Audiobook catch up

• Title:  A Hundred Summers 
• Author:  Beatriz Williams
• Narrator: Kathleen McInerney
• Genre:  Women’s Fiction; Romance
• Published:  May 2013 – Penguin Audio
• Length:  11 hours 35 minutes
• Source:  Purchased

Synopsis:  Memorial Day, 1938: New York socialite Lily Dane has just returned with her family to the idyllic oceanfront community of Seaview, Rhode Island, expecting another placid summer season among the familiar traditions and friendships that sustained her after heartbreak.

That is, until Greenwalds decide to take up residence in Seaview.

Nick and Budgie Greenwald are an unwelcome specter from Lily’s past: her former best friend and her former fiancee, now recently married – an event that set off a wildfire of gossip among the elite of Seaview, who have summered together for generations. Budgie’s arrival to restore her family’s old house puts her once more in the center of the community’s social scene, and she insinuates herself back into Lily’s friendship with an overpowering talent for seduction… and an alluring acquaintance from their college days, Yankees pitcher Graham Pendleton. But the ties that bind Lily to Nick are too strong and intricate to ignore, and the two are drawn back into long-buried dreams, despite their uneasy secrets and many emotional obligations.

Under the scorching summer sun, the unexpected truth of Budgie and Nick’s marriage bubbles to the surface, and as a cataclysmic hurricane barrels unseen up the Atlantic and into New England, Lily and Nick must confront an emotional cyclone of their own, which will change their worlds forever.  (publisher)

My brief take:  Beatriz Williams’ story of wealthy people and soap-like drama was a good beach read. I love the era. It was  post-1929 crash and pre-WWII which encompassed financial difficulties, prejudice, and people ignoring much of what was happening in the rest of the world. Add in the personal issues of failed friendships, betrayal, a broken engagement and an uncomfortable summer season that brings Budgie, Nick and Lily back together and you’ve got a juicy story. I enjoyed listening to A Hundred Summers. Kathleen McInerney’s narration was top notch.

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• Title:  The Firebird
• Author:  Susanna Kearsley
• Narrator:  Katherine Kellgren
• Genre:  Historical Fiction; Paranormal; Time Travel
• Published:  January 2013 – Audible, Inc.
• Length:  14 hours 39 minutes
• Source:  Purchased

Synopsis:  Nicola Marter was born with a gift. When she touches an object, she sometimes glimpses those who have owned it before. When a woman arrives with a small wooden carving at the gallery Nicola works at, she can see the object’s history and knows that it was named after the Firebird – the mythical creature from an old Russian fable.
Compelled to know more, Nicola follows a young girl named Anna who leads her into the past on a quest through the glittering backdrops of the Jacobites and Russian courts, unearthing a tale of love, courage, and redemption.  (publisher)

My brief take:  I enjoyed this follow up (continuation) to The Winter Sea. I’m a fan of these adventures Susanna Kearsley takes us on. I rate it 4.5 stars and the fantastic narration by Katherine Kellgren moves it up to 5 stars.

I also followed the Kindle edition from time to time. An added bonus of the print book are the author’s notes at the end. Kearsley answered questions I’d had in mind while reading such as what is historically accurate and what is filled in to connect dots. I always wonder about those things while reading historical fiction. I don’t care what the answers are if the story grabs me – something that is never a problem with Kearsley’s novel. Like I mentioned, I’m a fan!

This book is part of the Slains series and I realized too late that I was reading them out of order. No matter, I have The Shadowy Horses on my shelf and look forward to reading it. Can’t wait to meet the sigh-worthy Rob from the beginning 🙂

Treadmill reads: Life From Scratch by Melissa Ford

Synopsis:  Divorced, heartbroken and living in a lonely New York apartment with a tiny kitchen, Rachel Goldman realizes she doesn’t even know how to cook the simplest meal for herself. Can learning to fry an egg help her understand where her life went wrong? She dives into the culinary basics. Then she launches a blog to vent her misery about love, life and her goal of an unburnt casserole.To her amazement, the blog’s a hit. She becomes a minor celebrity. Next, a sexy Spaniard enters her life. Will her souffles stop falling? Will she finally forget about the husband she still loves? And how can she explain to her readers that she still hasn’t learned how to cook up a happy life from scratch?

My take:  This novel about a thirty-something foodie blogger trying to figure out life after divorce was a fun, breezy read. As a blogger it was easy to understand the technical blogging aspects of the story and as a woman it was easy to relate to some of Rachel’s issues.

Melissa Ford wrote a heroine who’s easy to sympathize with and cheer for – until I scratched my head near the end of the novel and wondered how she wound up in her situation. I mean, she comes across as a smart, modern, and savvy woman but really dropped the ball a few years earlier where her relationship was concerned. I suppose her life since showed a path of growth so her story could be considered a cautionary tale.

Anyway, I still cheered for Rachel at the book’s end and would definitely read more from Melissa Ford. I liked her writing style and secondary characters – which made me hope for a sequel.

• Title:  Life From Scratch: a novel
• Author:  Melissa Ford
• Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
• Published:  July 2010 – Belle Books
• Source:  I bought it

Treadmill Reads: A Year at 32 September Way by Mary Ylisela

Synopsis (publisher):  What happens when five people from three different countries move to the same apartment building in Italy for one year? One thing’s for sure–their lives will never be the same. Meet Carlisle, Nicolette, Josh, Charles, Eva and their landlord Senor Benedetto as they spend a year at 32 September Way. Whether they hope to find something in Verona or wish to leave something behind, the City of Love manages to change each one of them in ways they never expected.

My take:  I read this novel with a group of online friends. It’s a fast read and I enjoyed it. The author developed the characters just enough to make them interesting and somewhat relatable. 

The setting was great. 32 September Way is a charming 4-apartment house in Verona, Italy. Mary Ylisela’s detailed descriptions of the house and surrounding neighborhood really brought the novel to life. I found it easy to visualize it all.

As I read, I wondered if I could ever live in another country for a year without knowing anyone (no family, no friends) before I arrived. My favorite character did just that which made her and the book that much more interesting. I liked how the author brought each one  of the characters through their challenges and ended on a hopeful note. After I finished reading the book I found out there’s a sequel. I will definitely read it!

• Title:  A Year at 32 September Way
• Author:  Mary Ylisela
• Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
• Published:  November 2012 – CreateSpace; Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Source:  I bought it.

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

Title:  What Alice Forgot

Author:  Liane Moriarty

Genre:  Contemporary Fiction

Published:  April 2011 – Putnam

About:  (Goodreads synopsis)  Alice Love is twenty-nine years old, madly in love with her husband, and pregnant with their first child. So imagine her surprise when, after a fall, she comes to on the floor of a gym (a gym! she HATES the gym!) and discovers that she’s actually thirty-nine, has three children, and is in the midst of an acrimonious divorce. 

A knock on the head has misplaced ten years of her life, and Alice isn’t sure she likes who she’s become. It turns out, though, that forgetting might be the most memorable thing that has ever happened to Alice.

My take:  What Alice Forgot is one of the more enjoyable novels I’ve read this year. It started slowly which I appreciated since it let me experience what the main character must have felt – she was not quite sure of completely confused by what was going on. As the story moved along I became invested and before the half-way point I knew how I wanted it to end – but I wasn’t sure it would.

Liane Moriarty wrote characters I could relate to or, at the very least, I could understand their actions. The person I identified with most was Alice. I can’t imagine not remembering the births of my children, a change in my relationship with my husband, or a drastic change in my persona. That’s what Alice has to deal with and I was pulling for her the whole time. And that’s all I’m going to say about it. Except – I think you should read it 🙂

I’m so glad my book club selected What Alice Forgot. Highly recommended to anyone who loves to get lost in an entertaining novel.

Source:  I bought it.