WWII Ladies Fashion White Wedding Dresses for Each Other

During the London blitz, a bomb took out famous dress designer Cressida Westcott’s home as well as her business. The only place to go is back to the family manor house in Aldhurst village. She left many years ago because of her father and brother. Now she worries whether her nephew, Hugh, who inherited the estate, will accept her.

In Aldhurst, she meets her niece, Violet, who is thrilled to have her famous aunt in residence. She also meets Grace, daughter of the Vicar. Grace is engaged to be married to Lawrennce, also a vicar, and she very much wants a white wedding dress. He father gave her her mother’s wedding dress, but it’s in tatters.

The local sewing circle with guidance from Cressida and donated fabric sets out to give Grace her dream, In the process, they help other girls to have a white wedding and learn to be more independent. Each woman learns about herself and what she truly wants. It was a very up lifting book.

This historical novel is based on real events. The author did a superb job showing what wartime Britain was like for the women in the country villages. The characters were people you’d like to know. Violet starts as a spoiled snob, but becomes a much more understanding person through her wartime duties. Grace finds hidden talents, and Cressida finds that she can use her talents to make a difference in the lives of ordinary people. High couture is not the whole world.

If you enjoyed Bloomsbury Girls, or like historical novels featuring strong women, you’ll enjoy this book.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.

Three Women Revitalize a 1950s Bookstore

 

Bloomsbury’s has been a bookstore for a hundred years. Unfortunately, many of it’s policies date from that era, but this is after the war. Women are working, people have money to spend, and the women who work at Bloomsbury’s worry that the store is not taking full advantage of the times.

The women set to change the staid bookstore are Vivien, Grace, and Evie. Vivien, the cashier, is single, her fiance having died in the war. She has a long list of grievances about the management of Bloomsbury’s and is itching to try her ideas. Grace, secretary to the manager, is married to a man suffering a breakdown after the war, so she is the main breadwinner in the family. While she loves her job she often feels overwhelmed by the stress of an ill husband, demanding children, and the men at work. Evie is a recent graduate of Cambridge, one of the first female students permitted to earn a degree.

Evie is the catalyst for change at Bloomsbury’s. Although she is brilliant, she was passed over for an academic job. With an excellent reference from Me. Yardley who holds a prominent position at Southby’s she gets a job at the bookstore. She hopes to work in the rare books section, but she has an ulterior motive that will change the lives of all three women and remake the bookstore.

I loved the book. Evie was also the main character in The Jane Austen Society. I was delighted to see her back. You can read this book as a standalone, but if you’ve never read the previous book, you may want to check it out.

Vivien and Grace are characters you can’t helping liking and hoping they’ll make a success of their ideas. The men are also well fleshed out. I didn’t care for Mr. Dutton, but he was emblematic of a type of manager who was being replaced by younger more forward thinking men and women. I loved the owner of the bookstore, Lord Baskin. He was gentle and interested in making changes for the new era.

I highly recommend this book. The characters are wonderful and the plot will keep you reading.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

Staying Fit During Menopause

 

Menopause sometimes feels like a time when your body is betraying you. Certainly, there are problems: hot flashes, weight gain, and losing strength. While the symptoms are caused by a real condition, you don’t have to give in to them. There are ways to stay healthy and active even though you don’t feel the same way you did only months ago.

A problem for those entering menopause is a lack of a good, comprehensive source of information. This book seeks to remedy that problem and provide a guide for how to stay fit and come our of menopause better than ever. Sims and Yeager cover the symptoms that may be driving you nuts like sweats and weight gain. They also provide information on diet and how to maintain your gut health.

One of the most useful parts of the book is how to work with your body instead of against it to keep your training routine. Their advice includes supplement advice, advice on sleeping, and training suggestions.

This book may not work for everyone, but it you’re interested in keeping active while going through the challenges of menopause, it’s worth reading.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.

Coming of Age in Swinging London

 

Danny thinks he’s escaped his boring small town life by coming to London. Things are going great. He’s in a stable relationship with his boyfriend Tobbs. He has an apartment with his friend Laura and his job is all right. Then everything changes.

In a dull nurses’ office he discovers that he has an STDI. Tobbs hasn’t been as faithful as he’d thought. This leads to a breakup. Then he loses his apartment because Laura is pregnant, and she and her partner want to start a family. Even his job turns sour. He’s rescued by is non-binary friend Jacob who offers to share his apartment. Where Danny is reserved and quiet, Jacob is the buoyant and outgoing.

Fitting into Jacob’s lifestyle Danny learns about a side of London he’s new to. Forced out of his shell. Danny starts to grow and change. He sees a wonderful, supportive counselor, Nina. Together with her and his new experiences, Danny finds the person hidden under is quiet demeanor.

This is a hilarious coming-of-age story. The dialog and humor carry the story. While it deals with a serious topic how the shame experienced by young people because of who they are shapes their life, it is filled with memorable moments. I believe the light, humorous tone keeps the story from becoming too psychological.

I received this book from Random House for this review.

A Family Vacation Turns into a Nightmare

 

Michael and Natalie are having marital problems. She thinks he’s having an affair. He’s worried about her because of her severe insomnia. They see a counselor who suggests they go away together to reconnect. Michael is eager, but Natalie has a different idea. Why not take the children? They’d love New York City, and it would give them a chance to enjoy family time.

When they arrive at the hotel, Natalie sends Michael out for pizza because they’re all tired. When he returns the family and their suitcases are gone. Frantic, he looks for them. Suspecting foul play, he contacts the police, but it appears Natalie left of her own accord. Now Michael is frantic to find her and starts on a cross country road trip with a detective who drops hints about Michael’s past.

The story is fast paced, the plot interesting, and twist at the end unexpected. These are all good points, but there are other aspects that keep the book from being outstanding. The characters are not easy to relate to. Natalie seems completely out of control at times making bad decisions and having hallucinations and delusions. Michael is easier to like, but he is hidden behind his concern for his past.

The book is a bit long, but if you like psychological thrillers, you may enjoy it.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

An Enchanting Island with a Grandmotherly Sleuth

 

Nona Maria, a widow of twenty-five-years, is well known and loved on the Island of Ischai where she is a confident to many and sometimes solves crimes. She always has a pot of spaghetti, wine or coffee, and a listening ear for guests. Anna comes to Nona Maria because she is engaged to a man she doesn’t love and thinks something may be amiss.

Nona Maria makes arrangements for Anna to disappear for awhile while she tries to find out what is happening. But that’s not the only crime on the island. When she visits Captain Murino, the local carbiniere, she learns that an elderly tour boat captain drank too much, fell overboard, and drowned. Murino thinks it’s probably an accident, but Nona Maria has known the man for years and is convinced that no matter how much wine he had consumed he wouldn’t fall overboard. To his credit, Murino, respects Nona Maria’s judgment. With her extensive network of family and friends on the island and off she can be a valuable resource in solving crimes.

This is a lovely book filled with characters you’d like to know and magnificent views of the island. Nona Maria is a strong woman. She has decided opinions, but she also knows how to listen and to put what she learns together to understand what is happening. The pace of the book is leisurely as fits the setting and the charming grandmother sleuth. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommend it highly.

I received this book from Random House for this review.

Three Adults Plus a Baby Make Tense Roommates

 

Marisa seems to have everything: a handsome attentive husband, a lovely new home, and a career. One thing is missing – a baby. Marisa and Jake try hard undergoing multiple fertility treatments that puts a strain on their marriage and on their finances. To help with the expenses, they decide to get a roommate. At first Kate is perfect then things change. She becomes obsessed with Marisa, Jake and the baby. She seems to know too much about them and as Marisa’s pregnancy advances, violence is in the air.

This story is told in two parts. The first narrated by Marisa, the second by another character. If you think you know where the novel is going in the first half, you will be surprised by the second. I thought the author did a good job changing narrators and keeping the tension on in the story.

The story is heavy on the problems of infertility and the expense, emotional tension, and physical discomfort of infertility treatments. For me, it went way overboard. I didn’t need quite so many details and it was a difficult section to read.

The pace is good and the twist at the end can be quite a surprise. However, I found the ending a little to pat. It’s nice to have a happy ending, but the story led me to expect something sharper.

I received this book from Simon and Schuster for this review.

Tragedy and the Tension Between Sisters

 

It’s 1985 in a small town in New Jersey, a time when kids spent the summer swimming or wandering in the woods; a simpler era when parents weren’t so worried about what could happen that children had to always be supervised.

Bee and Audrina are sisters. Bee, the older, is a straight A student and spends time riding her bike. She’s not really a tomboy, but since Audrina inherited the family beauty she feels she has to do something to validate her identity. Audrina is confident and a bit self-centered. She’s the girly one, dressing up and sneaking in to use her mother’s makeup.

The summer progresses normally until the sisters along with Max and his sister Sally go swimming at the lake. Sally, four-and-a-half, is wading in the shallow water while the older children swim, so no one notices she’s missing. The search ends in tragedy when Sally’s body is found in the woods.

Years pass with more growing pains and the tragedy of Audrina’s diabetes. It’s and emotional story of coming of age that’s easy to relate to, particularly those of us who grew up in the eighties or earlier. The author describes the time period perfectly. It made me nostalgic for a simpler time.

The characters in the book are well developed. I could relate to Bee and her struggles with being the plain, smart one. The pace is rather slow in the beginning keeping with the slower pace of life in a 1980’s summer. However, it picks up once Sally goes missing.

I received the book from Dutton for this review.