Canadian Boyfriend

Finished July 12

Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday

This contemporary romance novel is set mostly in Minnesota, with some time in Manitoba. Aurora (Rory) Lake Evans quit advanced ballet school in New York City and returned home to Minnesota several years ago. She's now teaching jazz and tap dance at her friend Gretchen's dance school. She also works as a barista at Starbucks.

Back when she was in high school she worked at a coffee store in the Mall of America, a respite from school and dance. One day she had an encounter with two Canadian hockey players who came in to buy drinks. It was positive and fun, and inspired her to create a fake boyfriend based on one of the young men, Mike Martin. She used this fake boyfriend for years as an excuse for not going to social events she didn't want to go to, to explain her lack of close relationships at school, and as a diary of sorts as she wrote letters to him talking about her life.

Now, one of her students who has been away from classes for a few months after her mother's sudden death is returning to class, this time with her father bringing her. And her father is an NHL hockey player from Canada named Mike Martin. Rory can't believe it and she wonders if it can really be the same person. As she compares her memories with the man in front of her, she suspects it is, but is embarrassed by the whole thing. She even has a panic attack, but manages to recover and welcome Olivia back to class. As she grows closer with Olivia and spends time with her outside of class, helping when her father isn't around, as well as going out after class with the two of them, she becomes more certain, but keeps her secret about the past to herself. 

Mike and Olivia are both dealing with their grief in their own ways, and both are in therapy. Mike is learning a lot about himself, about the emotional labour his wife did that he wasn't even aware of, and about how to be a supportive father. As he begins to be attracted to Rory, he also keeps his daughter's feelings in mind and this is where things get even more complicated. 

I liked the way this book dealt with a number of issues around grief and loss, and about mental health in general. Rory's mom was more focused on her success than her health, and this is something she still hasn't dealt with. Her relationship with her mother has led to a number of issues including trust and food issues. I liked the inclusion of Olivia and her reactions, but this really fell off toward the end of the novel, which was a shame.

A captivating and enjoyable read. 

Almost Over It

Finished June 11

Almost Over It by Kylie Gilmore

This is the first in a series, Clover Park Charmers, and a light romance. William (Will) Levi is an orthodontist with a lot of baggage. When he was in college, he drove impaired and put his older brother Charlie in a coma. His brother recovered, but was never the same mentally and walks with a limp. His brother was going to take over their father's orthodontics practice, but dropped out of college and lives a less structured life. Will's former girlfriend fell for Charlie when they went to visit them, and dumped Will. Now, managing the practice with a new orthodontist, Tony, on staff, he takes his job seriously. His retired father, Brian, had him take over the musical portion at the community summer theatre while Brian and his wife went on a cruise. Also involved with the theatre was ex-Broadway dancer Jasmine Davis, and they clashed a lot. Now Jasmine has her dance studio next door to his office and lives in the apartment over it. 

They clash over noise, parking, and other topics, but the chemistry is there. Will finds himself thinking about how both Jasmine and him have perfect bites, and how they would align when they kiss, which seemed a very dentist thing to think about. He also has a feral rescue cat, Sweetie, who torments him, but who he also can't return to the shelter as he knows she'd be put down. 

We see into both their family dynamics, and there are some very spicy scenes. An entertaining read. 

The Other Me

Finished January 31

The Other Me by Saskia Sarginson

This book has three timelines in it. One follows two German brothers as Nazi power is on the rise and they get enveloped into the German army, one more enthusiastically than the other.

Another timeline follows Klaudia in the mid-1980s as she struggles to keep her home and school life separate. Her father is strict and very religious and doesn't say much about his German background. Her parents met in Wales when her dad was a POW there and her mom a teenager. There is no contact with her mother's side of the family. Klaudia and her mother are close and her mother encourages her to practice her passion, dancing, even though they can't afford lessons and her father would never permit it anyway. Her father has had various low level jobs and currently works as a custodian at her school, something that would impact how Klaudia was treated by other students if it became common knowledge. 

The third timeline is the mid 1990s. Klaudia has gone away to university and reinvented herself. She has dropped out of the university her parents think she is still going to, uses a different name, Eliza, with everyone she knows and is taking dance lessons. She has even gained a boyfriend. But when a family emergency brings her home again, she doesn't know if she can tell her friends the truth, and when she learns more about her parents' past, it seems there are more secrets for her to keep. 

This was an interesting story, driven by the author's own recent revelations about her past, making her wonder "what if". I liked Klaudia/Eliza and her mother and the one brother of the two German men. But the other one inspired more complex emotions in me. I both didn't like him, and sympathized with him. 

Nightmares Can Be Murder

Finished December 2 

Nightmares Can Be Murder by Mary Kennedy

This novel begins a series set in Savannah, Georgia around a group of women who meet regularly to discuss and analyze their dreams. Taylor Blake is a business consultant based in Chicago who has come to Savannah to see her sister Allison (Ali) and offer some assistance with her candy store. The store is relatively new, but hasn't yet turned a profit and Taylor is worried about Ali's tendency to lose focus. Alison also runs a Dream Club, a group of women who meet regularly to share their dreams, discuss the meaning of them and try to help each other with the life issues that are connected to these nighttime messages. 

When the owner of another business in the area, Chico Hernandez, a charming but smarmy dance instructor, is found dead in his dance studio, Ali is one of the people that saw him just before his death, and thus gets drawn into the investigation. One of the dream club members, Sam, is a police officer involved in the case, and another, Gina, works for Chico and is the one who finds the body. Taylor is determined to dig deeper to solve the case so the neighbourhood can move forward, and she involves her ex-boyfriend, Noah, an ex-FBI investigator who now works as a private detective. 

Many of the women here have their own secrets and agendas, and there are lots of red herrings to take you off the track of the real murderer. This is a cozy and light mystery with a lot of sweet food discussion, but unfortunately no recipes. 

Roses and Rot

Finished September 25
Roses and Rot by Kat Howard

This tale of two sisters drew me in and didn't let go. Imogen is older than Marin by two years. They lived under the influence of a very controlling mother, one who used not only physical punishments, but verbal and emotional ones in an attempt to keep them under her influence and drive a wedge between them. Imogen has always used her writing to escape her reality, and has had some success with it. Marin is a dancer, with natural skill, but also dedication and constant pressure by her mother to succeed.
Imogen managed to get away more that a decade before this story begins, first to boarding school and then to college, but her mother never stopped trying to draw her back into her sphere of control. Marin has heard about an artists' retreat, Melete, in New Hampshire, where artists apply and are chosen for a nine month stay to focus on their work with the assistance of a personal mentor. She urges Imogen to apply at the same time, partly so the sisters can come back together for the first time in years.
The women discover that Melete is both more than and less than they expected. Strange things happen, they see things that don't seem believable, and they begin to understand that this is a place where the human world and the world of Faerie come together and the Faerie world exacts a price for this opportunity.
Howard brings this world to life, the stardust and the darkness, the giving of power and the drawing of energy. The artists that come here will never be the same, and no one who hasn't been will ever truly understand. And, of course, some of them may never return to the lives they imagined for themselves.
I read this book voraciously, not wanting to put it down until I reached the ending. I cared about the characters and their dreams and wanted to see what happened to them as their stay at Melete progressed and came to an end. A great read.

Mata Hari's Last Dance

Finished May 19
Mata Hari's Last Dance by Michelle Moran

This novel takes the real life events of the woman known as Mata Hari and builds a fascinating story around them. Mata Hari was born Margaretha Zelle in the Netherlands. Her father left the family when she was young and her mother died soon after. She married young and went to Java with her husband, but dissatisfaction with the marriage and personal tragedy caused her to leave.
Trying to find work as a dancer in Paris, she was discovered by the lawyer Edouard Clunet, and that is where this novel begins in 1904. We see her take her natural skills both physical and mental, and turn them into something that drew others to her, even as it fed her insecurity. Her relationship with Clunet was not like the ones she cultivated with her many lovers and patrons, and she confided her real concerns to him. Her insecurity and love of the limelight drove her to her fate.
As the book unfolds, we learn of her past, She was not highly educated in a formal way, but her natural curiosity led her to read voraciously on subjects that interested her, and she spoke many languages. She met a local woman in Java that taught her how to dance and her curiosity fed her knowledge about the culture she adopted. Her patrons included Guimet, the Rothschilds, Jeanne de Loynes, and Givency, but she was always drawn to military men above others, and it was one of these who spoke up on her behalf at her trial.
Mata Hari was executed by firing squad for treason on October 15, 1917, as a symbol during a difficult period of the war. Her trial was held in secret and facts that did not support her guilt were dismissed without consideration. This book unveils her life in a new way and was gripping.