Every Other Weekend

Finished July 20

Every Other Weekend by Zulema Renee Summerfield

This debut novel is set in 1988 and told from the point of view of an imaginative young girl, Nenny, who is eight and has lots of worries and ideas. Nenny's parents are divorced, and her mother has remarried a man who is also divorced. She has an older brother, Bubbles, and a younger brother, Tiny. Her mom's new husband, Rick, has two children, Charles, who is in the same grade as Nenny, and Kat, who is sixteen. 

The story is structured around the two houses that Nenny lives in. The first is the one with her mom and Rick, The second is the one with her dad. There some chapters different fears that Nenny has, and how those fears appear to her. 

As Nenny observes the life in her family and at school, she shows how things change, and how people react to changes. Some changes are minor and others are very large and difficult. I appreciated her views on these and how the changes also influenced her inner fears. 

This was a quick read, but also one that felt reflective. 

I enjoyed this novel,  

Summer Romance

Finished July 16

Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan

This romance novel is delightful and heartwarming with touches of humour. The central character is Ali Morris, a woman who is struggling. Two years ago, Ali's mom Nancy died. She'd raised Ali mostly on her own, and after having children and moving back to her home town, Ali had relied on her a lot. One year ago, Ali's husband Pete told her he wanted a divorce and left. Ali has a professional organizing business that she runs part-time wherever she can fit it in, but her own home is a mess. 

Pete and Ali have a civilized separation. He takes their daughters, Iris (5th grade) and Greer (6th grade), for their sports practices and games, and for ice cream after, accompanied by their son, Cliffy (kindergarten). When he calls to say that after a year's separation, it's time to make things final with a divorce, things somehow become a little better for Ali. 

Ali's kids called her mom Fancy, a take-off on her given name, not because she wore designer clothes or had upscale tastes, but because she did things on a whim, things that were easy and fun, a passing fancy. 

Ali's best friend Frannie also lives in town, and runs her parents deli along with her husband Marco. Frannie's parents live in a big house downtown, run an inn that is also downtown, and are very quirky. They dress up in costumes for any reason at all, and are very involved in the community. 

After school lets out the kids are at day camp on weekdays, and Ali starts to work on her to-do list and move on with her life. She takes off her wedding ring, puts on something other than sweatpants, and takes their dog Ferris to the dog park. There, Ferris approaches a man and pees on him, and soon after Ali finds herself flirting with him. The man, Ethan, begins to make regular appearances in her life, and Ali slowly finds that she has a lot to think about. 

As she reevaluates her dying marriage in the course of the divorce, she finds that she's not been holding her husband accountable for a long time, and she has only herself to blame for that. She begins to make small changes in her life, and decides that a summer romance is just the thing, and Ethan is just the right guy. 

I really liked pretty much all the characters in the book, except Pete, and I found the book had a lightness to it despite some very serious plot points. I couldn't put it down, and found myself reading the whole book in one day. An excellent, and satisfying read. 

There's Always Plan B

Finished April 28

There's Always Plan B by Susan Mallery

This is an interesting mix of romance and domestic situations along with a touch of the supernatural. Carly is moving back to her childhood home, a large old stone house that her great-grandfather imported from England. Her parents ran it as a bed-and-breakfast, and her mother Rhonda has continued that since her dad died a few years ago. Carly is moving back because her very recent divorce leaves her with no home, and her mother could use the help. She'd like Carly to eventually take the house over so that she can retire. 

Carly's husband quit his high-paced, high-income job with plans to buy a boat and sail to Hawaii. That means that he isn't paying child support until he starts working again. Carly's fifteen-year-old daughter Tiffany isn't happy about the move, but we see her making the effort to adjust. As Carly finds the B&B has declined in visitors a lot since her dad's death, she uses her skills and contacts to find ways to bring in more guests. One of those is promoting the ghost the building is supposed to have. Carly has memories of the ghost from her own youth and believes strongly in the reality of this paranormal existence. One of the season's first visitors however is a man who specializes in debunking such things, and Carly must work as part of a family team to convince him otherwise. 

This book does have romance, but it isn't the central plot to the book, and there is more than one man who is interested in Carly. She must deal with the changes for all three generations of her family, teenage dating issues, issues with her ex-husband, as well as the financial issues facing the B&B. The ghost is an important part of the plot, but the book feels like part of a larger story, not a standalone. 

Many of the characters lack depth, several plotlines are left open, and the ghost story felt like it needed more explanation. 

The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris

Finished December 18

The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris by Daisy Wood

This is a novel about a woman rediscovering herself, a woman making choices about her life that suit herself, and a woman making a connection to her own family history. 

The book has dual timelines, one in the present day as Juliette discovers that her marriage is not a place she wants to be anymore, and one in the past as Jacques watches the German occupation of his city take things from him. 

Jacques isn't an obvious hero. He is bookish and shy, and wary of taking risks. But as the Paris that he loves comes under their control and the people and things he loves get taken away, he finds that he must take some actions, and he chooses to help those that need it, and keep a discreet record of his actions. 

Juliette has let life happen, and when a sudden discovery makes her really look at where she is, she decides to let herself explore the city of Paris, a place she wants to learn more about to connect to the grandmother who lived there. She has a painting of a square in Paris and wants to find it. When she does, she wants to learn more. 

This is a story of taking chances, or making conscious choices that have risks associated, and of listening to one's inner voice. 

I enjoyed both timelines, and seeing the primary character in each grow as their stories unfolded. 

The Venice Sketchbook

Finished June 28

The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen

This book caught my eye at the library when I was picking up some holds, and I ended up bringing it home and reading the whole book that same day. 

There is a short prologue in 1938 at the beginning, which sets the scene for a place and time that ends up being a key to the book's plot. From there the book follows three timelines. The first four chapters are from 1928, when 18-year-old Juliet Browning visits Venice as a gift from her aunt, and has an encounter that she will never forget. The book then moves to 2001, when Caroline Grant is facing the end of her marriage. Caroline and her husband both have degrees in fashion, but he has chosen to pursuit a career in design and recently travelled to the United States to follow that dream. As the book begins, we find that he has begun a new relationship there. The divorce is now final and Caroline will have their son Teddy during the school year, while Josh will have him for the summer and holidays. Caroline stays at her job at a women's magazine, but considers moving in with her grandmother and great aunt Lettie in the house she grew up in. When her great aunt dies, secrets get revealed and when an opportunity to investigate those secrets opens up to Caroline, her grandmother encourages her to take it. 

The story then moves back to Juliet Browning in 1938, where she returns to Venice as an art teacher accompanying her students. Several things have changed for Juliet since 1928, and while she longed to return to the city, she hasn't been able to until now. When she has a chance encounter that brings back feelings from her 1928 visit, she is once again tied to the city. Soon after, an opportunity to study abroad returns her to Venice, a move she makes despite the looming political situation.

As the 1938/39 and 2001 ones stories begin to connect, we find Caroline making interesting discoveries, and revealing possibilities that may change her own life. 

A book that encompasses romance, suspense, and intrigue, this book was one I had difficulty putting down. 

Between, Georgia

Finished November 22

Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson

I've enjoyed other books by this author for their strong female characters, and this is another good one. The main character here, Nonny Flett, comes into the story literally at the beginning when she is born. Her birth mother is a young teenage who doesn't want the baby and is afraid of her own mother's wrath. She has run to a nearby woman who was a former nurse, Bernese Flett.

Bernese's two sisters, Stacia and Genny, lived next door. Genny was a nervous woman, given to compulsive behaviours. Stacia was a skilled ceramacist, who was born deaf and was losing her eyesight. When they heard the ruckus next door, they came running. Stacia assisted Bernese and claimed the child as her own. Bernese made sure the paperwork was done with a local lawyer, and Nonny grew up with Stacia as her mother. 

When, after a few years, her birth grandmother, Ona Crabtree discovered that she was born a Crabtree, a war of sorts started between the families. Nonny did some visits with Ona, but was raised by Stacia, and learned sign language, later making it her career. 

After Nonny's birth, the book jumps to her adult years as she is coming up to a court date for her divorce. She had loved her irresponsible, musician husband Jonno, but something had drawn apart that love, if not the physical attraction, and she is convinced that she will go through with the divorce.

But when a emergency happens back in her hometown of Between, she must rush to the side of those who need her, find her own truth, and choose her own path forward.

Nonny is an interesting woman, with attributes from both her birth family and her adopted one, and she has an inner strength when it comes to the people she truly cares for: her mother, her aunt, and her young cousin. This is a turning point in her life, when she must make her own choices and not have others make it for her. 

A very enjoyable read.

The Healing

Finished April 27

The Healing by Lynda Faye Schmidt

This novel draws from the author's real life experiences, featuring the fictional character Cate Henderson, starting just as she's leaving her abusive husband and starting a new life. She leaves Calgary and stays for a few months in her daughter's home on Vancouver Island while her daughter and son-in-law are overseas. While there, she focuses on her own mental and physical health and finds herself drawn to a man visiting family. While Cate cares strongly about all three of her children, they are now adults and have their own lives. Celeste is settled in B.C. with her husband. Dana is still living a life of exploration and adventure, and Taylor is starting university. 

The new man in Cate's life has her moving to parts of the world she never considered before, and adds another adult child to her life. 

This is a book that explores mental health challenges, physical health challenges, and the risks and rewards of new relationships and new places to live. It is the story of a woman starting a new period of her life, focusing on her own health and her own needs for really the first time in her life.

That is not to say that she doesn't respond to the needs of her children, but that she achieves a balance to her life that she hasn't had before.

This is a novel of hope.

What She Knew

Finished January 5
What She Knew by Gilly MacMillan

This suspense novel is a parent's nightmare. Rachel Jenner is walking with her son Ben and his puppy on the wood trails near their home, when he asks if he can run ahead to the playground area. It's not far, and she's been trying to support the 8-year-old in different ways after the breakdown of her marriage, so she agrees. But when she gets to the playground, neither he nor the dog are there. She calls and backtracks and panics and finds help in the parking lot with another parent she knows and people immediately start a search as she contacts the police and then her ex-husband. But Ben isn't found. 

The book is told from three perspectives. One is Rachel's, one if the policeman put in charge of the case, and one is from a psychologist working with the young policeman on his issues following the case. 

Rachel is supported by her older sister, who drops everything to come help, and by a friend who works in journalism (although not news-focused). She also comes together in a new way with her ex-husband, a pediatric surgeon, and his new wife. As she goes over her steps on that day and in the last few months, following her divorce, she also must deal with the guilt of being the one that let him stretch his wings when this terrible thing happened. 

There are also outside judgements that influence the situation. A blog insinuating Rachel's guilt and more starts up, and every aspect of her life and behaviour is questioned, even some that she wasn't aware of before. This situations makes her question who she can trust.

For Jim, the police officer, a year after the case, he is a good cop with a lot of issues. He feels guilt for not resolving the case quickly and positively, for missing subtle clues he feels he should have caught, for following leads that turned out to be dead ends, for the actions of other police he trusted. Jim has insomnia and it and the feelings he has are affecting his work, to the extent that he is compelled to see the psychologist and talk about what is going on with him, something he is resistant to do. 

The psychologist's notes from their meetings with Jim are the third point of view. They contain not only the transcript of the meetings, but also observations on Jim's attitude and nonverbal behaviours. 

This book is a tense read, as we bounce back and forth between Jim's story, his issues a year later, and Rachel's anguish as she waits for word about her son, desperately trying to help in whatever way she can.

We see how our lives can distract us from the current moment, how easy it is for people to judge those they don't know, how trust can be broken so easily and gained with much difficulty. how our views of those around us don't always show us the whole picture. An engrossing read.