Review: Comfort & Joy by Kristin Hannah

Comfort & Joy by Kristin Hannah

Publisher: Ballantine Book

Pages: 272

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Joy Candellaro once loved Christmas more than any other time of the year. Now, as the holiday approaches, she is at a crossroads in her life; recently divorced and alone, she can’t summon the old enthusiasm for celebrating. So without telling anyone, she buys a ticket and boards a plane bound for the beautiful Pacific Northwest. When an unexpected detour takes her deep into the woods of the Olympic rainforest, Joy makes a bold decision to leave her ordinary life behind--to just walk away--and thus begins an adventure unlike any she could have imagined.

In the small town of Rain Valley, six-year-old Bobby O’Shea is facing his first Christmas without a mother. Unable to handle the loss, Bobby has closed himself off from the world, talking only to his invisible best friend. His father Daniel is beside himself, desperate to help his son cope. Yet when the little boy meets Joy, these two unlikely souls form a deep and powerful bond. In helping Bobby and Daniel heal, Joy finds herself again.

But not everything is as it seems in quiet Rain Valley, and in an instant, Joy’s world is ripped apart, and her heart is broken. On a magical Christmas Eve, a night of impossible dreams and unexpected chances, Joy must find the courage to believe in a love--and a family--that can’t possibly exist, and go in search of what she wants . . . and the new life only she can find.

Kritters Thoughts:  Joy has had a rough year, her husband and her hit a rough patch and he has ventured into the arms of another woman.  She isn't feeling satisfaction on the job and overall life isn't going well for her.  So she ends up on a crazy adventure that from the beginning is more than doomed.  And then the book takes an unexpected turn and of course I can't share or it would ruin the whole deal!

This one was a little too lifetime movie for me.  I was hoping for a sweet holiday book and from the beginning this one took the dramatics and amplified them.  Family drama, a plane crash and beyond, this book packed the punch from the beginning.  It had a little bit of the holiday cheer, but just not enough for me.

Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Off the Shelf 2013 Challenge: 5 out of 30

Review: Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani

Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani

Publisher: Harper

Pages: 371

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  In this luscious, contemporary family saga, the Angelini Shoe Company, makers of exquisite wedding shoes since 1903, is one of the last family-owned businesses in Greenwich Village. The company is on the verge of financial collapse. It falls to thirty-three-year-old Valentine Roncalli, the talented and determined apprentice to her grandmother, the master artisan Teodora Angelini, to bring the family's old-world craftsmanship into the twenty-first century and save the company from ruin.

While juggling a budding romance with dashing chef Roman Falconi, her duty to her family, and a design challenge presented by a prestigious department store, Valentine returns to Italy with her grandmother to learn new techniques and seek one-of-a-kind materials for building a pair of glorious shoes to beat their rivals. There, in Tuscany, Naples, and on the Isle of Capri, a family secret is revealed as Valentine discovers her artistic voice and much more, turning her life and the family business upside down in ways she never expected. 

Kritters Thoughts:  The first of a trilogy that centers around Valentine who is a young woman who has decided to leave her job as a teacher and go into the family business that has been their mainstay for over 100 years.  Valentine must forgo many things to follow in her grand parents and great grand parents footsteps.  

The reason I started this book was because I am on tour for the third book in the trilogy and decided to start back at square one.  I spent one fantastic fall weekend soaking up some sun outside and reading the first two in this trilogy.  I fell in love with both Valentine and her family.  Adriana Trigiani paints fantastic pictures of both characters and setting - the reader wants to be a part of the family and go with them on their adventures.  With an older brother and three sisters, this family had plenty of drama, but never too much!

At the end of this first book, I was excited to find out that I would have the chance to spend two more books worth of time with this family.  

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel 
(happy that it was the first of a trilogy)

Off the Shelf 2013 Challenge: 5 out of 30

Review: Pushing 30 by Whitney Gaskell

Pushing 30 by Whitney Gaskell

Publisher: Bantam

Pages: 336

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Ellie Winters is dependable and loyal and has a near-phobic aversion to conflict. But as her thirtieth birthday looms ever closer, she starts to feel like she’s lost the instruction manual to her life. She has just broken up with her boring boyfriend, despises her job, and is the last of her high school friends to remain single. Worse, her dysfunctional family is driving her nuts, and she’s somehow become enslaved to her demanding pet pug Sally, who she suspects is the reincarnation of Pol Pot.

One night, after a botched attempt to color her hair at home, Ellie rushes to the drugstore for emergency bleach, Sally in tow. Sally is accosted by a smitten canine admirer . . . but it’s the dog’s owner who captures Ellie’s attention. Television news anchor Ted Langston is witty, intriguing, and sexy. The only catch? He’s twice her age--and the only man on the planet who isn’t interested in dating a younger woman. And no one, from Ellie’s best friends to Ted’s ex-wife, wants to see them get together.

Kritters Thoughts:  Approaching 30 is an interesting time in life, maybe you are settled and married and just enjoying a happy time or maybe like Ellie you are trying to get things settled and it isn't working, either way turning 30 can be rough!  I may have picked this book specifically to review this week as my 30th birthday may be tomorrow!

I loved how Ellie was trying to put the pieces together, it combusts and most of it comes together in the end!  The characters were fantastic, they felt real, but each had great stories.  I loved Ellie's friends almost as much as I loved her.  I completely felt the angst of her upcoming birthday and how the expectation of where your life should be when you are entering your 30s.  

No matter your age, this sweet throw back book from 2003, is a perfect addition to your late summer beach bag!


Rating: perfect beach read

Off the Shelf 2013 Challenge: 5 out of 30

Review: The Girl Next Door by Elizabeth Noble

The Girl Next Door by Elizabeth Noble

Publisher: Touchstone 

Pages: 352

Format: book 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  What makes a house a home? 

For Eve Gallagher, home is miles away in England since she and her husband relocated to an apartment building on New York's Upper East Side. And life isn't coming up roses.

What makes a neighbor a friend? 

Violet has lived in the building for decades, but she's always kept herself apart, until Eve's loneliness touches her heart.

What makes a wife a lover? 

Jason Kramer in apartment 6A is no longer sure he loves his wife, but he's head over heels for Rachel Schulman in 6B.

What makes the girl next door the woman of your dreams? 

Meeting Emily Mikanowski from 3A turns Trip Grayling's world upside down. It's love at first sight, but he needs help from Charlotte, the shy romance novel addict in 2A, if he's going to get his girl.

What they all have in common is an address, but it is also a home where their lives and secrets intertwine. Come in and enjoy this bittersweet story of friendship and love.


Kritters Thoughts:  Everyone has neighbors, no matter where they live, you could have many or a few; they could be very close or far away, but this fictional book dives into the relationships we can have with our neighbors and how if we were to just get to know them a little, the impact they could have on our lives.  Taking place in a co-op apartment building in New York City, there are quiet a few residents and some have a lot in common and they don't even know it.  

Eve is the most central character of them all and her and her husband have just moved into this apartment building from England for his job and she has left everything behind to accompany him to the States.  The thing I loved about their storyline is hearing their mix ups with American words because that is always my difficulty in reading books that are based in England, is the somewhat slang that is different between the two countries.

The one thing that saved me a lot of headache and I applaud the author for putting it in the beginning was the list of the cast of characters.  I flipped back to these pages often to make sure I knew their quick facts and then kept reading - lifesaver!  

I loved this character heavy book with their interactions in the building and outside of the building.  Although I am in a condo right now and am headed into a house where my neighbors will be a bit further away, it made me appreciate some of my neighbors that I interact with on a daily basis.

Rating: absolutely loved and want a sequel 
                 (I heard there was one coming, is this true?)

Off the Shelf 2013 Challenge: 4 out of 30

Review: Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis

Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis

Publisher: Forever 

Pages: 311

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon  

Goodreads:  Maddie Moore's whole life needs a makeover.

In one fell swoop, Maddie loses her boyfriend (her decision) and her job (so not her decision). But rather than drowning her sorrows in bags of potato chips, Maddie leaves L.A. to claim the inheritance left by her free-spirited mother--a ramshackle inn nestled in the little coastal town of Lucky Harbor, Washington.

Starting over won't be easy. Yet Maddie sees the potential for a new home and a new career--if only she can convince her two half-sisters to join her in the adventure. But convincing Tara and Chloe will be difficult because the inn needs a big makeover too.

The contractor Maddie hires is a tall, dark-haired hottie whose eyes--and mouth--are making it hard for her to remember that she's sworn off men. Even harder will be Maddie's struggles to overcome the past, though she's about to discover that there's no better place to call home than Lucky Harbor.

Kritters Thoughts:  The first in a series that takes place in Lucky Harbor in Washington State.  Three half sisters move into town to renovate a resort that their mother left them, but the property is definitely in need of some of TLC.  A small town and three half sisters who are known to create their own drama is a recipe for a great book.

The middle sister, Maddie is the main focus of this story.  She is leaving her hometown of LA for the small town in Washington for many reasons, one of them being an ex boyfriend who didn't quite show his anger in the best of ways.  This caused my one concern with the book.  Within moments of being in town, Maddie has met a guy and is making out with him.  If I had just left a really bad relationship, I would not be so quick to jump into any physical contact with a guy.  

This point aside, I loved the book.  The sisters were fantastic and I am definitely excited that there are more books in this series.

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Off the Shelf 2013 Challenge: 3 out of 30

Review: Stay With Me by Garret Freymann-Weyer

Stay With Me by Garret Freymann-Weyer

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin 

Pages: 308 

Format: book 

Buy the Book: Amazon  

Goodreads:  Sixteen-year-old Leila Abranel was born some twenty years after her sisters. Her elegant sisters from her father’s first marriage have lives full of work, love affairs, and travel. Leila doesn’t know either of them very well, but she loves hearing about them—details of Rebecca’s ruined marriage, Clare’s first job, and the strings of unsuitable boyfriends.

When Rebecca kills herself, Leila wants to know why. She starts by spending time with Clare and finally comes to know her as a person instead of a story. With Clare’s reluctant help, Leila tracks down Rebecca’s favorite places and tries to find her sister’s friends. Along the way, Leila meets Eamon.Eamon is thirty-one and writes for television. He thinks Leila is beautiful and smart, but he does not, he tells her, date teenagers. And yet, the months go by and Leila turns seventeen and learns that you can love someone you are not dating.

Maybe letting Eamon love her back is a mistake. Maybe she’ll never know why Rebecca did what she did. Maybe, Leila, decides, most people have a hard time figuring out which way is left or knowing when to let go and when to stay.


Kritters Thoughts:  Leila is the youngest of three girls, two of which are her half sisters that she has idolized for years.  The girls lose their mom and a year of high stress begins. Leila must navigate a year with a half sister who she knew little about with her parents out of the country working all while dealing with a load of grief.  

Leila was a fantastic character to follow through this journey - she had depth and soul which is hard to put into a YA book sometimes.  I fell in love with her serious attack about issues that a sixteen-year-old could be dealing with and how she communicated with her friends and family.  Although I may have had an issue with one of her relationships (can't spoil anything), but I at least appreciated her approach to the relationship.

This is definitely one YA author that I will keep a look out for - I want to read more of her.  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Off the Shelf 2013 Challenge: 2 out of 30 

Review: Perfect Match by Jane Moore

Perfect Match by Jane Moore

Publisher: Arrow Books 

Pages: 277 

Format: book 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Amazon:  Could you choose between your marriage and your child? Just when Karen and Joe Eastman thought they had it all - the perfect marriage and the perfect family - they learn that their young son, Ben, has a terminal illness. The only cure is for them to have a 'designer baby' to provide him with a perfect match bone-marrow transplant. But in the process, a devastating family secret is revealed that not only jeopardises the one hope of their son having a future but also threatens to destroy their marriage...

Kritters Thoughts:  With a tagline - "Could you choose between your marriage and your child?" - you can guarantee that there will be drama and the main character will definitely have a few decisions to make in the book.  Karen Eastman has a child who has a debilitating illness and there are very few options to help him overcome the disease - one being to have a child that is a "perfect match" to allow for a true bone marrow transplant. After tests are run, Karen learns things about her child and her family that will set this family down a very rough road.  At the beginning another storyline of the Health Secretary and his wife's struggle to get pregnant is paralleling  but for a moment the reader is unsure when they will intersect and how it will affect each couple.

I loved that the unknown of the relationships between the two couples wasn't kept secret for too long to allow for more story and less intrigue.  The foundation was laid quick and then the meat of the story hit.  I think the road the characters took felt honest which made for a much better read than if it was too cookie cutter sweet.  The moral questions abound in this book where the reader make take one stance or another and with each side a different reaction to the book may occur - I am not quite sure how I feel about having a second child solely to help the first with an illness that they are battling, it could cause some major sibling issues down the road.

With a little bit of a cliffhanger, I could see these characters reappearing to continue the story.  A great story that may have you asking questions about yourself and what you would do if you were in each of the character's shoes.

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Off the Shelf 2013 Challenge: 1 out of 30