Picture Perfect Autumn

Finished March 31

Picture Perfect Autumn by Shelley Noble

This contemporary romance was an enjoyable read. The main character, Dani Campbell, is one of the hottest new photographers on the New York scene, but she is insecure and feels that something is missing from her work. On a visit to a thrift store for inspiration, she comes across an envelope of photographs and is determined to track down the photographer. He is Lawrence Sinclair, an 80-year-old reclusive man who lives alone in a run down Rhode Island beach house. 

Dani is insistent on getting him to mentor her and she makes assumptions based on what she sees of his life. She agrees to pay him rent to stay at the house and also agrees to do chores for him in exchange for his mentorship. She really puts her heart into it, bringing the house back to life. She also gets drawn into the local community, particularly getting involved in a local art school run by three aging nuns. Her life in Rhode Island is juxtaposed by her New York persona, where she dresses for attention and mingles with the wealthy. Her agent is supportive but also demanding and there are things happening in New York that she can't opt out of, including a show and a potential sponsorship opportunity. 

Lawrence is still grieving the losses of his life: his wife, his son, and his relationship with his grandson Peter who he was close to before his son's death. Lawrence isn't poor, although the way he lives gives this impression. Peter has recently joined the family business, something he was pressured into by his mother. This is not the type of law he wants to practice and he resents the situation he is in. He also misses his grandfather and their previous relationship.

When Peter's mom pressures him to visit his grandfather, Dani misrepresents herself as Lawrence's housekeeper, while Peter's mother is looking for signs of his loss of capability to function on his own. 

This is an interesting study of the three main characters. Dani, successful but insecure; Peter, successful, but unhappy; and Lawrence, caught in the past until the present insists on his presence. 

I liked the characters and the plot, and found the themes covered here meaningful to me. 

The Memory Library

Finished November 30

The Memory Library by Kate Story

Year before this story started Ella had a falling out with her mother, of which we gradually learn the details as the story unfolds. She went to college and then emigrated to Australia, and as the book opens, she learns that her mother has suffered a fall, and there has been a bathroom flood at her mother's home. Reluctantly she returns to London, intending to stay for the duration of her mother's convalescence, but she finds the situation somewhat different than she expected. Her mother seems frailer and less independent than she thought. 

She also finds the room that has borne the brunt of the damage is one that her mother had curated carefully for years. As Ella renews old friendships and digs into the past, she finds that her younger self had been quick to pass judgement. She also finds herself looking at the city with fresh eyes.

This is a story of books, books carefully chosen, for specific insights into life. It is books that offer a path forward to a possible reconciliation and to a better understanding of her own situation as well. This is also a book about community and the lives we touch as we live our own life. 

I enjoyed this book, for the growth that we see Ella take, for the books that are important to her, and to the community that she becomes a part of. 

The Summer of Yes

Finished September 2

The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh

This is a great summer novel, perfect for vacation reading. The main character is Kelsey Worthington. One day, on her way to work, after picking up her boss's coffee for a favour, she is hit by a car that jumped the curb. The next thing she knows is waking up in a hospital bed. She is lucky to not have more serious injuries than she does, and she begins to reconsider some of her life choices. 

When the other bed in her room is taken by legendary businesswoman Georgina Tate, she thinks of it as an opportunity. Not necessarily to further her career in publishing, but to get her out of her rut. 

As the women exchange advice, Georgina finds herself swept along in Kelsey's plans to have a summer of saying yes to opportunities. 

One of her first steps once she is out of the hospital is to reengage with her best friend, and then to take a leave of absence from her job to work on her own writing dreams. 

Georgina has focused her life on her business, leaving little room for the family that moved away from her years ago. Now that she is facing health issues, she too is thinking about her life and what she gave up in her quest for business success. 

This is a tale of second chances, risk-taking, and being open to what life offers you. A book that is full of emotions. 

Anger Bang

Finished February 19

Anger Bang by Avery Flynn

This novel is the first in a romance series and the two main characters, Thea and Kade, had their own baggage that they are bringing to their present situation. Thea was a child actress along with her sister and their mother was a stereotypical Hollywood mom, doing everything she could to keep parts coming. But Thea's heart was never in it and she stepped back when she became a teenager and the parts dried up. She is now a paleontologist and loves her job. Kade's story is unveiled as the book progresses, but he had an unhappy childhood that is still unresolved. 

As the novel opens Thea is getting the final fitting for her bridesmaid dress. Her sister's wedding is a reality show event at a camping resort in Wyoming, with footage revealed to fans daily. Both bride and groom are stars looking for a lift in their careers and have agreed to do this as a career move. They are friends as well. As Thea is standing outside her sister's trailer, she meets Kade, the best man and brother of the groom. Kade looks like a rebel with his tattoos, long hair, and motorcycle, but he has a successful entrepreneurial career that belies his looks. 

When Thea overhears her sister say that she didn't even want Thea at the wedding, but the producers insisted, she is hurt. That evening, at the rehearsal event, Thea propositions Kade in front of everyone, on camera, and is surprised when he agrees. As the two spend time together, both trying to escape the cameras and wedding events, the find themselves confessing secrets and growing closer. 

There is lots going on here, with Thea's issues with both her sister and mom, and an unresolved situation at work that we never see resolved. Kade has issues with both his brother and his estranged mom, not to mention his dad who passed away years ago. With his mom at the wedding, things come to a head for him in a way that isn't entirely predictable.

This book has a lot of humour that really makes the story come alive. Thea is a lovely woman who has let herself be a doormat for far too long, and Kade has pushed people away in his life, focusing on his work. It was a quick enjoyable read. 

Between a Book and a Hard Place

Finished January 5

Between a Book and a Hard Place by Denise Swanson

This is part of a series of books set in the small town of Shadow Bend, Missouri. The main character, Devereaux (Dev) Sinclair runs the local five-and-dime store, which also has a soda fountain. She moved back to town for family reasons leaving a career in the investment industry. When Dev was sixteen, her father Kern went to jail (for a crime he didn't commit) and her mother Yvette left town, dropping Dev at her paternal grandmother' Birdies house as she left. 

Now Dev's dad works at her store and both of them live with Birdie. Dev has a few close friends: Poppy who runs a local nightclub called Gossip Club, and who is estranged from her own father, the local police chief; Ronni, who owns the local bed and breakfast; and Boone, who is on the town council and hopes to find funding to reopen the local library.

Dev also has a couple of boyfriends, and is struggling to choose between them. One is Noah, a local doctor who was her high school boyfriend, but who dumped her when they both went off to college. The other is Jake, a former US-marshall, who now lives on a neighbouring farm, helping out his aging uncle. 

Now Yvette is back in town with her latest husband Jett, it looks like the local library will be getting funding, and a strange professor claims to see lights from UFOs in the local area. But when Jett turns up dead, Dev must not only protect her family by finding out who the killer was, but also take on other local issues. 

A light read with a lot of side plots that will likely lead to more possibilities for future books in the series. 

It's Getting Scot in Here

Finished October 26

It's Getting Scot in Here by Suzanne Enoch

I chose this book to meet a reading challenge, where I needed a kilt on the cover of the novel. This light historical romance has a lot of humour in it. It's not quite a send-up of historical romance novels, but it comes close. Set in 1816, the novel follows two main characters. Amelia-Rose Baxter is a smart young woman, the only child of her parents. Her mother has always aspired to a title and has already refused several offers of marriage for Amelia-Rose that are from nice but title-less men. Amelia-Rose feels that too often she has to pretend to be what she is not, a flirtatious simpleton who is agreeable and willing to submit to whatever a man says with no opinion of her own. She's tried, but she keeps reaching a point where she can't keep her mouth shut and so she is now getting a reputation for being mouthy and unfeminine. 

Niall MacTaggert is the youngest of three sons of Angus MacTaggert, a titled Scottish laird and his English wife Francesca Oswell. Francesca was the only child of a viscount, so that title has also come down to her eldest son. For eighteen years, Francesca has lived at her family home in London with her daughter Eloise, and the boys have lived in Scotland with their father. Francesca has control of the money she inherited, which Angus needs for his estate, and the two reached an agreement that she would contribute the necessary monies on condition that all three boys marry English girls, one of her own choosing, before their daughter wed. 

Now Angus has just received word from Francesca that Eloise is engaged and he doesn't hesitate to let his sons know of this agreement and send them down to London. The eldest Coll has drawn the short stick on taking his mother's choice of bride, but is highly resentful of that and not at all willing to submit. The middle son Aden is ambivalent, and Niall is the peacemaker in the family. Their father has told them that English girls are pliable and will submit to whatever form of marriage they propose, including one that leaves the woman in London, visited only for the purpose of creating an heir.

Francesca has been apprised of her sons trip and has already signed a contract for Coll and Amelia-Rose to marry, but she is definitely not the pliable English girl he expects, and his first meeting with her goes very badly indeed. The plot continues with Niall trying to keep Amelia-Rose interested in Coll, and trying to bring Coll to reason, but he finds himself falling for this smart woman himself. 

This has lots of fun around stereotypes, both English and Scottish, and lots of scenes where one is wondering what next, but Francesca is a smart English woman herself and, as she gets to know her sons better, and lets them know the full story of her relationship with their father, she also finds that she gets new ideas of how to make things work in almost everyone's favour. 

A fun read.