Two brothers, a sister and their father unite on their former family vacation island to remember their mother/wife, recently deceased. The siblings all carry personal baggage that overtakes their time and actions. Everything goes haywire for all of them as the personal problems cannot be avoided.
An oddly engaging novel.
Christina Lauren writes fabulous books with wonderful characters and very engaging story lines. The Romance Revival is no exception. A deeply secretive research doctor developed a compound with the power to resurrect something or someone who died within a short time period. She daringly uses it on her husband when he is killed by a hit and run driver. Their relationship unfolds anew as he has no memories of before being resurrected. A truly engaging story.
The Cowboy Point stories so far are simply wonderful. The writing is to the point expressive-emotion definitely and perfectly overshadowed by character felt fact. It was delightful to read the relationship developing between Kitty and Finn. Both are wounded souls by their childhood experiences. Kitty has a dilemma to solve and marriage to Finn should solve it. Kitty really wants Finn to hold to the marriage contract but Finn, not so much. Totally captivating story.
A sweet and touching story about starting over after life implodes. Claire was happily married to Ellis until he surprised her with a divorce request, a lover, and the lover’s pregnancy. Claire had just learned she was also pregnant. She and her teen daughter, Lily, leave Manhattan and return to Claire’s childhood home in Nantucket. Life begins to improve for both Claire and Lily as the days and months pass. A very enjoyable story.
The charming and colorful atmosphere of Valencia, Spain is center of the story of a searching for herself. Dahlia is recovering from a divorce and dealing with deep feelings of being lost to herself. She reconnects with family in Spain and finds a whole new world while still battling her new future. She meets expatt Liam and life becomes confusing yet truly enjoyable. A nice hug from a novel.
A young woman who has lost her high income job and broken up with her fiance moves temporarily to New London, CT, to start over and figure out what she really wants. She gets a job on an oyster farm, something she has no experience with. Her life swirls up and down like a ferris wheel while she vacillates between her old life and her future. A complicated story ensues as things get all mixed up.
A very engaging and wonderful story packed with sweet characters and a couple of truly awful ones. The scenes of an antique story where happiness reigns plays against two husband and wives homes riddled with strife. A chance to have a delightful outcome hovers among the pages.
An intense novel relating the possible demise of a complicated and dysfunctional family. Depression resounds throughout the story along with alcoholism and deep insecurities and feelings of being lost within the dysfunction. As situations come to a head, every character must face this reality.
The magical essence of Thornwood House is dying and all will fade away unless a new and accepted caretaker is found. Evie accepts the job and with her adopted daughter Ruby, moves to the house to begin the arduous task of finding out what is causing the loss of magic.
A creative and delightfully descriptive story of the perils Evie and Ruby face, of a village of mostly wonderful people, and of a house in desperate need.
The trials and tribulations of four generations of Black South Carolina horsemen are recounted in this poignant story. Each generation faces deep troubles, sadness, and grief amid times of joy.
The story is told in a true to form prose and dialog of the Black community. The situations, experiences, and lives of the characters will touch you on many levels, evoking deep sentiment and emotion.
An extremely moving novel that at its core is about love and dreams meshing with reality.
Letters to an Alice are delivered to another Alice. The letters from 1985 somehow convey her emotions and situation and lead her on a journey to find the author. More to the center of the story are Alice and her best friend Spence and Mike, the author of the letters, and his best friend Kate. There are similarities in the relationships that unfold as the story proceeds. It is a very stirring and touching novel.
A sweet and engaging story of a second chance after twenty years. The teen pregnancy of Sarah and Hal broke them apart, spurned on by her unforgiving mother. A broken leg forces Sarah to ask Hal for a ride to their son’s wedding in France. Hal has planned out a road trip of camping in his old VW camper which creates fun and adventures that bring them to a different reality even as doubts linger.
A lovely and captivating story of romance and family. The family is a big problem for a woman who is meeting her biological mother and three half-sisters for the first time. The romance is between her and a (unrealized yet by him) lonely rancher. Lots of tense situations to keep you engaged.
A very interesting novel of witches and the evil that invades a town once a year, of a woman tormented by her trapped magic, and of her relative witch who says she can release the woman’s magic. Confusing at times, the story leaves the reader to determine what exactly is happening. I liked the premise but the story threads were not tight enough to provide consistent cohesion.
A splendid novel of opposite sisters and a family heritage mystery. The story takes the reader to a small Irish town, rich in lore and tradition. Sisters Maeve and Therese are impelled by circumstances and their deceased mother’s request to travel to Ireland, their mother’s family’s origin. Along the way, they grow an understanding of each other and research the details of a mysterious family owned portrait.
Boy, I had a run of boring books that drove me nuts. I love getting into all kinds of books (except psychological thrillers) and actually look forward to escaping into the pages. There's nothing like leaving all the weeding in my yard to jump into a far away place, a cowboy romance, a current issue novel or whatever strikes my fancy. I know this happens and when I used to go to the library, I would check out sixteen books to give me back up for the duds. This, thankfully over, run of yawn inducing novels was painful and made me feel like I was on the path to selecting more novels of the DNF category. It even made even weeding the yard a joy and we are on a half acre of rocky soil and belligerent weeds. Luckily my terrible choices came to an end and lately I've read some good to great novels.
I don't know about you but I give a novel at least five chapters to engage me.If I'm not hooked by then, I'm out. There have been a number of novels that I have struggled through because they are advanced readers copies and I feel compelled to give the novel more time. Sometimes, I'm glad because the story turns around and becomes engaging. Thank goodness because time sure drags when I'm trying desperately to find something worthwhile for my time in the story.
Enough of the griping and on to yet another story to capture my mind and take me away.
Wonderful story of love and spicy romance. Dash, a troubled soldier who survived an incident in Afghanistan and in Service for the wedding of one of his mates. When he meets Lainey, the sister of another of his mates, he is taken by her. Unfortunately, she is his mate’s sister and hands off. That does not stop the chemistry between them. Love is not always easy but for Dash and Lainey it does, until it does not.
A novel of self-acceptance and friendship on a Greek island. Three women all seeking self-betterment meet at a wellness retreat in Greece. Their experiences will draw them close and provide revelations about their lives. An enjoyable novel.
