracial characters who are experiencing the universal confusions of lust and love, and getting walloped by grief—all while exploring how history haunts us, personally and collectively. Ultimately, she provokes us to think about the truths of American history—about who gets to tell them, and the cost of setting the record straight.

In "Boys Go to Jupiter," a white college student tries to reinvent herself after a photo of her in a Confederate-flag bikini goes viral. In "Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain," a photojournalist is forced to confront her own losses while attending an old friend's unexpectedly dramatic wedding. And in the eye-opening title novella, a black scholar from Washington, DC, is drawn into a complex historical mystery that spans generations and puts her job, her love life, and her oldest friendship at risk.

What I thought

Let me preface this by saying, I am very much not a short story person.

This collection of short stories, plus a longer novella, all center around black characters and, therefore, black experiences. While I appreciated the perspective, and even enjoyed a handful of the stories, overall I would not have continued this book had it not been for book club.

Mostly, like I mentioned, this is because of my dislike of short stories. I find that a lot of the time they just end with no real closure. Otherwise, I get attached to a character and it’s over too quickly, left wanting more. This one had more stories where I felt like I was missing something.

The biggest issue I had was with the novella. It was the last story in the book and the story that the book was named for. Part of my issue was I didn’t realize how much longer the final story in the book was going to be, so I went into it expecting it to be another short story. The other issue I had was that it not only seemed like a pointless story to me, but the end left such a bad taste in my mouth.

I understand that these stories are meant to be hard to swallow, but I usually do much better with that when it feels like there’s a point. What was the lesson I was supposed to learn? Maybe the point is that life isn’t supposed to be easy to swallow and there isn’t always a point, but I read to learn and I didn’t feel like any of these stories helped me do that.

What Book Club Thought

Seems like we were all pretty much on the same page with this one. There were one or two stories that we all enjoyed but the rest of them we didn’t care for. It did lead to some good discussion, so I guess in the end that means it’s a good book club book choice? Ultimately, not our kind of book. I think (obviously) that this book will work well for others but, not so much for us.

What the Devil Knows (Sebastian St. Cyr #16)

By: C.S. Harris
Published Year: 2021
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 336

Amazon Barnes & Noble

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this book.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): It's October 1814. The war with France is finally over and Europe's diplomats are convening in Vienna for a conference that will put their world back together. With peace finally at hand, London suddenly finds itself in the grip of a series of heinous murders eerily similar to the Ratcliffe Highway murders of three years before.

In 1811, two entire families were viciously murdered in their homes. A suspect--a young seaman named John Williams--was arrested. But before he could be brought to trial, Williams hanged himself in his cell. The murders ceased, and London slowly began to breathe easier. But when the lead investigator, Sir Edwin Pym, is killed in the same brutal way three years later and others possibly connected to the original case meet violent ends, the city is paralyzed with terror once more.

Was the wrong man arrested for the murders? Bow Street magistrate Sir Henry Lovejoy turns to his friend Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, for assistance. Pym's colleagues are convinced his manner of death is a coincidence, but Sebastian has his doubts. The more he looks into the three-year-old murders, the more certain he becomes that the hapless John Williams was not the real killer. Which begs the question--who was and why are they dead set on killing again?

First Impressions

I really like the red of this cover after the last few have been black and white and grey. I was excited to receive this book for review because I do enjoy this series.

What I thought

I was a little nervous about reading this book since I had been a bit bored by the last one in the series. However, I liked this one significantly more, so that was a pleasant surprise.

Sebastian St Cyr Vicsount Devlin has gotten himself involved in another murder. This time, they’re connected to a previous violent series of murder that occurred 3 years prior. The Ratcliffe Highway murders were violent and scared everyone in the area at the time. Now there are two new murders that resemble the old ones, there is doubt that the man who was accused of being a murderer (and died) was truly the murderer.

I don’t know if it was the fact that the murder in this story was a bit more gruesome and therefore exciting, or the fact that there was a bit more backstory about Sebastian’s family as well as some storyline with Hero and Jarvis.

I do appreciate that I can never quite figure out the mysteries from these stories. I don’t know if it’s because they occur in the early 1800s or the millions of names, but I wasn’t able to guess how this one would turn out. I thought it was interesting to find out how some of the taverns and brew houses worked back in 1814.

This book seemed to move a little quicker than the last one which I also appreciated it. similar to the other books in the series, this could be read as a standalone. However, it does have a little bit of backstory that I think is going to end up being essential to understanding certain events in the future.

This was a solid addition to the Sebastian St Cyr series. I liked the mystery storyline and I liked the secondary stories. I found the pacing of this one to work much better and I do like that it set up for some potential in future. I’d probably rank it closer to a 3.5, especially since the last one was a solid 3 for me.

The Wedding Party (Wedding Date #3)

By: Jasmine Guillory
Published Year: 2019
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 351

Amazon Barnes & Noble

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Maddie and Theo have two things in common:

1. Alexa is their best friend

2. They hate each other

After an “Oops, we made a mistake” kiss, neither one can stop thinking about the other. With Alexa’s wedding rapidly approaching, Maddie and Theo both share bridal party responsibilities that require more interaction with each other than they’re comfortable with. Underneath the sharp barbs they toss at each other is a simmering attraction that won’t fade. It builds until they find themselves sneaking off together to release some tension when Alexa isn’t looking.

But as with any engagement with a nemesis, there are unspoken rules that must be abided by. First and foremost, don’t fall in love.

First Impression

This cover is everything. Bright pink and gold glitter? Sold. It also is the 3rd book in the Wedding Date romance series and I loved the first two books, so that’s a solid first impression. However, I actually had read the fourth before reading the third one and that one was terrible, so I was a bit more apprehensive about this one.

What I thought

I am so glad that my friend Carly convinced me to give this series another chance.

Maddie and Theo are both Alexa’s best friends. Alexa is the OG protagonist from book 1. They dislike each other immensely because Maddie thinks Theo is a pretentious asshole and Theo thinks Maddie is a self-absorbed bitch. But that doesn’t seem to cancel out the pure physical connection that they have. They decide to have a physical relationship that will end when Alexa and Drew get married. Rules are set, but rules are always meant to be broken.

I loved Maddie and Theo. I also loved that this book started during scenes that happened in book one. It was a really fun overlap and I liked seeing Alexa and Drew again so early. I also am a big fan of hate to love tropes and fake dating tropes and this was almost a mixture of both. Maddie and Theo hid their relationship (that wasn’t really a relationship) from everyone. That made the banter extra fun. Also, their relationship is kind of my perfect relationship. Hanging out on the couch without any of the pretensions of having to go on dates and go to events together? Yes please.

My one issue with these books, and maybe it will become something that I can turn into enjoyment now that I’ve noticed it, is Guillory’s food obsession and repetition. I really started to notice it in the fourth book, Royal Holiday and it stuck out to me in this book as well. In Royal Holiday she mentioned “scones” so many times that I kept a tally (you can read my full review here). This book the only food that Theo and Maddie ever ate was pizza. To the point that there’s one scene where they even make an excuse to not order tacos and instead, end up ordering more pizza.

I did like that the conflict (because there’s always a conflict) came later in the book and was resolved relatively quickly.

This was the perfect like read that I needed. I had a smile on my face pretty much the entire time I read it. I enjoyed it significantly more than Royal Holiday and just as much as the first two books. It also made me look forward to reading the other books in the series again. I’m hoping Royal Holiday was a bit of a blip and the other books are just as enjoyable as this one.