RECIPE FOR A PERFECT WIFE by Karma Brown

 

Publisher:      Dutton

Published:      December 31, 2019

ISBN:      978-1524744939

Genre:     Women’s Fiction, Suspense

Format:     Ebook from Library   

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  myreviewbooks@aol.com

FIVE HEARTS

Living the dream Alice and Nate Harper have purchased a home in bucolic Greenville, New York.  Not that far from Scarsdale the 1940’s style house needs some work, but the Hales love it.  Well, Nate does and given that Alice has left her public relations job to be a full time writer and Nate will be paying the bills, what matters is that Nate loves it.  Their meeting and subsequent marriage was the stuff of true romance…he kind of rescued her from an icky situation while out running and is just the best kind of guy.  Sensitive to his wife’s needs, loving and caring Alice is a lucky woman.  As she settles into their new home she comes across some old Ladies Home Journal magazines and a 1950’s era cookbook.  Embracing the suburban lifestyle Alice begins cooking the recipes from the cookbook and rebirthing the garden let unattended for some time.  Life is good for the Hales. 

Fifty some years ago another couple moved into the house – Nellie and Richard Murdoch.  They too had an ideal marriage, at least for the latter 1950’s and at least on the surface.  Below the surface was a more sinister relationship. One Nellie was too afraid to speak about.  But Nellie finds ways to deal with what today we would know was an abusive husband. 

As Alice delves into Nellie’s story she begins to uncover more than a cookbook with some delish recipes. 

What a fantastic read!  Karma Brown is a new to me author and it was through my library newsletter I learned about her and her latest, THE RECIPE FOR A PERFECT WIFE.  This is a wonderful, multi-layered read.  Told about Alice and Nellie’s lives the book can be read as a straight contemporary with historical perspectives or a much deeper read contrasting the parallels and differences between the two women’s lives.  The life Alice now has begins to show strong parallels to Nellie’s marriage.  But overtime, Alice veers from the course Nellie had and in part because of how we view and handle things today and in part Alice coming into her own, she ultimately takes her life in the direction she wants.  Through her own mother’s words and those Nellie left behind Alice learns who she is and what she wants.  She confronts unpleasant truths about herself and her marriage and unlike Nellie she is able to save her marriage as well as her own identity.  Not that Nellie was a coward or stupid; she was a product of her time and caught in a web of what the perfect wife was. 

Nellie does, finally, come into her own and I have to admit I cheered her when she did.  I hurt for her with each case of Richard’s abuse and more so when the truth about her mother came out.  At the same time I cheered for her as to how she coped with and used what was going on with her mother to hold herself up.  The character of Nellie was a remarkable woman.

There was so much to like and enjoy in this book.  I wish it had been a book club read so I would have other people to talk with about it.  I started it one morning and pretty much read it through the day and late into the night because I wanted to know how it ended as well as Brown is just a wonderful writer.  This is definitely a do not miss read.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

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HOT SHOT by Julie Garwood

Publisher:    Dutton

Published:   August 26, 2013

ISBN:     978-0525953012

Genre:    Contemporary Romance

Format:  Print    

Obtained via:  Publisher

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina Gina@loveromancesandmorereviews.com

TWO-1/2 HEARTS

Peyton Lockhart skirted death as a little girl thanks to her neighbour, Finn MacBain.  While he popped up in her life several times as she was growing up, Finn had his own plans and agenda.  First he went off to win not one but three Olympic gold medals, graduated law school and finally signing on with the FBI. 

Each year on her birthday Peyton sends him a card or email or text thanking him for saving her life.  After all, she wouldn’t be having those birthdays if he had not jumped in her family pool and performed CPR saving her life.  Aside from those yearly messages Finn barely gives the little girl from next door another thought.  That is, until, her life takes a rather frightening turn.

Peyton hasn’t made the best choices in men…career yes, but men, not so much.  When she is offered a job, pretty much sight unseen, as a food critic, she heads off to Dalton to take the job.  Once she arrives the women aren’t exactly friendly, the men ogle her a bit and her boss…well he’s a walking, talking sexual harassment claim.  And not the kind who will take no for an answer.  Peyton flees Dalton and heads home where things take a turn for the better…or so it seems.  Her uncle has a deal for her and her two sisters—a year to turn his failing Florida resort around.  Before she can dig in several things happen that put her rather quickly in danger’s way.  When trouble starts it is her childhood hero, Finn, who swims to the rescue. But is a childhood hero really the man of her dreams?

The last few books in Julie Garwood’s Buchanan FBI series have become flatter and flatter.  I love Garwood’s books—SHADOW MUSIC, one of her historical romances, is one of my all time favorite romances.  With SWEET TALK though, something seems to have shifted and not in a good way.  HOT SHOT left me pretty cold.  Most of the story is a third person narrative of “Peyton did this”, “Peyton did that.”  I had to keep pushing myself to keep reading and found myself hanging on to the points where there was dialogue.  There, and only there, did I read the vintage Garwood I so enjoy.  She has such a great way with words—at time I’ve imagined sitting down to a coffee with her just to hear these gems from this favorite author of mine.  But the dialogue filled scenes were just too few and far between in HOT SHOT. 

And the series seems to have become formulaic…three women:  one spunky smart, one sweet, one ditzy.  Sometimes they’re sisters, sometimes they’re friends, but the pattern is there.  Except for the need for a tie-breaking vote there really wasn’t any need for the third sister, Ivy, in HOT SHOT. 

The plot twists around the resort were well done.  And Debi…she’s one of those characters you just look forward to the next scene because you just love to hate her.  Every time she came along I wanted to smack her – not in a “boy is she stupid TSTL way” but in a “man, I want to set that chick straight” way. 

True Garwood fans will enjoy HOT SHOT simply because it is Garwood; if you are new to this author, read one of the earlier books in this series first because it really isn’t a good example of what a fabulous writer she truly is.

This is an objective review and an endorsement of this book.

OMENS by Kelley Armstrong

A Cainsville Series Novel, Book One

Dutton Publishing
August 20^th, 2013
978-0-525-95304-3
Paranormal, Mystery/Suspense
Hardcover
Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)
Obtained by Library

4 Hearts

 

For Olivia Taylor-Jones, her life couldn’t be more perfect. The only daughter of a wealthy family, Olivia finds she is content with the life she has. Until she finds a shattering secret that will change her entire world. Now as the truth reveals itself that her biological parents are serial killers, Olivia is determined to figure out who she is and what happened so long ago. Her journey takes her to Cainsville, a small sleepy town outside Chicago that holds more secrets than even Olivia knows about. Aided by a local lawyer who has his own agenda on why he is working with Olivia, she finds that the more she uncovers the more questions she has.

Wow is all I can say after turning the last page of OMENS. Ms. Armstrong delivers an enthralling introduction into this new series with a spine tingling, edge of your seat story that leaves you breathless. I finished OMENS in less than two days and was completely captivated by it. I just could not put it down. Fast paced storyline delivers one twist after another as the reader is taken on a journey alongside Olivia as she searches for the answers she needs. The writing is tight and with this author’s trademark style, delivers a complex cast of characters to really fall in love with. What really cemented this book for me was how Olivia figured out one mystery only to find herself with several more to untangle. Ms. Armstrong really delivers a suspense filled story to get lost in.

Meet Olivia Taylor-Jones. Only daughter to a wealthy Chicago family, she finds her life shattered when she is told she is adopted and her biological parents were notorious serial killers, Todd & Pamela Larson, who are serving life sentences in prison. Needless to say, what charmed life Olivia enjoyed is now in pieces. I loved this main character. As Olivia tries to figure things out and deal with one betrayal after another, the reader finds themselves rooting for her to win the day as Olivia races to solve her past in order to find who she really is in the present. With a diverse cast of characters, Ms. Armstrong delivers multi-dimensional characters to enjoy while you flip the pages of this first Cainsville Series. From spooky powers that seem to haunt Olivia to people who have their own agenda; the author captures each of the characters personalities perfectly. I really loved the dynamics between Olivia and Gabriel, her biological mother’s former lawyer. One minute it is just business, the next they both are fumbling around trying to make heads and tails over things. The residents of Cainsville are at times spooky, magical and downright creepy yet the reader gets a hint at who some may be within the story. I really liked that aspect. The characters themselves keep the story flowing smoothly as one more piece of the puzzle fits and as more pieces tumble out.

OMENS are a wonderful lyrical story that draws you in from the first page and doesn’t let go until the very last page is read. If you are looking for a different sort of paranormal suspense/mystery to enjoy, I highly recommend OMENS to you. The story will keep you glued to the pages until the very end. Now all I can ask is, when will book two come out? I can’t wait to see where Ms. Armstrong goes with this series in the future.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

INTERRED WITH THEIR BONES by Jennifer Lee Carrell

Publisher: Dutton
Date published: September 2007
ISBN: 0525949704
Suspense, Mystery
Reviewed by Gina
Obtained by Library


Kate Stanley isn’t exactly living her dream, but close enough. She’s directing Hamlet at the Globe in London. That would be today, not back in the 1600’s and in the midst of Shakespeare’s hey day. Things are going quite well until her former mentor, Roz, arrives bearing a gift Kate isn’t all that sure she wants because of the strings that will inevitably surround it. The box Roz hands her isn’t all that curious in and of itself. Rather it is the strange message Roz gives Kate with the box. With barely any explanation at all, Roz tells Kate to meet her later and all will be explained. But Roz never shows at the appointed time and place. Instead, the Globe burns…on the anniversary day of the original theatre’s burning to the ground.

When Roz’ body is found, DCI Sinclair asks Kate if she knows anything and not to leave town. Kate denies any knowledge and then promptly leaves town to try to unravel the mystery of the box left in her care. Thus begins a run for Kate’s life. Death dogs Kate’s footsteps and stalks her from England to Harvard to the Southwest and back to England. With each clue that is revealed, another body turns up. Rather than give up, Kate follows the clues to one of Shakespeare’s darkest secrets.

I was enthralled with the idea of Jennifer Lee Carrell’s INTERRED WITH THEIR BONES. Imagine finding a lost and long forgotten play by William Shakespeare! And why not? After all, decades after Alexander Dumas’ death The Cavalier was found. Is it impossible a lost Shakespearean play could not be found?

But I struggled with this book. As I’ve said before, I’m not a fan of first person point of view. All too quickly they deteriorate into a monologue about what someone has done and often their story isn’t well told. Well done first person point of view is harder than one would think. In this case, while some of the emotions and insights germane to the characters is well done, unless the reader knows Shakespeare almost as intimately as the author, they will feel lost. Written in the third person the ins and outs of the various plays cited throughout the story could have been explained. Instead I felt like an outsider who wasn’t part of the in crowd who could follow what was going on. I was utterly lost in the scenes that took place at Harvard, even after pulling up information on the university to get a feel for what was going on. It became more of a research project than an enjoyable read.

Kate embarks on this journey but it seemed like she was looking for something but didn’t know quite what.

I didn’t feel like the characters really connected with each other. Again, this is a downfall of first person point of view because you have the main character telling you things, but unless that character has some emotion, the others are two dimensional.

Ms. Carrell did a marvelous job painting the various venues in the story. Especially in the cave scenes I had a great sense of being in that dark and hidden place, watching a hidden treasure be revealed.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

HAUNT ME STILL by Jennifer Lee Carrell

Publisher: Dutton
Date published: April 2010
ISBN: 9780525950776
Suspense
Hardback
Reviewed by Gina
Obtained by library


An expert in the occult Shakespeare, Kate Stanley is called to Scotland and the mysterious Lady Nairn with a strange request – to find a missing manuscript. Not just any manuscript, but one which never really saw the light of day but could hold a key to the man behind the playwright. What adds to the mystery is that it is a version of the Scottish Play, aka, Macbeth. Upon her arrival to the far north she is met not only by Lady Nairn, but a host of others, each with their own dreams, desires and goals that make the missing manuscript all the more intriguing. Lady Nairn has planned to use her vast collection of Macbeth related memorabilia as part of a presentation of Shakespeare’s shortest play.

Among the guests is a well known actress, one who is known for her beauty as well as her acting skill. Whispers surround her with speculation of a new man in her life. While Kate has little interest in the woman’s social life, she is intrigued when her former lover, Ben Pearl arrives and it isn’t long before Kate wonders at her decision to let him go.

Ben, the man she fell for and lost because her career was just taking off and she put it before him. Ben with the mysterious past who now works in securities – not the money kind, the safety kind. Ben who still tugs at her heart strings. When bodies began to mount in Kate’s path and a young girl is kidnapped, Kate has no choice but to pursue what could be evil personified.

All I can say about HAUNT ME STILL is wow. What a stunner! I wasn’t very impressed with Jennifer Lee Carrell’s first book, INTERRED WITH THEIR BONES mainly because I felt if you don’t know Shakespeare in, out, upside down and right side up, you feel lost in much of what is going on in that book. The first person point of view in that book leaves you feeling left out and with little or no connection to the characters. HAUNT ME STILL is a tremendous 180 from INTERRED WITH THEIR BONES. Historical information on Shakespeare and the theories behind Macbeth and the drama of the witches and Lady Macbeth are marvelously presented. When Ben arrives in Scotland after their break up several months before, I hoped for a spark of romance. Ms. Carrell pulls a twist on Kate I didn’t expect. At first I was disappointed but it added much depth to the story. And what she did at the end! Bravo! It definitely tantalized my imagination. What disappointed me though was when I went to look, there is no promise of a third book! And I do hope there is one because she is definitely on a roll now.

Ms. Carrell weaves a bit of historical fiction in between a well thought out murder mystery coupled with a thriller. As I said, I had a hard time putting the book down and missed the characters when it ended. If no other book finds its way to your TBR this year, HAUNT ME STILL is a must.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

THE SEDUCTION OF THE CRIMSON ROSE by Lauren Willig

Publisher Dutton/Penguin Books
Date published January 2008
ISBN 978-0-525-95033-2
Contemporary/Historical Fiction
Hardcover
Reviewed by Dawn



Mary Alsworthy is determined to secure another London Season without the help of her sister’s new husband; she decides to accept a secret assignment for the Pink Carnation that has her infiltrating the ranks of master French spy, The Black Tulip. She catches his attention but there is one tiny hitch in her mission, her growing attraction to fellow spy, Lord Vaughn. Can Mary finish her assignment without getting detected? Will the Black Tulip succeed in his daring plan to destroy England? The next saga of the Pink Carnation Series is here and about to explode as past and present forces collide in THE SEDUCTION OF THE CRIMSON ROSE!

Author Lauren Willig’s Pink Carnation Series has drawn rave reviews and garnered many fans with her witty and lyrical storytelling that draws on historical facts and her close attention to period details. This reviewer was thrilled to see that the THE SEDUCTION OF THE CRIMSON ROSE was about Lord Vaughn and Mary Alsworthy from her last book, The Deception of the Emerald Ring. These two characters were utterly delightful in that last book and I was thrilled to see the sparks fly between these wonderful characters. Add in a parallel story that involves Eloise Kelly and her pursuit of her doctoral dissertation on The Pink Carnation and you get the makings of a double story all in one that will keep the reader enthralled.

Ms. Willig delivers a scorching story that keeps you glued to the edge of your seat as you go back and forth between Eloise’s story and Mary’s dangerous mission as well as both their growing romances with respectively, Colin Selwick and Lord Vaughn. Each page delivers a startling glimpse in a world gone by that keeps you entertained and ready to see what is on the next page. If you enjoy a story that will keep you satisfied in all ways, then grab the latest in Ms. Willig’s wonderful Pink Carnation series, THE SEDUCTION OF THE CRIMSON ROSE and see what happens when past and present collide amid the pages. This reviewer is running to check out the others in this series to see how it all began and to meet other characters that have been mentioned in passing in her last two books.