Review: If You Only Knew by Kristan Higgins

If You Only Knew

by Kristan Higgins

Publisher: HQN Books

Pages: 416

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Wedding-dress designer Jenny Tate understands the happily-ever-after business, yet somehow she's still involved in her ex-husband's life. In fact, Owen's new wife may—inexplicably—be Jenny's new best friend. Sensing this, well, relationship isn't helping her move on, Jenny trades the Manhattan skyline for her hometown up the Hudson, where she'll be able to bask in her sister Rachel's picture-perfect family life…and hopefully make one of her own. 

Her timing couldn't be more perfect, since Rachel will need her younger sister. Her idyllic marriage has just fallen to pieces in spectacular fashion after she discovers her husband sexting with one of his colleagues. Second chances aren't in Rachel's nature, but the desire for an intact family has her rethinking her stance on adultery, much to Jenny's surprise. Rachel points to their parents' "perfect" marriage as a shining example, but to protect her sister Jenny may have to tarnish that memory—and their relationship­—and reveal a secret about their family she's been keeping since childhood.

During this summer of secrets and lies, temptation and revelation, Jenny and Rachel will rely on each other to find the humor in their personal catastrophes, the joy in their triumphs…and the strength to keep hanging on. 


Kritters Thoughts:  Two sisters who are in two very different moments in their life end up living in the same city and helping each other through these transitional times in their lives.  One sister, Jenny is leaving New York City because her ex-husband and his current wife have had a child and she needs to make a change in her life.  The other sister Rachel, has a major tragedy strike her marriage and she must make some major life decisions.

First, I loved that both sisters took turns narrating the book.  I love a dual narrative!  I also loved that they were both at crossroads and that each sister could help the other through the rough patches.  It automatically made me think of my sister who is a work from home mom of two girls and has gone down a different life path than I have and neither is right or wrong, it is just left and right, yet we can still give each other advice or just a listening ear.  

Although she bugged the heck out of me, their mother was quite the character.  There were quite a few times where I wanted to kick her into being a better mother to adult children and I never grew fond of her even when she was supposed to redeem herself at the end I couldn't handle her.  

Kristan Higgins is always an author I will read and I especially love these one off books that aren't part of a long long series.


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Little Bird Publicity.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: All the Stars in the Heavens by Adriana Trigiani

All the Stars in the Heavens

by Adriana Trigiani

Publisher: Harper

Pages: 464

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  The movie business is booming in 1935 when twenty-one-year-old Loretta Young meets thirty-four-year-old Clark Gable on the set of The Call of the Wild. Though he’s already married, Gable falls for the stunning and vivacious young actress instantly. 

Far from the glittering lights of Hollywood, Sister Alda Ducci has been forced to leave her convent and begin a new journey that leads her to Loretta. Becoming Miss Young’s assistant, the innocent and pious young Alda must navigate the wild terrain of Hollywood with fierce determination and a moral code that derives from her Italian roots. Over the course of decades, she and Loretta encounter scandal and adventure, choose love and passion, and forge an enduring bond of love and loyalty that will be put to the test when they eventually face the greatest obstacle of their lives.


Kritters Thoughts:  A look behind the scenes of Hollywood, but not contemporary Hollywood, old Hollywood!  The days of Clark Gable and Loretta Young and the times of Hollywood when actors were almost assets of a studio and the business of Hollywood was very different then what it is today.  Even though the book definitely focuses on the "relationship" between Loretta and Clark, I enjoyed reading about the directors, scene painters, costume and make up and the other characters involved in the movie business.  

Although the book had some absolute ups and downs, if you know me at all, you know that I love any behind the scenes look, whether that be Hollywood or the middle of nowhere, I like the opportunity to take a peak behind closed doors - even if it is in fiction!  This book made me want to go watch the movies that are made during this book.  

Adriana Trigiani is an author that I will buy and read without reading a synopsis.  The words she choose and the way she puts her stories together are like a painting.  The flow of a book can make or break a book for me and even with a large page count, Adriana Trigiani writes in a way that just flows and reads quickly.  I read this book in three sittings!

If you don't read historical fiction, try this one.  Adriana Trigiani can create a story that yes takes place in history but is so moving and vivid that you forget when and where you are!  


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: If I Knew You Were Going to Be this Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go

If I Knew You Were Going to Be this Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go

by Judy Chicurel

Publisher: Berkley NAL

Pages: 288

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  It is the summer of 1972, and Katie has just turned eighteen. Katie and her town, Elephant Beach, are both on the verge: Katie of adulthood, and Elephant Beach of gentrification. But not yet: Elephant Beach is still gritty, working-class, close-knit. And Katie spends her time smoking and drinking with her friends, dreaming about a boy just back from Vietnam who’s still fighting a battle Katie can’t understand. In this poignant, evocative debut collection, Judy Chicurel creates a haunting, vivid world, where conflicts between mothers and daughters, men and women, soldiers and civilians and haves and have-nots reverberate to our own time. She captures not only a time and place, but the universal experience of being poised between the past and the future. 


Kritters Thoughts:  A short story collection that takes place in a small town on Long Island during the summer after high school graduation of the main character - Katie.  Each chapter is a short story and they go mostly chronologically through the summer as her friends are all going their own way whether to college, jobs, marriage and other ways.  

After reading all the stories, the one thing that I noticed was that these stories all involved Katie, but I didn't feel like at the end that I knew Katie all that much.  I felt as though I knew everyone around her except her.  

With that in mind, I did enjoy the collection.  I like the small town settings and think that in a young person's life the summer after you graduate is a big transitional time and it is interesting to see where everyone ends up as fall begins.  

When I usually read short story collections, I read one story set the book down and read something else and come back and read another.  I would not suggest doing that with this one.  This book can be read cover to cover and I would as the stories "connect" in a way as the characters flow from one story to the next.  

I would absolutely warn that this book isn't for the faint of heart - with drugs, abortion, underage drinking and crazy parents/families, this book isn't a tame book.  I don't tend to read a lot of books like this, but every so often I don't mind reading something that feels so true and honest. 


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

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley NAL.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Admissions by Meg Mitchell Moore

The Admissions

by Meg Mitchell Moore

Publisher: Doubleday

Pages: 320

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  The Hawthorne family has it all. Great jobs, a beautiful house in one of the most affluent areas of northern California, and three charming kids with perfectly straight teeth. And then comes their eldest daughter's senior year of high school . . .

Firstborn Angela Hawthorne is a straight-A student and star athlete, with extracurricular activities coming out of her ears and a college application that's not going to write itself. She's set her sights on Harvard, her father's alma mater, and like a dog with a chew toy, Angela won't let up until she's basking in crimson-colored glory. Except her class rank as valedictorian is under attack, she's suddenly losing her edge at cross-country, and she can't help but daydream about the cute baseball player in English class. Of course Angela knows the time put into her schoolgirl crush would be better spent coming up with a subject for her term paper—which, along with her college essay and community service hours has a rapidly approaching deadline. 

Angela's mother, Nora, is similarly stretched to the limit, juggling parent-teacher meetings, carpool, and a real-estate career where she caters to the mega rich and super-picky buyers and sellers of the Bay Area. The youngest daughter, Maya, still can't read at the age of eight; the middle-child, Cecily, is no longer the happy-go-lucky kid she once was; and the dad, Gabe, seems oblivious to the mounting pressures at home because a devastating secret of his own might be exposed. A few ill-advised moves put the Hawthorne family on a heedless collision course that's equal parts achingly real and delightfully screwball.


Kritters Thoughts:  A family drama, but told through almost all of the family members!  Mom, Dad, one daughter and some other outer characters took turns narrating this story and I enjoyed reading from different points of view.  

The main storyline is based around their first born as she is applying to college and hoping to get into her only choice that her dad attended - Harvard.  She has spent years and years prepping her grades and resume to get into this school.  I loved this story because this felt home to me.  Angela was definitely held to a high standard in her house and was expected to make certain grades and compete things at a certain level and I felt like my parents definitely expected a certain level out of me and I could feel for Angela with all the weight on her shoulders.  

I loved that this was a family drama but it had a focus.  The other family members had things going on as well, but having the story focus on the first born and this certain time in her life made this book feel different.


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Ebook 2015 Challenge: 42 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from BookSparks PR.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

I feel like a broken record!  Another crazy week at work, but a semi quiet weekend so most of the reading happened during the weekend!
A meme hosted by Sheila at BookJourney. 

Finished this past week:

The Determined Heart by Antoinette May
Wendy Darling by Colleen Oakes
The Admissions by Meg Mitchell Moore
If I Knew You Were Going to Be This Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go by Judy Chicurel

Currently Reading:

How to Be a Grown Up by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

Next on the TBR pile:

All the Stars in the Heavens by Adriana Trigiani

Review: Wendy Darling by Colleen Oakes

Wendy Darling

by Colleen Oakes

Publisher: Spark Press

Pages: 256

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Wendy Darling has a perfectly agreeable life with her parents and brothers in wealthy London, as well as a budding romance with Booth, the neighborhood bookseller’s son. But while their parents are at a ball, the charmingly beautiful Peter Pan comes to the Darling children’s nursery and—dazzled by this flying boy with god-like powers—they follow him out of the window and straight on to morning, to Neverland, a intoxicating island of feral freedom.

As time passes in Neverland, Wendy realizes that this Lost Boy’s paradise of turquoise seas, mermaids, and pirates holds terrible secrets rooted in blood and greed. As Peter’s grasp on her heart tightens, she struggles to remember where she came from—and begins to suspect that this island of dreams, and the boy who desires her—have the potential to transform into an everlasting nightmare. 


Kritters Thoughts:  If you think you know the Peter Pan story, take a moment and pick up this interesting retake through the eyes of the Darling daughter, Wendy.  The beginning feels similar as Peter approaches the Darling family and they are whisked away to Neverland, but that is only the beginning.  

I loved seeing this story through Wendy's eyes.  I liked seeing her view over her brother John's as it is easy to see how John could be easily swept into Peter Pan's influence with the Lost Boys encouraging the antics.  Wendy was definitely swept into Peter Pan's world, but it was interesting to see her see the truth.  

Tinkerbell is same and different in this book and I liked it.  I loved how her jealous ways were big in this book and really made a big part of the book.  The semi love triangle of Tinkerbell, Peter Pan and Wendy made this fairytale become a great young adult read.  

I would definitely recommend this read for those who enjoy retakes on the classic fairytales because it is based on the former but the twists on it were interesting.  We are left on a cliffhanger and I know there is a sequel and although this book didn't blow me away, I will absolutely read the sequel when it arrives.


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

Ebook 2015 Challenge: 41 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Booksparks PR.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Center of Gravity by Laura McNeill

Center of Gravity

by Laura McNeill

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Pages: 320

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  The truth could cost her everything.

Her whole life, Ava Carson has been sure of one thing: she doesn t measure up to her mother's expectations. So when Mitchell Carson sweeps into her life with his adorable son, the ready-made family seems like a dream come true. In the blink of an eye, she s married, has a new baby, and life is wonderful.

Or is it?

When her picture-perfect marriage begins unraveling at the seams, Ava convinces herself she can fix it. It s temporary. It s the stress. It s Mitchell s tragic history of loss.

If only Ava could believe her own excuses.

Mitchell is no longer the charming, thoughtful man she married. He grows more controlling by the day, revealing a violent jealous streak. His behavior is recklessly erratic, and the unanswered questions about his past now hint at something far more sinister than Ava can stomach. Before she can fit the pieces together, Mitchell files for divorce and demands full custody of their boys.

Fueled by fierce love for her children and aided by Graham Thomas, a new attorney in town, Ava takes matters into her own hands, digging deep into the past. But will finding the truth be enough to beat Mitchell at his own game?


Kritters Thoughts:  Told through many points of view, Center of Gravity is an interesting look into what could seemingly be the perfect new American family, but once inside their home the perfection wears off.  Ava has been married to Mitchell for a few years and has recently officially adopted his son from a previous relationship and they also now have an infant son who is around the age of one.  After a great courtship and early marriage, things start to change.

This book was definitely hard to read at times and I had to put it down a few moments, but there was something that really set this book apart for me.  As I mentioned above, the book is told through a few points of view and the two that are in this book that really matter are the adopted son who is eight years old and Mitchell himself.  From the beginning the reader is able to get into his mind as he wreaks havoc on his wife and kids, but keeps a face at his job.  Although again hard to read at times, I was intrigued to read the parts that came from his point of view just to see "his side" of things.

An interesting read that I would definitely warn if you are sensitive to this matter, this book may not be for you.  Its weird to say I enjoyed it, but I did.  I enjoyed reading this families saga and this mother's fight to get what is her right despite what the court believes to be true and with a husband who can manipulate anyone.


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from the author.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Determined Heart by Antoinette May

The Determined Heart

by Antoinette May

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Pages: 410

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  The daughter of political philosopher William Godwin and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley had an unconventional childhood populated with the most talented and eccentric personalities of the time. After losing her mother at an early age, she finds herself in constant conflict with a resentful stepmother and a jealous stepsister. When she meets the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, she falls deeply in love, and they elope with disastrous consequences. Soon she finds herself destitute and embroiled in a torturous love triangle as Percy takes Mary’s stepsister as a lover. Over the next several years, Mary struggles to write while she and Percy face ostracism, constant debt, and the heartbreaking deaths of three children. Ultimately, she achieves great acclaim for Frankenstein, but at what cost?


Kritters Thoughts:  A historical fiction based on a true person which sometimes is my favorite historical fiction!  This book is all about the author of Frankenstein - Mary Shelley and from her childhood to writing Frankenstein and beyond, this book really put a spotlight on how her life influenced her writing.

I went into this book very blind about Mary Shelley and I am glad.  I liked being able to read this piece of fiction and enjoy it, but it also made me want to one read Frankenstein and two read more about her and her family.  Mary Shelley came from an interesting family and also created through friendships and acquaintances an interesting "family."  

The other thing that I loved learning was specifically how Frankenstein came about.  Although in the scheme of her life and the book it was small, I loved seeing the ideas come together and germinate and become the book.  How she got the name and then came up with how he came alive - it was so fun to see the evolution.

Whether you are already a Frankenstein fan or never have read it, you can appreciate the story of how it came about.  I would say that you should be a historical fiction fan to read as this is definitely a piece of history.

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain

Pretending to Dance

by Diane Chamberlain

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Pages: 352

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Molly Arnette is very good at keeping secrets. She lives in San Diego with a husband she adores, and they are trying to adopt a baby because they can't have a child on their own. But the process of adoption brings to light many questions about Molly's past and her family--the family she left behind in North Carolina twenty years before. The mother she says is dead but who is very much alive. The father she adored and whose death sent her running from the small community of Morrison's Ridge. Her own birth mother whose mysterious presence in her family raised so many issues that came to a head. The summer of twenty years ago changed everything for Molly and as the past weaves together with the present story, Molly discovers that she learned to lie in the very family that taught her about pretending. If she learns the truth about her beloved father's death, can she find peace in the present to claim the life she really wants?


Kritters Thoughts:  Told in alternating narrations by the same character; one storyline is in the present day as Molly is trying to come to the terms that adoption will be the only way her and her husband can create a family, the second storyline is the summer Molly is 14 years old and it will be the summer that changes her life.

I adore books told this way where we learn about the character's past while still moving the current story forward.  The storyline from the past was the main focus of the book and I loved it.  I loved her age at 14 and how the author showed that as a teenager we miss clues and hints that are going on around us as people at that age are very self centered.  

There are many things this book tackles - adoption, a disabled parent, first sexual encounters and more, but it didn't make the book feel heavy.  All the issues (and there are more, but no spoilers!) just effortlessly wove through the story and felt like they all fit into this characters journey.

I have been a Diane Chamberlain fan, have not read everything, but have loved everything I read and this one was right up there with the rest.  She is an author that I know I can read without looking at a synopsis and knowing that I will love it!


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel


Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from BookSparks PR.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Art of Crash Landing by Melissa DeCarlo

The Art of Crash Landing

by Melissa DeCarlo

Publisher: Harper

Pages: 416

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Mattie Wallace has really screwed up this time. Broke and knocked up, she’s got all her worldly possessions crammed into six giant trash bags, and nowhere to go. Try as she might, Mattie can no longer deny that she really is turning into her mother, a broken alcoholic who never met a bad choice she didn’t make. 

When Mattie gets news of a possible inheritance left by a grandmother she’s never met, she jumps at this one last chance to turn things around. Leaving the Florida Panhandle, she drives eight hundred miles to her mother’s birthplace—the tiny town of Gandy, Oklahoma. There, she soon learns that her mother remains a local mystery—a happy, talented teenager who inexplicably skipped town thirty-five years ago with nothing but the clothes on her back. But the girl they describe bears little resemblance to the damaged woman Mattie knew, and before long it becomes clear that something terrible happened to her mother, and it happened here. The harder Mattie digs for answers, the more obstacles she encounters. Giving up, however, isn’t an option. Uncovering what started her mother’s downward spiral might be the only way to stop her own.


Kritters Thoughts:  Mattie Wallace from page one is a disaster, but she knows it!  She is pregnant and not talking to the father of the child and not even sure if she wants to remain pregnant and she is dealing with the recent death of her grandmother and the diminishing health of her ex step father who is a major figure in her life.  She returns to her deceased mother's childhood home and ends up finding a lot about both her mother and grandmother after they are both gone.  

This book was all about Mattie.  Mattie had a rough childhood and unlike some people she didn't try to escape her childhood she became her mother and was still in a mess when she ends up finding out real secrets about her mother before she was a mother.  I had a hard time understanding how Mattie didn't know about her mother's upbringing - I know that I have asked my mom many times of stories from her childhood and would have been surprised not to hear and know those stories now.  

If you love a very sad character that has a long road to redemption, then stop what you are doing and pick this one up.  If you have no patience for characters who are needy and self involved then you may want to pass on this one.  I had moments where I definitely wanted to knock Mattie, but I was able to read through and find her redemption.


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

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

A crazy week, but a very very quiet weekend with stinky weather for the somewhat first weekend of fall I decided to hibernate, clean, purge and read!
A meme hosted by Sheila at BookJourney. 

Finished this past week:

Reading the Sweet Oak by Jane Stites
The Art of Crash Landing by Melissa DeCarlo
Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain
Center of Gravity by Laura McNeill

Currently Reading:

The Determined Heart by Antoinette May
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Next on the TBR pile:

Shattered Blue by Lauren Horrowitz