Contemporary Fiction Archives - Page 8 of 12

Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews: Book Review

Old friends Ellis, Julia, and Dorie have rented a beach house on the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a month. They've realized that their lives are moving along quickly and they want to spend some time together again. Ellis makes the arrangements and they all show up for a lazy vacation for the month of August. But they're all in tough places in their lives. Ellis was recently downsized, Julia's disenchanted with her modeling career, and Dorie's just not her normal perky self. With Ellis and Dorie worried about money, Dorie seizes on the opportunity to rent out the extra bedroom on the top floor of the house to a perfect stranger she meets in a diner one day, Madison. But Madison has troubles of her own. So this wasn't one of my favorite MKA novels (that would have to be one of the Savannah books), but it was still a fun little escape. It was wonderful to hear about August on the Outer Banks as I drove around in the last gray days of winter, wondering if there was really a sun up there somewhere. I loved Ellis, Julia, and Dorie--from a distance. Ellis is a control freak and she was pushing my buttons at the beginning. Julia is pushy in her own way and too nosy for her own good. Dorie is a sweetheart though. And Madison is so bristly and quiet that I even felt like she was pushing me away--and we find out her story very early on. But they felt like a real group of old friends in the way that they laughed and fought and told it to each other straight. Ty, the next-door neighbor, is a dreamboat of a man. He's not perfect either, being entirely too stubborn for his own good,…

This is How You Lose Her by Junot Díaz: Book Review

Yunior has cheated one too many times. The smartass Dominican narrator of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is just not in a good place. In a series of short stories set around different events in his life, he reflects on how he has arrived at this point. This is so hard for me to rate! I was not happy through most of these stories. I really, really, really liked Yunior in Oscar Wao. Would I ever date him? Absolutely not. Did I like him? Yes. He was a screw-up at best but he seemed to have his life together by the end of that book. At least from what I remember. But this shows us that he doesn't. He can't seem to change his ways. He relates affairs, his relationships with his brother and his father, his friends' affairs.... This is not a happy romcom by any stretch of the imagination. I still loved Yunior's voice, I just wanted to smack him around until he became the person I knew he could be. And then. And then I read the last page and a half. Yes. That close to the freaking end of a book that was at best three stars, Junot Díaz rocked my world. I understood where Yunior was coming from and what he was trying to do. I understood what he was saying. And I loved it. I had goosebumps, it was so perfect. I am not lying. I started seeing what was going on and I got more and more excited and then I read the last sentence and I was in love. It was perfection. Seriously. I immediately wanted to flip to the front and start over and see how my perspective shifted now that I got it. But the library book is…

From Notting Hill With Love…Actually by Ali McNamara: Book Review

Scarlett O'Brien dreams that her life will one day become just like a romantic comedy. Her friends and family worry about her because she seems to be dissatisfied with the life she has because of her obsession with the movies. She's engaged to be married in a couple of months but she just doesn't seem to be very excited at the prospect. When the opportunity to house-sit in Notting Hill comes along, everybody, including Scarlett, thinks it's a great idea. Those who care about her think it will give her time away from her fiance to think about what's really important to her. Scarlett is excited because it's the setting of her favorite movie. And what better place to live scenes from a movie and prove to her loved ones that life really can be like the movies? This was cute but the underlying premise felt weak. I would be rocking right along, enjoying all Scarlett's misadventures and then something like, "Yet another movie moment for my collection! I knew I'd show everyone!" would come up. It was unnecessary and because of that, it kept pulling me out of the story. I think this could have been slightly re-worked to change that foundation and made into a stronger book. That aside, I really did enjoy it. I liked Scarlett a lot when she wasn't trying to orchestrate a scene from Pretty Woman or Sleepless in Seattle. She is an insecure dreamer who feels like she's missed out on something by never knowing her mom. She has a great group of friends and she actually knows it. And I mostly like her taste in movies. Luckily, there was an index at the end that listed them all. I'm in the mood to watch a lot of them again after reading this.…

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall: Book Review

4 Stars. I just love the Penderwicks. They are all so cute! Rosalind feels older than twelve, but in her circumstances, I think that's right. She's stepped up to be a mother figure to the younger children. Skye is so abrasive and intelligent, Jane is so dreamy and unintentionally funny, and young Batty is just adorable. I love [...]

Moon Women by Pamela Duncan: Book Review

4 Stars. I loved this book. I met author Pamela Duncan at a book festival a few years ago and just chattered away at her. I never do that. I'm usually all tongue-tied at author signings and rarely get out more than "Please" and "Thank you." But it just felt like she was one of my kind of people and so I rattled on while she [...]

The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon: Book Review

On a dark and stormy night in 1968, a widow is alone at home, as she usually is. She hears a knock on her door. She isn't expecting anyone, but, these being simpler times in many ways, she answers anyway. A young black man and white woman are outside, drenched, in obvious need of help. It soon becomes apparent that the man is deaf and the woman has some sort of developmental disability. There's also a newborn girl hidden under the woman's sodden clothes. White, the girl is obviously not the black man's daughter. Martha, the widow, sets about making the man, woman, and infant comfortable. Then there's a second knock at the door. Police. They're looking for the couple, "escapees" from the local "school for the feebleminded." They quickly find Lynnie, the woman, but the baby is hidden away and they don't seem to know about her. The man, "Buddy," makes his escape out the back door. Lynnie, who hasn't uttered a word up to this point, whispers one request into Martha's ear as the authorities drag her away: "Hide. Her." Meaning the baby. In a life-altering decision, Martha does exactly that. Oh my gosh, this was so heart-breaking to listen to. Seriously. My heart just ached through some of the descriptions. It's just so hard to imagine the conditions that citizens with different abilities were subjected to, and not that long ago. Families were ashamed of their children and locked them away, out of sight, never to visit again. The families who felt differently were often pressured into sending their children to these "schools," where a good front was assumed on visiting days. The book follows Lynnie's story after she is sent back to the school. One toothbrush to share, bullies as "caretakers," violence, menial work, and absolutely…

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall: Book Review

4 Stars. I listened to this ages and ages ago, but I remember that I loved it. I don't even recall the sisters' names, but as I listened they each had a distinct personality and I was easily able to differentiate between them. There is no big plot here, it's just a series of little adventures that these sisters have on their [...]

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein: Book Review

Enzo, the wonderfully perceptive narrator of The Art of Racing in the Rain, is a dog. His master is Denny, a talented race car driver who can't seem to get a break. There is always something that keeps him from realizing his full potential. Enzo is an astute, loyal observer of Denny's life as events spiral out of control around them. With wisdom and compassion, Enzo relates Denny's story with his own incisive commentary. This review keeps veering off into "Why I Love Enzo," so I guess I'll start there but try to keep it short. He is the friend that is quietly there, always loyal, always listening, and always loving. He's so quietly necessary that it would be easy to take him for granted. Luckily, Denny knows what a good dog he has so that doesn't happen. Enzo has almost a zen take on life and he shares his thoughts in such a way that I wanted to highlight almost the whole book. He believes that good dogs are allowed to come back as men in the next life, and he believes he's reached that stage. I agree. He understands life and being human better than most of us ever will. Enzo relates some tough times in his life with Denny. There's the adjustment period as Denny gets married and has a child. As Enzo shares very, very early in the book, Denny's wife also dies and there's huge fallout from that. That's where the book got almost infuriating. I was so aggravated with the jerks around Enzo and Denny! I didn't know why Enzo would even aspire to be human when we do such horrible things to each other. But that's where they both actually shine and they have the most to share. It was hard, but when…

Naked Came the Leaf Peeper by Brian Lee Knopp: Book Review

4 Stars. Zany, unpredictable, and hilarious are probably the best words to describe this Western North Carolina tale. Written by 12 local authors, each getting a chapter, this seems to be a competition to see which one can throw the biggest curveball out for the next author to catch. They each did an [...]

Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie: Book Review

Minerva Dobbs is a sensible girl. She's an actuary, the man she's dating is a sensible choice, and her clothes are sensible and "slimming." But then there are her shoes. Her shoes hint at the real Min. Her shoes are fun, frivolous concoctions. One night, Min meets Calvin Morrissey in a bar. As she's heading over to introduce herself to him, she hears her just-minutes-ago-turned-ex-boyfriend make a bet with him that Cal can't get her into bed within a month. Ouch. >_< That one stings a little. But Min isn't going to take this lying down, so to speak. She decides that she can play this game as well. She'll go out with Cal, string him along and make him and the barely-ex look like fools. At least that's the plan. Cal's charm is almost impossible to resist, as are his amazing good looks. I did love this, but worst thing first. I listened to this book, and while I loved Deanna Hurst's narration, I picked up on a serious fault in the writing that I probably would have overlooked in print. I swear, every other sentence, and sometimes every sentence, ended with said. I obviously don't have anything in front of me to give a real example but it was literally this bad: "Those are great shoes," Cal said. "They're my favorites," Min said. "They might be mine too," Cal said. "Watch it, charm boy," Min said. "I'm being honest. They're great shoes," Cal said. Again, NOT a direct quote, but it might as well be. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to continue for a while there. It was driving me crazy! But it didn't take me long to get caught up enough in Cal and Min's almost-romance that I was able to overlook it.…