If You Only Knew

If You Only Knew by Kristan Higgins (Aug 25, 2015)

Book Description: 

The drama, hilarity and tears of sisterhood are at the heart of the thoroughly captivating new novel by New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins—a funny, frank and bittersweet look at marriage, forgiveness and moving on 
Letting go of her ex-husband is harder than wedding-dress designer Jenny Tate expected…especially since his new wife wants to be Jenny's new best friend. Sensing this isn't exactly helping her achieve closure, Jenny trades the Manhattan skyline for her hometown up the Hudson, where she'll start her own business and bask in her sister Rachel's picture-perfect family life…and maybe even find a little romance of her own with Leo, her downstairs neighbor, a guy who's utterly irresistible and annoyingly distant at the same time. 
Rachel's idyllic marriage, however, is imploding after she discovers her husband sexting with a colleague. She always thought she'd walk away in this situation, but her triplet daughters have her reconsidering her stance on adultery, much to Jenny's surprise. Rachel points to their parents' perfect marriage as a shining example of patience and forgiveness; but to protect her sister, Jenny may have to tarnish that memory—and their relationship­—and reveal a family secret she's been keeping since childhood. 
Both Rachel and Jenny will have to come to terms with the past and the present and find a way to get what they want most of all.

This review is from: If You Only Knew (Paperback)

Have you ever read a book that you just knew right from the very beginning you would be best of friends with these characters if they were only real? This is how I felt once I was a couple of chapters into this novel.

This book was almost everything I love in a book - it was filled with realistic characters, realistic situations, some happiness and a lot of sad...the one thing, and an important thing, it was lacking was humor. Not that there was totally none, but it just wasn't there in big enough doses to make this a 5 star rated book.

I read to escape the realities and trauma's of everyday life -this book just left me weeping through most of it. The love of the sister's for each other was plain to see, the love that Jenny pours into her creations is obvious, Rachel's love for her triplets is plain to see...but the heart-aches just took a bit too much out of me and out of this book.

Getting to the 'happily-ever-after was almost too painful to get to and didn't last long enough to satisfy me or to make up for all the other trauma.
Seeing two such smart women mess up their lives for two such worthless men was astounding to me.

What is even odder for me is even with all that said, I could not put this book down -even though it was a painful journey through Rachel and Jenny's lives, it was fascinating and so well written that I can look beyond my own petty problems with this book and see that the author was trying to tell us - that we as women are so much more than just being a shadow to the men in our lives. We shouldn't forgive lying out of hand, we need to have a spine...and I'm happy to say that each of these women did learn this lesson. It was a difficult and rocky path, but they learned.

Most of Ms Higgins other novels may have the sadness, frustrations and problems of everyday life that this one had but they also usually include a good dose of humor. Yes, the humor is mostly the self-depreciating kind, but it is humor nonetheless. You need to really look closely to see the humor interspersed with the pain in this book.

It really was a satisfying read for me, even with the issues I had with it.

Who Do You Love - Jennifer Weiner

Who Do You Love: A Novel by Jennifer Weiner (Aug 11, 2015)

"An unforgettable story about true love, real life, and second chances…
Rachel Blum and Andy Landis are just eight years old when they meet one night in an ER waiting room. Born with a congenital heart defect, Rachel is a veteran of hospitals, and she’s intrigued by the boy who shows up alone with a broken arm. He tells her his name. She tells him a story. After Andy’s taken back to a doctor and Rachel’s sent back to her bed, they think they’ll never see each other again.
Rachel grows up in an affluent Florida suburb, the popular and protected daughter of two doting parents. Andy grows up poor in Philadelphia with a single mom and a rare talent for running.
Yet, over the next three decades, Andy and Rachel will meet again and again—linked by chance, history, and the memory of the first time they met, a night that changed the course of both of their lives.
A sweeping, warmhearted, and intimate tale, Who Do You Love is an extraordinary novel about the passage of time, the way people change and change each other, and how the measure of a life is who you love."

 I hate to do this as I usually love anything by this author, but this book just left me annoyed for some reason. To me it was just meh. It had its moments, please don't get me wrong. The premise was fairly unique to me (although a little stale for a lot of the general public), the character's are well drawn and multi-layered but for me the idea of love at first sight, sort of, is a difficult idea for me to swallow.

The pain that these two go through during their lives, real pain and emotional pain, especially Andy's got to be too much for me after a while.

The resolution and conclusion of the novel was good but I wish it had happened a bit earlier in the book so we could have seen Andy and Rachel have some good in their lives.

Yes, you get the happily ever after with this book, but the path to that moment was like walking over glass. A delicate process, painful at times and you are very thankful when that walk is done.

Smoke on the Water by Lori Handeland

Smoke on the Water (Sisters of the Craft)

Aug 4, 2015 | Kindle eBook

by Lori Handeland

Reunited after four hundred years, three sisters join together to vanquish the power that tore them apart...and embrace the sorcery that is their birthright.Abandoned as an infant, Willow Black spent her childhood in foster care, the object of whispers and pity...and rumors about being certifiably crazy. Telling your young friends that you can foresee the future-and summon the rain-is a surefire way to end up in the psychiatric ward. But when Dr. Sebastian Frasier arrives at the facility, Willow's whole life takes a turn. Sebastian is the handsomest man she's ever actually laid eyes on-even though he has been in Willow's visions for years. But not even she could have predicted the storm of passion that engulfs them both. With Sebastian by her side, Willow is emboldened to embrace her history, and the sisters she never knew. Soon, the true power in her blood awakes-and the battle she was born to fight begins. While the temp est rages, Willow must depend on the friends and family she's found-and the man she has loved forever...In the final book of this enchanting new trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Lori Handeland sweeps readers into a bewitching tale of secrets, sisterhood, and the stunning magic of love.

Sadly, this is the last book in this trilogy.  For me, it is a good thing because this was the first book I read.  Now I can go back and read the first two and already know how it will all play out. So I don’t know how well this book is going to tie everything up, but knowing Lori Handelands writing from my previous experiences with her, I know that however it combined the first two books, the effort will have been stellar.

I did find this book to drag a bit in places and to be somewhat repetitious at times, but the plot-line was so fresh (the only book I have ever read that came close to it, was an erotica by M. A. Evereaux called “North Wolf”) I so totally enjoyed the whole kit and caboodle.  The idea of not having anyone in the world and then finding out you have two sisters, to find out you are a witch and not only that but you can teleport/transport people (very Star Trek!) you have visions that come true, and to top it off not only are you going to help save the world but you are going to fall in love with someone you’ve known in your visions…*sigh*

This book did it so well for me, that I have already gone and bought the first two books in this trilogy and as soon as I can I am going to delve into them and have a reading fest!

The twists and turns in the plotting of this book was great, although I must admit to  knowing who was going to be behind Sebastian’s abduction before the author told us. 

I recommend this whole heartedly and even if you do not feel like reading the first two books –this book has no problem being a stand-alone. 

Best and the Brightest

Brightest and Best (Amish Turns of Time)

"The collapse of a schoolhouse puts pressure on Amish families and their long-held educational values. Ella Hilty anticipates marrying Gideon Wittner and becoming a mother to his children. In a whirling clash of values, Ella seeks the solid ground that seems to have slipped away. Margaret Simpson, an English schoolteacher, wonders if she is losing her last chance at love. As the local authorities draw lines in the sand, Margaret puts romance at risk one final time. All eyes turn to Ella to make a sacrifice and accept a challenge that can bring unity to the Amish and understanding to the English."

If you have not read the other books in this series, I think you will be like me and feel lost at sea. I have never read this author before and I am quite sorry that I didn't know enough to trust that I wouldn't need to read the first books in this series. It has been said that this is a less heavy read than the others...that does not bode well for me and my tastes!

This was a very interesting historical novel set in 1918 that dealt with the separation of church and state. To call this a romance would be a bit of a mistake. There really was none. That must have been done in the past novels. What this was about was how the state decided that the Amish children be integrated or consolidated into a school that would teach the Amish children more about the 'English' the than the church wants them to know and to force them to go to school well past the eight grade which is the norm for the Amish.

There are several secondary and tertiary story lines going on throughout this book. I felt that this was a good book for knowledge and learning about what the Amish went through to gain respect for their religion. However, the novel felt overly long to me with a lot of repetition, and I had to struggle to stay interested in it.

*ARC supplied by publisher.