Totally and Completely Fine

Finished August 25

Totally and Completely Fine by Elissa Sussman

This contemporary romance novel follows Lauren Parker, who grew up and lives in the small town of Cooper, Montana. In the present, Lauren runs a craft and book store with her mother, a retired school teacher. Her younger brother Gabe is a famous actor and has helped all the family out financially. Three years ago, Lauren's husband Spencer died in a car accident, something she and her teen daughter Lena are still struggling with. She also has a difficult relationship with Lena as Lena is a moody teen. When the two go to visit Gabe on set, Lauren meets actor Ben Walsh, and there is instant chemistry. Ben is younger than Lauren and she struggles with her attraction, her worries about the age gap and their different trajectories. 

We see Lauren's younger years, after her own father died when she was eleven and she herself was a rebellious teen. Living in a small town, she earned a certain reputation that some locals still paint her as. She knows how reputation can affect her life and doesn't want to go through that again, or bring attention on her own daughter in a negative way.

This is a romance, but also a story of struggling with grief and moving forward after loss. It is about family and intimacy, and how we all long to be seen, even though it can be scary to be vulnerable.

I enjoyed this novel and found it a real page-turner. 

Every Time We Say Goodbye

Finished June 18

Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner

This is the third book in the series The Jane Austen Society. It is set mostly in 1954-1955 with flashbacks to a related storyline in 1943. The main character is Vivien Lowry, a British playwrights. She's recently premiered her second play on the London stage, but it wasn't well received by critics. Her contacts, which include several well-known women including Peggy Guggenheim, Daphne du Maurier, and Ava Gardner, arrange a job in Italy for her, working on the script of an American director. Many of those working on the film have left the United States due to the McCarthy investigations, including her fellow writer American Jew Levi Bassano, a young man who served with a Field Photo unit in the U.S. armed forces during World War II. The lead actress in the film is American Claudia Jones, a beautiful biracial woman who passes for white. As she engages with the film community in Rome, we see other real people enter the story, including a young Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, and Gina's husband Milko Skofic. Vivien becomes friends with Claudia, who recently starred in a film as a nun and who is making some life decisions of her own. We also see the strong influence the Vatican had on the film industry at the time. 

Vivien is still coming to terms with the disappearance of her fiancé David, who had been captured by Italian forces during the war and then gone missing. She hopes to be able to gather more information while she is still in Italy. 

An Italian director is looking to do a film about a young woman known only as La Scholaretta, who was a partisan during the war and who was executed for the assassin of a Nazi SS Commander. He also has a personal connection to her story. In the 1943 portion of the plot, we see this young woman in the hours surrounding the assassination and her motivations and actions during this time.

I found it interesting to see how these two plots came together and how the repercussions of the war were still being felt during this time. As part of the series, this book centres women who make their own careers and decisions and who support each other doing so. 

I also enjoyed learning that the author is Canadian. 

Can't Help Faking in Love

Finished May 18

Can't Help Faking in Love by Swati Hegde

This contemporary romance novel takes us to India. Harsha Godbole is the child of wealthy parents and niece to a major Bollywood producer, but she never felt close emotionally with her parents. After getting her degree in the United States, Harsha decided to settle in Bangalore rather than her parents' city of Mumbai, and make a living as a photographer. She also decided to leave her trust account untouched and only live off what she made. She goes to Sunstag Café every day for a special drink and to do some work. Her apartment is small and not a place she wants to spend more time in than necessary. She did have a boyfriend from a similar wealthy background, but he has recently dumped her to marry someone his parents chose. There are a couple of family events coming up that she will attend: her aunt and uncle's 25th anniversary party and her cousin Nela's wedding. When she meets Nela and her fiancé by chance one night, she spontaneously introduces Veer Kannan as her boyfriend. Veer is actually a barista as Sunstag who she has a friendly relationship with.

Veer has helped support his family all his life after his father walked out when he was a child. He did go to acting school and worked in Mumbai for a while, even getting a job on a pilot show, but it wasn't picked up. Now he is working to help his mom and his younger brother Arjun. Arjun was accepted into a good business school, but they have cancelled his scholarship without warning and Veer is trying to figure out a way to come up with the tuition money in just a few days. 

So when Harsha asks him to pose as her boyfriend through the next few weeks, offering to pay him, the amount he asks for matches the tuition need. Harsha must use her trust money to pay him, but thinks it is worth it. They agree on a plan of payments and begins spending time together to get to know each other and feel comfortable interacting with each other.

As they grow closer and get to know each other, they also begin to learn more about each other's lives and feelings and the chemistry between them has time to work on them. They learn each other's vulnerabilities and find themselves becoming champions for each other in ways that feel real.

I liked the way the culture was shown without being focused on in a purposeful way. We learn about food, about social worlds, and about their family dynamics. 

You Belong with Me

Finished December 24

You Belong with Me by Mhairi McFarlane

This romance novel has a romance that we've come into at a critical moment and it deals with some interesting issues around communication, trust, and what happens when one of the pair is a celebrity. Edie is a woman who is good at her publicity job, but not as confident in her personal life. She tried to talk herself out of a relationship with famous actor Elliot Owen, but he shows up on her doorstep determined to make a relationship with her work. 

Edie had a recent experience where someone took advantage of her nature and compromised her, with Edie getting unfairly blamed for the situation. Since it involved co-workers, it spilled into issues at work, specifically bullying and mean girl attitudes. Her boss knew the truth and allowed her leeway to work from home, and recognizes her leadership potential. When she's assigned an employee from head office to report to her as a new satellite location manager, she's wary of what he's been told by her work bullies.

Edie also learns to deal with Elliot's agent and how she should deal with the publicity that news of her relationship will bring. Another interesting thing to deal with is his relationships with other cast, particularly those cast as significant others in an ongoing series. 

As Edie and Elliot learn more about each other and work out the new seriousness of their relationship, dealing with information leaks, crushes, and new opportunities puts strain on their long distance relationship.

A romance with a lot going on and some real issues at the heart of it. 

Only Because It's You

Finished August 4

Only Because It's You by Rebecca Fisseha

This novel has an Ethiopian Canadian woman Miz as the main character. She came to Canada for medical reasons when she was a young child, brought there by her mother, and they stayed. Her father remained in Ethiopia. When she was fourteen, her mother sent her back to Ethiopia to stay with her father for the summer. She learned then that her parents were still married and that surprised her. She also hung out with some kids her age while she was there, and became friends with Kal. Years later Kal came to Canada as a visitor, but managed to get a work visa as an actor. He had a mentor, Oliver, who gave him advice and help, and who was working to get a theatre company to do sponsorship for him. 

Miz has always said that she would never marry, citing her parents' relationship as the reason. She's had a few casual relationships, more based on physical attraction than emotional connection.

When Kal's sponsorship falls through and his work visa is getting close to the end, Miz starts trying to find other ways for him to stay, including finding a woman for him to marry. Eventually they settle on her being his spousal sponsor and they have a civil ceremony at Toronto City Hall. But because they already have an emotional relationship, and they know each other's family members, it gets weird for Miz. A planned visit to Ethiopia brings up more issues, some from the past and some from the current situation. 

The plot was interesting, and I liked Kal, but Miz really began to annoy me. It seems that she needed therapy to deal with a lot of unresolved issues around her feelings toward her parents and her feelings about relationships. So I didn't really connect to her as a character as much as I usually do in novels. 

I enjoyed learning about some of the Ethiopian culture included. 

Plan B

Finished February 23

Plan B by S.J.D. Peterson

This gay romance novel was a book I picked up at a library conference a few years back and I decided to read it now to meet the February portion for Novelist's reading challenge, which is a LGBTQIA+ romance. 

Danny Marshall, the main character is at college and sharing a dorm room with his longtime best friend Bo. Danny has ambitions to act professionally and always takes time with his appearance. As the two are getting ready for a frat party that Bo wants to go to, as a young woman he likes will be there, Danny takes time perfecting his makeup and hair, and chooses a vintage Stones tee along with jeans and boots. His look is often androgynous, and he doesn't mind getting attention. At the party, Bo soon finds Katie and likes this woman his friend is interested in. What he doesn't like is the attitude of her brother Lance, a man he's already had a tense encounter with as he grabbed a drink. 

Danny has very supportive parents, who are both professionals in the theatre world, and he loves art, theatre, and almost all that goes with it. Although he doesn't have dancing skills. Lance is at university on a football scholarship and has dreams of the NFL. 

After Lance apologizes for his behaviour, he says he wants to get to know him better, and Danny finds himself Lance's first experiment in a male-male relationship. Danny is attracted, but doesn't know if he wants to be in a secret relationship. 

This is a novel of attraction and Lance's fear of the fallout of being out is a big part of the story. His reaction to Danny is a little bit of a surprise for him, and he is at an age where he is discovering who he is in many ways, not just sexually. Danny knows who he is and has for years, but is still at the age where relationships are new, and the strength of his attraction and feelings add to the story in a big way. 

I enjoyed the novel, and could feel for the main characters. 

Goodbye, Again

Finished January 15

Goodbye, Again: Essays, Reflections, and Illustrations by Jonny Sun

This lovely collection of writing gets very personal as Jonny explores his past, his relationships, and his present. He covers personal issues of loneliness, depression, anxiety, and burnout. He thinks about where home is, and coming back to places that you once lived in and don't fit into the same way anymore. This includes looking at the idea of belonging, and how relationships change when you venture in different directions. 

He examines paying attention to the details of his surroundings and I particularly loved the series of essays on his experiences with houseplants. 

He is funny, wry, and vulnerable. Some of the essays here are a single sentence, that really makes you think like 'Visiting'. Others, like many of the houseplant ones include his illustrations. One is done as a series of cels, like a comic strip. 

The essays are organized into sections: Goodbye; Go Slow; Take Care; Hello; Hello, Again; and Goodbye, Again. 

I took my time reading this as his writing is so relatable that I could find many things that moved me and that made me think about my experiences and my life. 

A great read. 

Kiss Me at Christmas

Finished November 16

Kiss Me at Christmas by Jenny Bayliss

This delightful novel has romance, character growth, and lots of Christmas spirit. The main character is Harriet, an English teacher turned pastoral care worker at a private school, Foss Independent. She is a strong advocate for her students, particularly the small cohort of local students admitted as part of a 'leveling-up' scheme. These students struggle because the rest of their peers come from wealthy backgrounds and privilege, and they come from broken homes and poverty. 

The book opens in mid-November, when Harriet is at a local pub, comforting herself with mulled wine after hearing that her daughter Maisy, who is on a student exchange to the United States, has been invited to stay through Christmas, where she will be going with her host family to a mountain cabin for the holidays. Harriet has encouraged her, but will miss her dreadfully. This is the longest they've ever been apart, and Harriet is a big celebrator of Christmas, putting a lot of effort into decorating and other seasonal endeavours. 

When she locks eyes with a handsome man across the pub, she decides to act on her attraction and invites him to join her. She ends the evening at his upscale apartment with a very satisfying encounter. When she wakens in the morning to find him in the shower, she panics at her actions, extremely out of character for her, and leaves before he returns. 

At school, when several of her local students are absent, she decides to track them down to get them back to school before the head of her department notices. She finds them in a old, unused theatre, and soon after the police find them all. To protect her students, Harriet takes the fall for their trespass on the property, and later that morning finds herself face to face with the owner's lawyer, James Knight,who turns out to be her partner from the previous evening. 

The owner, Evaline Winter, is an older woman who shut the theatre decades earlier when she inherited the property from her father. She owns several businesses and is very wealthy, but for personal reasons that we discover, has let the theatre fall into disrepair. To avoid facing charges, Harriet finds agreeing to arrange for a single night show at the theatre, involving the students that she was with there. As she finds herself gaining new skills as she tackles this challenge, she also finds herself making community connections, new friends, and facing her fears. 

I really enjoyed the numerous characters, seeing the students skills get recognized and utilized and watching them become more confident, seeing the community coming together through this opportunity, and seeing Harriet and James take risks and voice their insecurities. 

Twice in a Blue Moon

Finished October 18

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren

This book is told in two short time periods fourteen years apart, in chronological order. When Tate Jones is eighteen, her grandmother takes her to London for a much anticipated trip. Her grandmother and mother run a cafe in a small California town. Her grandmother has planned their days out, cramming in as much as she can from museums and galleries to plays. 

On their first day, they meet Sam and Luther, a grandson-grandfather pair from Vermont, who are also on a much anticipated visit. Sam is a little older than Tate, at twenty-one. The four get along well, and do some things together, but Sam and Tate connect more strongly, and after once unplanned meeting in the hotel's courtyard late in the evening, Tate is sneaking out after her grandmother falls asleep to meet Sam. They lie in the grass, look at the stars, and share personal information. Some of Tate's sharing includes things very few people know about her, but she is sure that she can trust Sam with her dreams and sorrows. Sam lets her know that he is worried about Luther's health, and about his grandmother Roberta, who doesn't enjoy air travel, and who stayed home. 

The connection ends abruptly when Sam and Luther leave without goodbyes. The next day, Tate is swarmed by media as she exits the hotel for the day, and her grandmother quickly calls in assistance. With the media knowing things that she's told Sam, including her father's identity as a Hollywood film star, Tate is both sad and mad at the betrayal. 

Fourteen years later, Tate is now an actor herself, and has signed on to a movie where her father also appears in a supporting role. When Sam appears on set, she is shocked, and doesn't know how to react. She needs to talk to him, but she finds her emotions confusing. The tension is already high as Tate and her father haven't had much of a relationship over the years, despite what the media has been told. 

The story is all told from Tate's viewpoint, and while I could relate to the ease of falling in love as a susceptible young woman in her situation, the adult Tate is more controlled and less relatable. The story also lacks the humorous banter that usually appears in Christina Lauren romances, and has a more serious feel to it.

It was an enjoyable read, but not one of this author pair's best. 

Big Sky

Finished August 6

Big Sky by Kate Atkinson

There was a long gap between the publication of the previous book in the Jackson Brodie series and this one. 

The book opens with a scene of Jackson helping a bride escape her wedding, It then jumps to events from a couple of weeks earlier, with two young Polish women being brought into what we can see is a human trafficking situation. It moves quickly on from there into the main body of the story which begins a week after that. 

Brodie is living in a seaside village in North Yorkshire and has his son Nathan staying with him for most of the summer as Nathan's mother Julia is busy on set for her television series, Collier's. He's also looking after Julia's aging Labrador, Dido. At the moment Brodie is working on a case where he is gathering proof of an unfaithful husband for a client, but he has a couple of encounters rescuing people from risky situations that bring him into contact with a darker criminal situation. 

There are parallel plots that end up intersecting at various points in the novel.

Four men who know each other, some better than others, play golf together and sometimes more. Thomas (Tommy) Holroyd runs a good transportation company, Andrew Bragg runs a travel agency, Stephen Mellors is a corporate lawyer, and Vincent Ives is a telcom-equipment area manager. Vince is a more recent member of the group, but he knew Steve years ago when they were young and saved Steve's life.

Tommy is married to his second wife Crystal, after his first wife died in a supposed accident falling from a cliff. His son Harry, from his first wife, is an interesting teenager who plays a key role in the plot, and daughter Candace is an infant. Andrew is married to , and they run a B&B together. Steve is married to Sophie and has two children, a teenage boy Jamie, and teenage girl Ida. Vince is married to Wendy and has a daughter Ashley who is on her gap year. Wendy has also recently asked Vince to move out as she doesn't want to be married to him anymore and he is now living in a pretty awful apartment on his own. Steve acted as his lawyer, but doesn't seem to have done a good job for Vince. 

Two young, but very capable female officers digging into old case files and notes about a man who is already serving time in a pedophile case. There was long suspicion that there was another man that they didn't get at the time, and DCs Reggie Chase and Ronnie Dibicki are thorough and persistent in their review of material and interviewing of potential witnesses. 

I really liked the Crystal who we see a good deal of. She's not well-educated, but she's smarter than she thinks, and a really good mom to both kids. I also liked Harry. He's got an interesting job that opens him up to different life experiences and a world he'd never imagined. He's younger than his age in some ways, and older in others. Vulnerable, with a hidden strength of character. 

The novel kept me wanting to read late into the night, and I loved how the plots developed and abutted each other on occasion before coming together dramatically near the end of the book. Well worth waiting several years for. 

Scandalized

Finished July 7

Scandalized by Ivy Owens

This romance novel was a page-turner. The main character Georgia (Gigi) Ross, an investigative journalist for the L.A. Times, has been travelling for hours after working on a big story in London. Her last flight, from Seattle to Los Angeles is cancelled, and there is a big line of people waiting for a hotel room. While waiting at the airport, she sees a man that she is sure she knows from somewhere, and it finally comes to her when she is in line for a room at the hotel. He is Alec Kim, the older brother of her best friend from early childhood to grade eight, when the friend's family moved away. When he recognizes her after she introduces herself, and offers to help, she finds herself fighting her fears to accept. 

Her fears are partially due to the story she's been working on, a private nightclub in London, where it appears that people have been taken advantage of in some pretty awful ways. She's worked hard on investigating the story, but it has also meant that she's seen some pretty dark stuff, especially to women at the hands of men. But Alec seems to be a nice guy, and she had a crush on him back in the day, so she accepts his offer. 

When it appears that the attraction is still there for her and the feelings seem to be reciprocated, she finds herself having a night to remember with him. It is only the following day that she realizes that there was another reason that he looked familiar to her. 

As the connection continues, she finds that there is a tie-in to the story that she's working on, but Gigi has to be careful of journalistic ethics around this important story, and what it might mean to involve him, even if he agrees. 

I liked the chemistry that came across between Gigi and Alec, and the connection from the past that made everything both deeper, and uncertain. Uncertain because she isn't aware of his life since then, even though his life has been one that the public has scrutinized in detail. I also liked the friendship Gigi has with her roommate Eden, which showed another element of her life. 

A great read. 

The Whalebone Theatre

Finished June 30

The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn

This story start in World War I and continues past World War II. The central character is Cristabel Seagrave, a child as the book begins. Cristabel's mother died giving birth to her, and her father pushed her away in his grief. He is now remarried and hoping his new young wife can give him the son and heir he wants. Cristabel is a child that is curious and imaginative. She exists on the edges of her world, a daughter of the Chilcombe estate, but one often ignored. She is befriended by one of the younger members of staff, Maudie, who answers her questions if she can. She also waits eagerly for the letters from her uncle who is an officer in the army and tells tales of faraway places and interesting events. 

She eventually does get the long-awaited brother, Digby, after first a sister Flossie, and longs for the formal education that Digby gets, as opposed to the French governess that she and Flossie are educated by. In 1928, before Digby gets sent away to school, a whale washes up on the beach bordering the estate. Cristabel is one of the first on the scene and she claims the beast for the family. Around the same time, an interesting group of artistic people are visiting the area, and Cristabel manages, through her unorthodox manner to befriend the artist at the center of the group, and convince him to help her stage a play. This event leads to regular events and new connections, and gradually the three children grow up. 

As World War II begins, Digby is determined to sign-up, but not as an officer as his father wishes, and he sneaks away to enlist. Cristabel is also keen to help the war effort in some way and ventures off to London to offer her services. Flossie stays at the estate, but soon finds herself contributing in her own way. As the three begin their adult lives, the point of view takes turns between them, giving us insight into each experience. 

The main actions of the book take place in 1928 and during World War II, but pre-1928 also gives us a lot of background to the characters and the situation of Cristabel. 

I enjoyed the personalities of these three characters, and how each had their own strengths that carried them through the troubles they encountered. The story took a while to grab me, but once it did I was hooked. This book has mystery, romance, and suspense, and the Chilcombe estate is brought to life through the descriptions and events around it. 

The Stand-In

Finished May 19

The Stand-In by Lily Chu

This delightful novel has a lot going on, and I stayed up too late a few nights because I had trouble putting it down. The central character, Gracie Reed, is an only child struggling to pay for her mother's nursing home. She knows her mother's progression into dementia means that she will need more care and a better atmosphere, but she can't afford the home she is waitlisted on. 

Aside from that, she is also dealing with a toxic work atmosphere, where her pleasant and agreeable manner have her fending off increasingly forward advances from her boss Todd. It has got to the point where she has called in sick to work to meet with a lawyer about it. After the meeting with the lawyer, she stopped at one of her favourite coffee shops for a pick-me-up before heading home. At the coffee shop, she is photographed by an aggressive man who the store manager kicked out afterwards. 

She finds that her picture has been put online as that of Wei Fangli, a Chinese movie star. When Fangli approaches her with an interesting proposition, she is taken aback. Fangli wants her to be seen as Fangli for the next couple of months, while Fangli and her co-star Sam Yao star in a live theatre production in the city. Gracie would do all the non-theatre events and outings to let Fangli focus only on her work. She asks for some time to think about it, but the money is tempting. 

The next day she finds her mind is made up for her as Todd has seen the photograph and accuses her of calling in sick fraudulently and fires her. Gracie's best friend Anjali is upset that Gracie hadn't told her how bad Todd was, and understands that she needs a job, but thinks the deal with Fangli is a bad one. 

As Gracie begins her role as Fangli, she must deal with learning details about the star and her work, practicing mimicking the way she moves, and coming up with responses to expected media questions. On the plus side, she now has access to an incredible wardrobe, high-end cosmetics and skin-care, and is staying in a really nice hotel suite. She also deals with Fangli's assistant Mei, who does most of the training required.

Dealing with Sam Yao, who will be accompanying her on almost all her outings is more complex. They get off to a bad start, but gradually work out some ground rules that determine how they can get along. 

I liked the Toronto setting, with some of the details of the city coming into the story. I also really liked Gracie and could relate to her personality and her people-pleasing nature. It was also really fun to see the clothes and other luxurious things that entered her life from her viewpoint of awe and pleasure. I also liked the serious side of dealing with dementia. 

The other plotline was Gracie's love for list making, especially to-do lists. She has tried a few apps, and paper tools, but hasn't had any that really clicked for her. She decides to take the time she has to work on designing her own app, and some of the hints along the way looked really interesting. I also like lists, and haven't found an app that clicked, so enjoyed seeing this plot develop. 

The romance was nicely done, with a touch of enemies to friends to lovers, and a slow burn. A very enjoyable read. 

With My Little Eye

Finished April 30

With My Little Eye by Joshilyn Jackson

This suspenseful thriller is centered around actor Meribel Mills, a woman who started off as Didi a side character in a sitcom in the '90s that she's still known for. She done a lot of work since then, but nothing big. So she finds it surprising that she's suddenly being stalked. After finding evidence that he'd been in her home in L.A., she needs to go somewhere else. She accepts a role in a film shooting near Atlanta, Georgia, and rents a condo there for her and her daughter Honor. Honor is adopted and on the autism spectrum. So she worries about the change this means for her and how she will adjust. 

She also worries about being back in Georgia, her home state. She'd grown up here, and got married here, and had a devastating event that led to the end of her marriage. She'd never had full closure on that and so she finds that being near her ex has made her start following his wife on Instagram as she posts a lot of lifestyle and personal stuff there. 

The stalked sends notes written in a smelly marker, and Honor has dubbed him Marker Man for this. He has also sometimes sent 'gifts' that are unsettling. His notes convey that he has an image of her that is an object to be possessed, and he makes some violent statements.

So when Meribel, having coffee with one of her new neighbours, Cooper, in the shop below the condos feels eyes on her, she immediately thinks of her stalker, and starts looking around. 

There are some other things going on as well. Meribel had started a relationship with a man back in L.A. who works in security and she ended it when she moved, but still has the feelings for him. Cooper's ex Addie also lives in the building and has a daughter Sheila and little older than Honor. Honor befriended stray cats back in L.A. and took care of them. She's found a stray of sorts here and has befriended them and is trying to take care of them in ways that she can. 

I loved Honor and her thoughts and how she made decisions and plans. 

There are some twists and turns and lots of suspenseful moments and a very dramatic ending that feels satisfying. 

Plot Twist

Finished April 23

Plot Twist by Erin La Rosa

Romance author Sophie Lyon had a hit with her debut novel, but the deadline is fast approaching for her second novel, she's spent most of her advance and she's coming up against a writer's block. She thinks maybe it's because she's never actually been in love, and she's decided to try and figure out why. That entails meeting up with her previous partners and seeing what they think. 

Sophie lives in L.A. and her best friend Poppy Montrose is from a well-known Hollywood family. Poppy's father and both brothers are actors, and her mom is a publicist. Poppy though has gone a different direction and owns a popular luxury spa. Sophie lives in a small home behind the large house of Dash Montrose, the younger of Poppy's brothers, so Dash is her landlord. Sophie had a crush on him as a teenager, and now that he's in her life more, some of those feelings are coming back. 

As Sophie meets up with her former boyfriends and girlfriend, she learns a bit more about herself and why those relationships ended. She also finds that she has trust issues, and that becomes a plot point here. 

Dash is another voice in the novel. He's not had an acting job in a while, and that's partly by choice. He's got a personal issue that he's overcoming, with some help. He also has found an interest that may be a way forward for him, and that's kind of interesting too. 

This is the second book in a series, but I haven't yet read the previous one. Sophie is a likeable woman, who's got a strong sense of self outside of her love life. Dash's struggles feel realistic here too. 

I found the use of Instagram as a story device kind of interesting. 

A fun read with some serious issues brought in. 

Summer with a Star

Finished September 1

Summer with a Star by Merry Farmer

This is a feel good summer read. Elementary school teacher Tasha Pike spent many summers in the seaside town of Summerbury, Maine. One year, she and her best friend Jenny took shelter from a sudden rainstorm in the grand Victorian home called Sand Dollar Point. She's always dreamed of staying a whole summer in that house and she's saved for years to make the dream come true. 

Granted, she thought she'd be doing it with her fiance and childhood friend, but after recently catching him cheating and dumping him, she's relishing the time to get her head together and think about her future. 

Tasha is an excellent teacher, as we see her relating to children in the book, and she really enjoys her work.

When she arrives at Sand Dollar Point, she finds someone else already staying there, a famous actor, and soon learns that his agent paid a lot to steal the booking out from under her. 

Spencer Ellis is a Hollywood superstar, having appeared in many action adventure films, but he's reevaluating his image, looking for a different type of role, and thinking about his future. He asked his agent to find a quiet location for him to read over scripts and determine his forward path. 

When he discovers that his agent has stolen his summer spot from someone else, he offers to share the place with her for the summer. The house is large and they both intend to be pretty solitary over these months, so it shouldn't be an issue.

As they get to know each other, he discovers Tasha's history and she finds out the annoyances that come with being a star. They also discover commonalities and a definite attraction to each other. 

From time on the beach, exploring nearby nature sites, and reading, the summer passes quickly, but will the two characters see each other beyond this summer idyll.

A fun, fast read, that left me with a pleasant feeling. 

There was also a teaser for the second book in the series, which has me intrigued. 

Evil in Emerald

Finished August 28

Evil in Emerald by A.M. Stuart

This is the third book in an historical mystery series and is set in Singapore in 1910. Harriet Gordon is a widow living with her brother, a minister and headmaster of a boy's school, and their ward Will, a schoolboy. She helps with the paperwork at the school, and brings in extra income by typing up reports and other documents for the local police. 

Her tennis partner has convinced her to join the Singapore Amateur Dramatic and Music Society (SADAMS) for their upcoming production The Pirates of Penzance. Also in SADAMS are a journalist, Griff Maddocks; a friend and doctor's wife, Louise Mackenzie; a local police constable, Ernest Greaves ; a woman who is rumoured to have been on stage in London, Alicia Sewell; and an insurance broker, Tony Dowling. The director of the society is Charles Lovett, a lawyer, whose wife Elspeth organizes most of the supporting functions, such as costumes, and whose daughter Eunice, helps out wherever needed.

When a body is found badly burned in a fire on SADAM's premises, Harriet becomes involved as both an assistant to the police, and as someone with knowledge of the victim. Her boss, Inspector Robert Curran is in charge of the case, and has made some enemies of some of the colonial planters, one of whom has a definite grudge against him. As Curran investigates, the case takes him to other cast members of SADAMS, as well as to a local planter and another businessman. 

But Curran is also finding that his personal life has him distracted. His long-time partner Li An, a woman from a powerful Kuala Lumpur family is being drawn back into that family; and someone who brings news of his own family in need of assistance appears on his doorstep. 

This is a novel with a lot going on with both Harriet and Curran, and I found myself not wanting to put the book down until I finished it. 

Definitely a series with promise! 

Dexter's Final Cut

Dexter's Final Cut by Jeff Lindsay

This is the seventh book in the Dexter series, but the first that I've read. I haven't watched the television series inspired by the series either. So, that being said, I quickly became aware that Dexter Morgan is a very odd character. He describes himself as a monster pretending to be human, and considers his wife and three children (two of them stepchildren) to be helpful cover for him. He refers to himself as having a Passenger, a dark force that is capable of extreme violence and behaviour outside of societal conventions. Dexter also has a dark secret. He has made a habit of finding evil people and secretly, slowly, killing them, and ensuring that the bodies won't be found. He also works for the police department in forensics, specializing in blood spatter. 

Here, he is assigned a very different task, to have an actor shadow him as he works. The actor will be playing a forensic specialist in a television movie. His sister, Deborah, is a police officer and she is also assigned an actor, a woman who will be playing a police officer. 

When a body is found all four of them end up at the scene, and Dexter is able to make some astute observations as a result of the body and it's condition. As he gets drawn into the case, he and Deborah make connections to the female actor and Dexter finds himself losing his focus on his dark side, getting drawn in to the perks of high living that he is exposed to. 

When more bodies appear, the Morgans attempt to move forward with the case, but it is assigned to a different officer, one known for his ineptitude. And so they start a parallel investigation.

As Dexter's family gets drawn into the story, from his children to his wife, Dexter finds that his life begins to unravel, and his secrets may not be able to be secret anymore.

The character of Dexter is a very unusual one. He thinks himself superior to most other people, and incapable of emotions. But in his experience here, he finds himself being led by feelings that he hasn't had before and betraying those he is closest to. 

A very unusual read. 

We Came Here to Shine

Finished January 21

We Came Here to Shine by Susie Orman Schnall

This novel takes place in the summer of 1939 during the World's Fair and follows two young women. Vivi is an actress who is signed on contract to WorldWide Films, a Hollywood studio. She is supposed to be starting her first starring role when she is told that instead she will be on loan to the producers of the Aquacade, a swimming entertainment show happening at the World's Fair in New York. She will be replacing their lead female who was recently injured. Vivi is originally from New York, but left after a rift with her family. She is disappointed, and even more surprised when she finds how little time she has to learn her routine. Dealing with a mixture of reactions from the rest of the cast, she tries her best to find her feet while also finding that the past will come back in a big way. 

Maxine (Max) Roth is a journalism student at NYU who has high hopes for her summer placement at the end of her junior year. She's received high marks on all her articles and hopes that she will get the position at the New York Times. Instead she gets a spot at Today at the Fair, a daily newspaper that is run from and covers the World's Fair. Not only that, but her classmate Charlie, also at Today at the Fair, will be the one writing all the articles as the man in charge doesn't believe women belong in journalism. Max will be writing the event list for each day instead. Max hopes to win a contest over the summer, but she needs an article to enter it. 

As Max fights for her right to write, and Vivi throws herself into practice, they've each been keeping their head down, focusing on their work. On an evening when both take a break to experience the fair, they run into each other and find themselves becoming fast friends despite their differences. 

There is a lot of research that went into this story to give a sense of the Fair and its going ons, and the author used a lot of this historical information to make the story come alive. The two young women are both ambitious in their own way, and both learn what truly drives them during this time. The author brings in issues of patriarchy, harassment, and social mores as well. 

An enjoyable read that also enlightened me about a historical event I knew little about. 

Death on a Winter Stroll

Finished July 6

Death on a Winter Stroll by Francine Mathews

This mystery novel is part of the series featuring Nantucket police chief Merry Folger. Winter Stroll is a tradition on Nantucket and this is the first time it is happening since the pandemic began. Merry knows that the island depends on tourism economically and desperately needs that for the small businesses to survive, but she also wants to keep the community safe amid all the activity.

There is a production team on the island filming a television series at the less populated end of the island, as well as lots of tourist and former residents back for the winter event. Among the former residents is the family of the current Secretary of State, including her stepson Ansel. The famous actor starring in the TV series has brought his young adult daughter Winter along, and a chance meeting between the two has them joining forces when disturbing events cause upheaval in both their worlds. 

Ansel has a secondary purpose on the island that no one else in the family knows, reuniting with his estranged mother, Blythe Fitzpatrick. He wasn't told the truth about her absence in his life and is learning about her and trying to build a relationship. 

As Merry tries to manage the crimes that impact both the production and the government official, she uses her lifelong knowledge of the island and its residents to make connections. 

I liked many of the characters, including both the series characters such as Merry, and the ones appearing first in this novel, such as Ansel, Winter, and Blythe. They are well drawn and have depth. 

I definitely plan to look for more in the series.