Review: The Very Long, Very Strange Life of Isaac Dahl

The Very Long, Very Strange Life of Isaac Dahl by Bart Yates
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As the synopsis tells us, this Historical/Fiction novel spans nearly 100 years. One day for every eight years that Issac Dahl is alive, starting when he and his twin sister are 8. And what a whirlwind ride we get from the very first chapter!

Isaacs's life starts with an avalanche and continues, sometimes with very historical events and sometimes with what we might think of as mundane occurrences. But believe me, even what seems mundane isn't-it's all about the love this family has for each other. It's about the length of time they spend with each other and how each one in the family carves a name for themselves.

Sometimes frightening, sometimes poignant, sometimes funny. This book will get you through whatever you need to read your way through. I know it helped me through a bit of a rough patch.

*This ARC was supplied by John Scognamiglio Book's, the author Bart Yates, and Edelweiss/ATTL. With my gratitude and thanks to all.

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SYNOPSIS: "Both sweeping and exquisitely intimate, award-winning author Bart Yates blends historical fact and fiction in a surprising, thought-provoking saga spanning 12 significant days across nearly 100 years in the life of a single man, beginning in 1920s Utah.

“Each day is a story, whether or not that story makes any damn sense, or is worth telling to anyone else.”

At the age of ninety-six, Isaac Dahl sits down to write his memoir. For Isaac, an accomplished journalist and historian, finding the right words to convey events is never a problem. But this book will be different from anything he has written before. Focusing on twelve different days, each encapsulated in a chapter, Isaac hopes to distill the very essence of his life.

There are days that begin like any other, only to morph through twists of fate. An avalanche strikes Bingham, Utah, and eight-year-old Isaac and his twin sister, Agnes, survive when they are trapped in an upside-down bathtub. Other days stand apart in history—including a day in 1942, when Isaac, stationed on the USS Houston in the Java Sea as a rookie correspondent, confronts the full horror of war. And there are days spent simply, with his lifelong friend, Bo, or with Danny, the younger man whose love transforms Isaac’s later years—precious days with significance that grows clear only in hindsight.

From the Oklahoma Dust Bowl to a Mississippi school at the apex of the civil rights movement, Isaac tells his story with insight, wisdom, and emotional depth. The Very Long, Very Strange Life of Isaac Dahl is a wonderful, singular narrative that will spark conversation and reflection—a reminder that there is no such thing as an ordinary life, and the greatest accomplishment of all is to live and love fully.

Review: How to Fall for a Scoundrel

How to Fall for a Scoundrel by Kate Bateman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I found that this novel was so well-written that I did not have to read the first book in order to understand it.

This was a charming romance centered around one of the founding members, Ellie, of King & Co., London’s most successful private investigation firm. Interestingly this company is run by women and the "king" person is fictional...until now!

There is plenty of intrigue, and we even have an unforeseen twist that makes this book even more interesting. There are plenty of sensual scenes between Ellie and 'Harry' as he prefers to be called. And they will curl your toes.

My only complaint that kept me from giving this book a four-star rating was the overuse of certain words, one of which is 'dimple'. Ugh!

This was a very fast read that you may be able to do in under 5 hours.

*ARC was supplied by the publisher St. Martin's Publishing Group/Macmillan Publisher, the author, and NetGalley.

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SYNOPSIS:"Two unlikely allies team up to solve a case in this novel filled with Kate Bateman's signature sparkling voice, exciting adventures, and steamy chemistry.

As a founding member of King & Co., London’s most successful private investigation firm, studious Eleanor Law delights in secretly proving that women can solve crimes just as well as men. When a charming con man pretends to be her fictional boss, "Charles King," Ellie knows he’s lying, but accepting the scoundrel’s offer of help might just be the key to cracking her new case and recovering a priceless manuscript.

“Henri Bonheur”—or “Harry” as he asks to be called—claims his criminal past is behind him, but a man who steals and seduces with such consummate ease can never be trusted. As the investigation draws them deeper into danger and desire, Ellie’s infuriated to realize she’s developed feelings for her law-breaking accomplice. How can she love the scoundrel when she do."

Review: Life Begins at 50!: A BRAND NEW laugh-out-loud story of fun and friendship from TOP TEN BESTSELLER Celia Anderson for summer 2024

Life Begins at 50!: A BRAND NEW laugh-out-loud story of fun and friendship from TOP TEN BESTSELLER Celia Anderson for summer 2024 by Celia Anderson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

$2.99

This was a difficult novel to read. It is a major novel about the growth of someone soon to turn 50. Oh, it has its cute moments, but for me, it was mainly depressing. However, it did have a very happy ending, so there is that.

Trigger warnings and things that contribute to me being mostly depressed as I read this:

Bad timing divorces.
Four miscarriages.
Two deaths, one in which our character finds him.
Family troubles.
Child theft.

There really isn't much I can say about this book—you will either love it and grasp what the author is trying to convey or, like me, feel blue while reading it. I don't usually trust books that have such a gushing non-personal opinion along with the title. I'm going to stick with that.

*ARC was supplied by the publisher, Boldwood Books, the author, and NetGalley.

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SYNOPSIS: "The brilliant, brand-new novel from the TOP TEN bestselling author of 59 Memory Lane New friends, new flame, new fun . . . Kate dreamed of a happy marriage, a house full of children and a fulfilling teaching career. But after twenty-five years of married life and about to hit the big 5-0, it’s clear that her dreams haven’t quite come true. Then her husband leaves her for his golf partner, forcing Kate to take stock of what has become of her life.

Luckily, new friendship comes her way in the form of three feisty older women who take Kate under their wings, plus a new flame (could it be more . . .?) sparks with local divorced dad, Milo. As her big birthday approaches, Kate’s zest for life begins to return.

But opening herself up means making herself vulnerable to being hurt all over again . . .

Can it be true that life begins at fifty? And will Kate be brave enough to find happiness, and grab hold of it with both hands?"

Review: Maria: A Novel of Maria von Trapp

Maria: A Novel of Maria von Trapp by Michelle Moran
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It is rare that I find a book that I enjoy so much that I drag out the reading over days. This is one of those few books. I was ensnared right from the very first chapter.

This book is a wonderful mixture of fact (please read the author's notes) and fiction.

While I don't seem to have the same love for the film The Sound of Music as most others do, I knew enough about it that it was very easy to follow the events in this novel. As a matter of fact, you never have had to watch the movie to become fully engrossed in the events of Maria's life.

This book was filled with heartache and happiness. I admit that finding out that Maria was nearly tyrannical about having the children sing was a shock to my system! The film portrays her a bit differently. Learning about their escape from the Nazis was a heart-pounding eye-opener.

What a fantastic read for anyone who likes historical fiction, The Sound of Music, or just a wonderful book.

I HIGHLY recommend this novel!

*The publisher Delacorte/Dell -Random House, the author, and NetGalley supplied the ARC. I'd like to thank all three for this opportunity.

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SYNOPSIS: "Maria von Trapp. You know the name and the iconic songs, but do you know her real story? This dramatic novel, based on the woman glamorized in The Sound of Music, brings Maria to life as never before.

In the 1950s, Oscar Hammerstein is asked to write the lyrics to a musical based on the life of a woman named Maria von Trapp. He’s intrigued to learn that she was once a novice who hoped to live quietly as an Austrian nun before her abbey sent her away to teach a widowed baron’s sickly child. What should have been a ten-month assignment, however, unexpectedly turned into a marriage proposal. And when the family was forced to flee their home to escape the Nazis, it was Maria who instructed them on how to survive using nothing but the power of their voices.

It’s an inspirational story, to be sure, and as half of the famous Rodgers & Hammerstein duo, Hammerstein knows it has big Broadway potential. Yet much of Maria’s life will have to be reinvented for the stage, and with the horrors of war still fresh in people’s minds, Hammerstein can’t let audiences see just how close the von Trapps came to losing their lives.

But when Maria sees the script that is supposedly based on her life, she becomes so incensed that she sets off to confront Hammerstein in person. Told that he’s busy, she is asked to express her concerns to his secretary, Fran, instead. The pair strike up an unlikely friendship as Maria tells Fran about her life, contradicting much of what will eventually appear in The Sound of Music.

A tale of love, loss, and the difficult choices that we are often forced to make, Maria is a powerful reminder that the truth is usually more complicated—and certainly more compelling—than the stories immortalized by Hollywood."

Review: The Paris Gown

The Paris Gown by Christine Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 BE AWARE THAT THIS BOOK'S SYNOPSIS HERE ON GOODREADS IS INCORRECT FOR THE MOST PART - AMAZON AND BARNES  & NOBLE HAVE THE CORRECT ONE.

This book is about compromises and whether we should give up all we are for those we love.

Normally, I would be captivated by reading about strong women in the 1950s and would have found it even more fascinating to read about Paris in the '50s. I was born in the '50s, so I felt it would be even more interesting to read about my 'older' sisters-in-arms! For some reason, I did not find this book as captivating as I would have hoped, but I was able to finish it without any difficulty.

While this IS a book about strong women, these three question too much and rely on men too much. Yes, I realize this is the norm for the women of the time period, but this was almost too much truth for me!

The last 10 or 15 percent of the book certainly makes up for the anguish and sometimes anger I felt for these women. They manage to get what they want without any compromises!

This is a great, fast-reading book and the perfect beach read if you want to learn a lot about Paris during that time. Make sure you have a translator around! (What the heck is a brunch jacket, anyway?) I learned a lot about Parisian cooking and being an agent for writers. You will also learn a lot about Dior (one of the more interesting parts of this book. (in my opinion)

*ARC was supplied by the publisher William Morrow, the author, and NetGalley. 

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SYNOPSIS: "Paris, 1955

Three friends—Claire, Gina, and Margot—who parted as very young women with their whole lives ahead of them, reunite in Paris years later, determined to start life anew.

Parisian Claire has been working hard to become a Michelin-starred chef one day, but ever since the heady time she spent in the company of socialites Gina and Margot, her dream has been to own a Dior gown. This seemed like a far-off fantasy, until the eccentric and wealthy Madame Vaughn, who lives above Claire’s family brasserie, abruptly leaves Paris, asking Claire to mind her apartment. More bafflingly, Madame Vaughn also makes Claire a very special gift: a stunning Dior gown.

Meanwhile Gina, a cool American blue blood, lands on Claire’s doorstep nursing a broken heart and a broken engagement after her father lost all of the family money in a risky business venture. A journalist aspiring to be a novelist, Gina has returned to Paris in the hopes of pursuing her dream. But when her father begs her to attend the United States Embassy ball in the hopes of persuading Hal Sanders, her former fiancé, to invest in her father’s new business venture, she is torn. She wants to help her father, but seeing Hal again will be exquisitely painful. And what on earth is she going to wear?

Warm-hearted Claire insists Gina wear the Dior gown to the ball, and after some hesitation, Gina accepts. At Dior for Gina’s fitting, who should assist them but Margot, the friend they thought had gone back to Australia to be married. But Margot is living in Paris and working at Dior under an assumed name, and clearly, she is not happy to have been found.

Is their close friendship at an end? Or will the wonder and delight of the Dior gown bring these young women back together?

Gorgeous, perfectly fitted, lustrous and luxurious, the Dior gown has the power to change lives—as these three remarkable women are about to discover…"

Review: The Summer Club

The Summer Club by Hannah McKinnon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was not a horrible book, nor was it a great one, hence the so-so rating.

It was a predictable read that deals with two extremely different families, a snobbish country club, and many semi-lies and misunderstandings.

The major flaw I had with the book is that so many side stories and questions were never dealt with/answered. What was wrong with Darcy (we have three main characters - Ned, the father and President of the country club; Darcy, his daughter and champion golfer; and Flick, the new boy in the neighborhood.) seemed obvious to me, the reader and while I understand that her issues had to be dragged out to get the page count, it was annoying that nobody really cared enough to push her into telling what the problem/s was/were.

This was a fast beach read that included some laughs, a lot about golf, teenage issues, and a lesson on how a country club is run.

*ARC was supplied by the publisher Atria/Emily Bestler Books, the author, and NetGalley.


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SYNOPSIS:"Hannah McKinnon, the acclaimed author of the “charming and warm-hearted” ( PopSugar) The Summer House , returns with a fresh beach read about a group of outsiders threatening the status quo at an exclusive New England beach club.

Mayhaven is the best keep secret in Massachusetts. Tucked between old cedars and a spring-fed lake, the Mayhaven beach club has long been the ultimate escape to understated exclusivity. It’s the place where Darcy Birch is supposed to be experiencing the best summer of her life, but there are a few things standing in her way. Her high-strung mother won’t stop hovering over her, her father is consumed by his job as president of Mayhaven, where she works as a summer camp counselor and things are not as rosy as they seem, and her neurodivergent little brother is struggling to live with a measure of independence not everyone is ready for.

Then there is the matter of the new neighbors. Flick Creevy, his mother, and stepfather have arrived in town, parking their enormous RV, not to mention all-night music and clouds of marijuana, in the Birches’s perfectly landscaped backyard.

Flick is not interested in the perfect summer or the girl next door. Pushed to get a job at Mayhaven by his mother, who had her eyes on a new life for their family, his own eyes have been opened to the ways of the upper crust. Even though Mayhaven prides itself on being an inclusive association of good New England families with good New England values, the fact either you’re on the inside or the outside.

As the heat of summer increases, it’s soon clear that the members of Mayhaven will have to struggle to stay cool in this sharply written and refreshing new novel that is perfect for fans of Elin Hilderbrand and Jennifer Weiner."

Review: Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 Stars


I found this to be an entirely frustrating read. It was very difficult to submerse myself in this book. To start, Lenny is a frustrating creature until I figured out that she must have not only been traumatized as a child but also "on the spectrum," although this is never explained in this novel. I understand that using this as a trope is trendy, but I have not read another book like this. Secondly, her habit of mentally rearranging words to make new ones just got downright annoying, and I skipped all of that rigamarole.

Finally, about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way through this ARC, I got into Lenny's life and the story and started to care about her.

I imagine you will have no problems figuring out most of what Lenny can't/won't remember happened to her when she was a child. However, some of it came as a shock to me, and that made the fact that I kept reading tolerable.

The ending was a pleasant surprise (don't judge me, LOL, you'll see!), hence the title.

It's a worthwhile read.

*ARC provided by the publisher St. Martin's Press, the author, and NetGalley.




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SYNOPSIS:"Lenny Marks is excellent at not having a life.

She bikes home from work at exactly 4pm each day, buys the same groceries for the same meals every week, and owns thirty-six copies of The Hobbit (currently arranged by height). The closest thing she has to a friendship is playing Scrabble against an imaginary Monica Gellar while watching Friends reruns.

And Lenny Marks is very, very good at not remembering what happened the day her mother and stepfather disappeared when she was still a child. The day a voice in the back of her mind started whispering, You did this.

Until a letter from the parole board arrives in the mail—and when her desperate attempts to ignore it fail, Lenny starts to unravel. As long-buried memories come to the surface, Lenny’s careful routines fall apart. For the first time, she finds herself forced to connect with the community around her, and unexpected new relationships begin to bloom. Lenny Marks may finally get a life—but what if her past catches up to her first?

Equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming, Kerryn Mayne’s stunning debut is an irresistible novel about truth, secrets, vengeance, and family lost and found, with a heroine who's simply unforgettable."

Review: The Lion Women of Tehran

The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have never read anything else by this author, nor have I ever read anything about Iranian culture. I found myself at first mesmerized by this novel. Unfortunately, it seems written more for the young adult crowd than for anyone else. Let me amend that last sentence: MOST of the novel seems written for Y/A's.

It is a fascinating look into a culture I know little about, and it is a captivating history of Iranian women, politics, and the deep and abiding friendship of two women who met when they were 7 years old and kept their friendship going for most of a lifetime.

This was a fast and engrossing read, perfect for those who want to know more about the culture and what women have gone through and are going through now.

*ARC was supplied by the publisher Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster, the author, and NetGalley.

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SYNOPSIS: "From the nationally bestselling author of the “powerful, heartbreaking” (Shelf Awareness) The Stationery Shop, a heartfelt, epic new novel of friendship, betrayal, and redemption set against three transformative decades in Tehran, Iran.

In 1950s Tehran, seven-year-old Ellie lives in grand comfort until the untimely death of her father, forcing Ellie and her mother to move to a tiny home downtown. Lonely and bearing the brunt of her mother’s endless grievances, Ellie dreams of a friend to alleviate her isolation.

Luckily, on the first day of school, she meets Homa, a kind, passionate girl with a brave and irrepressible spirit. Together, the two girls play games, learn to cook in the stone kitchen of Homa’s warm home, wander through the colorful stalls of the Grand Bazaar, and share their ambitions for becoming “lion women.”

But their happiness is disrupted when Ellie and her mother are afforded the opportunity to return to their previous bourgeois life. Now a popular student at the best girls’ high school in Iran, Ellie’s memories of Homa begin to fade. Years later, however, her sudden reappearance in Ellie’s privileged world alters the course of both of their lives.

Together, the two young women come of age and pursue their own goals for meaningful futures. But as the political turmoil in Iran builds to a breaking point, one earth-shattering betrayal will have enormous consequences.

Written with Marjan Kamali’s signature “evocative, devastating, and hauntingly beautiful” (Whitney Scharer, author of The Age of Light) prose, The Lion Women of Tehran is a sweeping exploration of how profoundly we are shaped by those we meet when we are young, and the way love and courage transforms our lives."

Review: The Sirens of Soleil City

The Sirens of Soleil City by Sarah C. Johns
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a good book, but apparently not for me, and I usually like books about the over-60 crowd! So many others loved this deep look into motherhood that if it sounds interesting at all, I definitely would give it a shot.

This was a difficult, gritty look into the lives of two mothers who shared a daughter. It also looked into the lives of a granddaughter who is expecting her first baby and a group of senior women who are trying to save their budget retirement home.

One of Cherie's mothers is dying of lung cancer, one Mother is losing her home, and everyone's mess is on Cherie's shoulders to clean up.

This was a very difficult book to read. We jumped around in timelines. We jumped around with Dale's various husbands and figuring out who belonged to whom at various times nearly drove me to distraction.

Not my glass of Zinfandel.

*ARC was supplied by the publisher Random House, the author, and NetGalley.

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SYNOPSIS " Three generations of women learn to own their mistakes and rebuild their bonds as they prepare to compete in the Senior Synchronized Swimming Competition in South Florida.

West Palm Beach, 1999. A phone call summons fifty-eight-year-old Cherie Anderson from a frozen Minnesota to help her two Dale, the mother who left her when she was five and is facing eviction from her budget apartment complex, Soleil City, and Marlys, the mother who raised her from that moment on--and who’s now dying, but won’t admit it to her daughter. Cherie seeks a reason to stay in town long enough to give Dale the help she’s finally asked for and Marlys the help she clearly needs. And she must find a project to distract her pregnant daughter Laura, whose marriage has fallen apart weeks before her due date.

The South Florida Senior Synchronized Swimming Competition seems to be the answer. The publicity from winning the competition, along with the ten-thousand-dollar prize money, could help save Soleil City. With Laura, who used to captain a dance team, as their coach, they’ve got a fighting chance. And with everyone else preoccupied by the competition, Cherie can focus on saving Marlys before it’s too late.

Over the course of a month in an apartment complex filled with feisty, funny, strong-willed women in their 70s, four women who make up an uneasy family will realize that in life, and motherhood, there isn't good and bad. There's only trying to get it right."