Book Review: One-Star Romance by Laura Hankin

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: One-Star Romance
Author: Laura Hankin
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: June 18, 2024
Length: 400 pages
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

A struggling writer is forced to walk down the aisle at her best friend’s wedding with the man who gave her book a very public one-star rating in this fresh romantic comedy from Laura Hankin.

Natalie and Rob couldn’t have less in common. Nat’s a messy artist, and Rob’s a rigid academic. The only thing they share is their devotion to their respective best friends—who just got engaged. Still, unexpected chemistry has Natalie cautiously optimistic about being maid of honor to Rob’s best man.

Until, minutes before the ceremony, Nat learns that Rob wrote a one-star review of her new novel, which has them both reeling: Nat from imposter syndrome, and Rob over the reason he needed to write it.

When the reception ends, these two opposites hope they’ll never meet again. But, as they slip from their twenties into their thirties, they’re forced together whenever their fast-track best friends celebrate another milestone. Through housewarmings and christenings, life-changing triumphs and failures, Natalie and Rob grapple with their own choices—and how your harshest critic can become your perfectly imperfect match.

After all, even the truest love stories sometimes need a bit of rewriting.

With a title like One-Star Romance, the review practically writes itself. Here goes:

One-Star Romance is strictly a three-star reading experience.

While One-Star Romance has some fun, engaging elements, there are far too many points in this book that left me shaking my head, and it doesn’t help that the only reason we know that the main characters have chemistry is that we’re told that they do.

Okay, let’s dive in. Natalie and Gabby have been best friends since their freshman year of college. Even after college, they share a teeny little apartment and love each other more than anything… except Gabby’s boyfriend Angus is around a LOT and annoys the heck out of Natalie. And when Angus and Gabby get engaged, Natalie has to face the harsh fact that she’ll never be Gabby’s #1 again.

Fast-forward a year and a half to Gabby and Angus’s wedding. Natalie is maid of honor, and is doing an amazing job at it, even though she still feels that Angus isn’t good enough for her best friend and that this entire marriage is happening too quickly. On the bright side, Natalie’s first novel has just been published, and she’s feeling pretty good about the positive reviews on Goodreads — until her great rating score suddenly dips thanks to a one-star review. Natalie is absolutely spun out over this, and ultimately figures out that the one-star review was posted by Angus’s best friend/best man Rob, a Ph.D. candidate who comes off as a bit uptight and judgmental (although, as expected, he’s hot). Any potential sizzle between Natalie and Rob is immediately dowsed by the blow-up that ensues.

As the book progresses, we follow milestones in Gabby and Angus’s lives — from wedding to new job celebration to christening to housewarming — each event requiring now-sworn-enemies Natalie and Rob to once again be in close proximity for the sake of their friends. And at each event, they learn more about each other and start to break down walls, only for new offenses to crop up again.

On the one hand, One-Star Romance is fine — the structure of the book is built around the different milestone events, and the chapters for each move quickly and keep the momentum high. The book has a slightly higher page count than we typically see in a contemporary romance, but it’s fast-paced enough that it doesn’t bog down at all. As a whole, the story is entertaining and engaging.

Yet on the other hand… there is just so much in this book that felt false to me, as well as places where Natalie is insufferable, and the lead characters simply lack any sort of tangible spark.

Natalie blames her first novel’s lack of success on that one-star review, and honestly, one one-star review is not going to tank an otherwise great book! The fact that she constantly checks the Goodreads page for updates and obsesses over who this particular user might have been who gave her the one-star review… well, as is discussed again and again and again in the book blogosphere and beyond, this is very bad author behavior! Don’t read the reviews! And if you must, don’t focus on the individual reviewers! We’ve all heard too many stories about authors destroying their own reputations by coming after people who’ve written negative reviews. It’s impossible to feel any sympathy for Natalie here, and that’s even more true after we learn why Rob did what he did. Sorry, Natalie — Rob has a point, besides which, he’s entitled to leave whatever review he wants.

Natalie really doesn’t improve in terms of likability as the book progresses. She’s unrealistic and selfish when it comes to Gabby, always resenting that Gabby has a husband and later a child to get in the way of their friendship. It’s really off-putting.

It felt like eons since Natalie and Gabby had been able to have an uninterrupted conversation, since they’d truly been able to pay attention to each other.

That, in case you’re wondering, is Natalie whining to herself about Gabby being distracted — while Gabby is trying to get her newborn baby to latch on and breastfeed. How dare Gabby not pay more attention to Natalie!

The author doesn’t seem to have a positive view of stable relationships, either. At one point in the book, Rob is in a committed, loving relationship that’s working for him and his partner, and yet here’s how it’s described:

It was all too easy when he and Zuri were together to sink into quiet contentment, sitting side by side as they did their research or a crossword. Arms linked, the two of them had fast-forwarded straight into a comfortable middle age, despite only being thirty.

All of this doesn’t even scratch the surface of how many ridiculous set pieces there are — most egregious of which is Gabby and Angus’s wedding. (Note: I’m about to spoil a scene from the book, so look away if you don’t want to know!) For… reasons… Angus decides to zipline to the altar, and (of course) the zipline gets jammed and he falls off (because of course he’s not wearing a harness) into an algae-filled pond. The groomsmen rush in to retrieve him, so he and they are all soaked and algae covered as Gabby starts down the aisle. Natalie expects Gabby to freak out and maybe make a run for it (which Natalie would totally approve of) — but instead, Gabby sees her dripping, slimy groom… and jumps in the lake herself. Just… no. What bride on earth would do this? It isn’t cute, it isn’t funny, and it just doesn’t work.

Later in the book, One-Star Romance seems about to turn into the movie Beaches (if you’ve seen it, you know what I mean). Fortunately, there’s still a happy ending, but this section of the plot feels manipulative, not touching.

Finally, as I mentioned earlier, there’s just no chemistry between Natalie and Rob, except that this is an enemies-to-lovers story, so of course they have to secretly be in love with one another despite seeming like they hate each other. I didn’t buy it. Other than some physical attraction, there’s nothing between them, and they never become more believable as a couple. In real life, maybe they would have flirted a bit at the wedding before their big fight, and never would have given each other another thought — and when forced together by Gabby and Angus’s events, would have kept miles of distance between them. The core concept of the novel may sound cute, but it just doesn’t work.

Okay, it clearly sounds like I didn’t like this book very much. I didn’t hate it… but I didn’t love it. I got a decent amount of entertainment while reading One-Star Romance, and I was never bored. It’s not a bad way to pass the time, but three-stars is as high as I’ll go… and even that feels a tad generous.

16Jun2024

Book Review: Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Summer Romance
Author: Annabel Monaghan
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Publication date: June 4, 2024
Length: 321 pages
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

Benefits of a summer romance: it’s always fun, always brief, and no one gets their heart broken.

There aren’t enough labeled glass containers to contain the mess that is Ali Morris’s life. Her mom died two years ago, then her husband left, and she hasn’t worn pants with a zipper in longer than she cares to remember. She’s a professional organizer whose pantry is a disgrace.

No one is more surprised than Ali when the first time she takes off her wedding ring and puts on pants with hardware—overalls count, right?—she meets someone. Or rather, her dog claims a man for her in the same way he claimed his favorite of her three children: by peeing on him. Ethan smiles at Ali like her pants are just right—like he likes what he sees. The last thing Ali needs is to make her life messier, but there’s no harm in a little Summer Romance. Is there?

Summer Romance delivers on the promise of its title, but with so much more. And it’s really no surprise — this 3rd book** by author Annabel Monaghan is just as delightful as the previous two, Nora Goes Off Script and Same Time Next Summer.

**3rd adult novel — she has earlier YA and non-fiction books, according to her Goodreads profile.

In Summer Romance, the main character is Ali, whose life is incredibly messy despite her professional role as a home organizer. It’s been two years since her mother’s death and one year since her husband Pete decided he wanted out. Ali’s pantry is overflowing with unneeded items (who needs four boxes of corn starch?), her sweatpants have seen much better days, and her counters have piles of paper everywhere. Just keeping her three children going takes all her effort — and yes, she’s a terrific mom, but her emotions are a mess and she’s just so, so worn out.

When Ali’s best friend Frannie pushes her to make a change and at least put on a pair of “hard pants” (i.e., any that don’t feature an elastic waist), Ali thinks Frannie’s probably expecting too much, but a trip to the dog park leads her to a very attractive man with a cute dog and a sense of humor. He’s new to their small town — Ali would definitely know if he were a local — and he seems to like what he sees when he looks at Ali. For the first time in years, Ali feels a bit of joy. Maybe a summer romance with a visitor to town will snap her out of her funk.

Of course, the mystery man — Ethan — has more to him than meets the eye, but Ali is drawn to him, and their chemistry is terrific. Plus, he’s kind and considerate and funny, not to mention hot, and with very specifically appealing features, such as his “shouldery shoulders” and:

His hands are the hands of a man who works construction all day and then races home to perform a piano concerto.

As they spend time together, Ali starts to get a new sense of energy for the rest of her life too, and starts to realize that the line from her high school graduation speech (which gets quoted back to her at a key moment) about being “the architect of your own experience” might be more relevant to her today than it was all those years ago.

Without going too far into the plot, I’ll just talk about some of the elements you might not get based just on the synopsis. The central theme in Summer Romance is not just the love story, but Ali rediscovering herself and finding a way to live through and past her grief. Her mother was her touchstone, the one constant in her life, the person who was there for her even when her marriage wasn’t going great and she started feeling like she’d lost her way. When we first meet Ali, she talks to her mother in her car whenever she’s alone, and hears her mother’s responses — not in a “oh my god, she’s hallucinating” sort of way, but more like she’s soothing herself by imagining how her mother might talk her through any of her fresh challenges.

And it’s in this moment that I understand my mother’s love for me. I can still feel the intensity of that love and the way she walked into my home, bright as the sun, and blinded me to all the shadows.

The depiction of Ali’s life as a single mother feels realistic. She loves her kids and is wonderful with them, but she’s also tired. Her ex can’t be counted on — he’s the type of clueless ex-husband who still just walks into the house when he arrives, and changes plans on a dime when he’s supposed to have the kids because something else has come up. Ali is the anchor, the one who can be counted on, and it’s clearly exhausting to have to be the one responsible person in all of their lives.

I really appreciated how well the author shows Ali’s return to hope and joy over the course of the summer. It’s not just about having a new man in her life — it’s about recognizing her own worth, finding purpose, and recommitting to all the messiness that emotional involvement can bring, even knowing that sometimes there will be loss down the road, but getting involved anyway.

As with her previous books, the author excels at writing clever or funny lines that capture something true beneath the wittiness:

When I stopped working, I started making the coffee to suit Pete. He liked me to add cinnamon to the grounds, which I think completely ruins the taste of the coffee, but I made it that way because he was the one going to work. It seemed like his coffee moment mattered more than mine.

One of Ali’s big epiphanies over the course of her summer romance is that love and beauty and joy need to be embraced, even if there’s sorrow inevitably coming later. Whether it’s befriending the old woman next door despite knowing her time is limited, or getting a dog who in the natural course of things she’ll eventually see die, Ali learns that her life is richer when she accepts the joy in the moment — even if, like a summer romance, it has a predetermined end date.

Summer Romance is a wonderful read — the romantic elements are absolutely great, but the family dynamics, the memories of Ali’s mother and how Ali processes her grief, the appreciation of the connections of life in a small town, the depiction of how sexy kindness can be — all of these really make this book something special. Don’t miss it.

**Save

Save

5Jun2024

Book Review: Jackpot Summer by Elyssa Friedland

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Jackpot Summer
Author: Elyssa Friedland
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: June 11, 2024
Length: 384 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

After the Jacobson siblings win a life-changing fortune in the lottery, they assume their messy lives will transform into sleek, storybook perfection—but they couldn’t be more wrong in the new laugh-out-loud novel from beloved author Elyssa Friedland.

The four Jacobson children were raised to respect the value of a dollar. Their mother reused tea bags and refused to pay retail; their father taught them to budget before he taught them to ride a bike. And yet, as adults, their financial lives—as well as their personal lives—are in complete disarray.

The siblings reunite when their newly widowed father puts their Jersey Shore home on the market. Packing up their childhood isn’t easy, especially when they’ve all got drama brewing back home. Matthew is miserable at his corporate law job and wishes he had more time with his son; Laura’s marriage is imploding in spectacular fashion; Sophie’s art career is stalled while her boyfriend’s is on the rise; and Noah’s total failure to launch has him doing tech repair for pennies.

So when Noah sees an ad for a Powerball drawing, he and his sisters go in on a ticket. Matthew passes but the ticket is a winner and all hell breaks loose as the infusion of cash causes sibling rivalries and family secrets to resurface. Without their mother, and with their father busy playing pickleball in a Florida retirement village, the once close-knit siblings search for comfort in shiny new toys instead of each other.

It’s not long before the Jacobson’s start to realize that they’ll never feel rich unless they can pull their family back together.

Jackpot Summer is a story about siblings and life choices, with a “careful-what-you-wish-for” message that isn’t exactly subtle. After all, even before chapter 1, we read excerpts from several different newspaper articles about lottery winners, including one that explains how one man went from rolling in money to complete bankruptcy in only a few years. This can’t bode well for the Jacobsons, can it?

As the story opens, the “fantastic foursome” (as their late mother used to call them) have gathered for her unveiling. It’s been a year since her death from cancer, and as they talk together, their father Leo drops a bombshell: He’s selling the family’s beach house on the Jersey shore and moving to a retirement village in Florida, where he can play pickleball to his heart’s content. Instead of gathering at the beach house for the family’s traditional 4th of July celebration, they’ll be gathering to pack up the house and sort through a lifetime’s worth of odds and ends.

Each of the siblings is shaken, while also dealing with the stressors in their own lives. The oldest, Matthew, works alongside his ultra-ambitious wife in a prestigious corporate law office, while delegating the raising of their son to a stream of au pairs and tutors. Laura faces being an empty-nester when her younger daughter leaves for college, forcing her to acknowledge that her marriage seems to have dried up without her actually noticing it. Sophie’s day job as a public school teacher has her cleaning up glitter every day before working on her paintings in a grimy shared art space, getting nowhere while her sculptor boyfriend’s career seems to be taking off. And the youngest, Noah, lives in the beach house, does tech support house calls for the locals, and has no idea what to do with himself, but knows he doesn’t want to have to deal with actually changing anything.

On a whim, the Jacobson siblings — minus Matthew, whose wife expresses that the lottery is “a tax on stupid people” — go in on Powerball tickets… and win. This, of course, uproots all of their lives. First, the dilemma — do the three of them cut Matthew in on the winnings, even though he opted not to go in with them on the tickets? Much family drama stems from this point.

Once the money is in the family’s hands, more problems crop up. Everyone immediately dives into spending their new riches. Laura and husband Doug buy a mansion in a snobby new town, then head off on ultra-luxury vacations (which include couples massages with gold-infused lotions) — none of which does anything to actually improve their marriage. Sophie quits her teaching job, invests in a shiny, beautiful studio to work in, then finds herself utterly blocked when it comes to creativity. And poor Noah mopes about eating junk food and giving away money to anyone who asks — yes, the guy needing money to escape a “diktatership” is probably a scam… but what if it’s not?

Meanwhile, father Leo watches from afar and seems to be waiting for his kids to get their acts together, which it takes them quite a long time to do.

Jackpot Summer has a lot going for it, so let’s focus on the positives first. It’s funny and fast-paced, and while I initially feared that I wouldn’t be able to keep track of the individual characters (note: I hate books that introduce an entire family in one scene!), the fantastic foursome are actually all quite distinct. Chapters focus on one at a time, which gives readers a chance to get to know each one, understand their inner lives, and identify with the problems they face.

The Jacobsons are a Jewish American family, and it was enjoyable to see their rituals, their family traditions, and learn more about their heritage and how it affects their present attitudes. They’re not a particularly religious family, but their Jewishness is seen through pieces of their lives that include the local JCC, temple fundraisers, sitting shiva, and learning to bake their mother’s babka. It’s sweet, and the family scenes convey so much about how the kids were raised and how they ended up growing into the adults we now see.

The dynamics between the siblings is lots of fun too, especially once the rift with Matthew and his wife is resolved. They’re all adults, but their inner goofiness comes out when they’re together, and their group text chat is especially adorable.

A few negatives, though. The book sets us up from the beginning to expect the Jacobsons to squander their winnings, and they mostly do. None end up bankrupt, but they all make questionable choices before — finally, after some obviously very wrong turns — reassessing where true happiness lies and starting to course-correct. Not that we’d expect them all to be perfect, but there’s some clear bone-headedness that goes on longer than I felt necessary.

Matthew and his wife Beth are awful parents, forcing their 13-year-old Austin into one high-pressured activity after another, with no time to be a kid. We’re meant to like Matthew and Beth and eventually their more personable sides come out… but the depiction of the hard-charging corporate lawyers substituting hiring the best help for actually parenting their kid feels clichéd. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before, and as with other conflicts in this book, takes longer than necessary to resolve.

My final quibble: While the chapters focus on different siblings and so ostensibly are told through the characters’ points of view, there’s some nastiness about describing certain people that reeks of ageism to me:

On stage, a cluster of post-menopausal women dressed in black leotards, fishnets and tap shoes were performing a coordinated song and dance routine. […] His appearance brough the arthritic rendition of “Don’t Tell Mama” to a standstill.

Sorry, but I think it’s awesome that these adult women are tap dancing! What does post-menopausal have to do with it? Why are they, apparently by default, supposed to be arthritic? Ugh, this attitude bothers me so much.

Okay, all that aside, Jackpot Summer is overall a very fast and mostly enjoyable read. The ending feels rushed and the siblings’ various problems and dilemmas get tied up neatly and a bit too easily. Still, I liked it enough to read it in a day and a half. As light summer entertainment, this one deserves a place in the beach bag!

1Jun2024

Book Review: The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Guncle Abroad
Author: Steven Rowley
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Publication date: May 21, 2024
Length: 320 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy via NetGalley (audiobook purchased via Audible)
Rating:

Patrick O’Hara is called back to his guncle duties . . . This time for a big family wedding in Italy.

Patrick O’Hara is back. It’s been five years since his summer as his niece Maisie and nephew Grant’s caretaker after their mother’s passing. The kids are back in Connecticut with their dad, and Patrick has relocated to New York to remain close by and relaunch his dormant acting career. After the run of his second successful sit-com comes to a close, Patrick feels on top of the world . . . professionally. But some things have had to take a back seat. Looking down both barrels at fifty, Patrick is single again after breaking things off with Emory. But at least he has a family to lean on. Until that family needs to again lean on him.

When Patrick’s brother, Greg, announces he’s getting remarried in Italy, Maisie and Grant are not thrilled. Patrick feels drawn to take the two back under his wing. As they travel through Europe on their way to the wedding, Patrick tries his best to help them understand love, much as he once helped them comprehend grief. But when they arrive in Italy, Patrick is overextended managing a groom with cold feet; his sister, Clara, flirting with guests left and right; a growing rivalry with the kids’ charming soon-to-be-launt (lesbian aunt), and two moody young teens trying to adjust to a new normal, all culminating in a disastrous rehearsal dinner.

Can Patrick save the day? Will teaching the kids about love help him repair his own love life? Can the change of scenery help Patrick come to terms with finally growing up?

Gracing the work with his signature blend of humor and heart, Steven Rowley charms with a beloved story about the complicated bonds of family, love, and what it takes to rediscover yourself, even at the ripe age of fifty.

Here’s how I started my review of The Guncle, the book that first introduced us to Patrick O’Hara and his niblings, Maisie and Grant:

After absolutely loving this author’s most recent novel, The Celebrants, I was eager to explore more. The Guncle, released in 2021, charmed me as soon as I saw the cover (I’m easily swayed by great covers!). I’m happy to report that The Guncle delivers in so many ways, and won my heart completely.

One advantage of reading a book a few years after its release is that you barely have to wait at all for a sequel! The Guncle was published in 2021, but I read it earlier this year… and yet — voila! — between that book and The Guncle Abroad, five years have passed! For the characters, in any case.

In The Guncle Abroad, Patrick is a far happier man in many ways, especially in comparison to how we first me him in The Guncle. He’s experienced a career revival, has moved to New York and remained actively involved in his brother’s family’s lives, and (until their recent breakup) had a loving long-term relationship with the wonderful Emory. (And yes, I felt my heart break just a teeny bit upon learning that they’d broken up.)

But as the book opens, Patrick finds himself with a mission. Greg, widowed five years earlier, is getting married to the woman he’s fallen in love with… who happens to be from an insanely wealthy, titled Italian family. (Who knew they still had nobility and titles in Italy? I sure didn’t!) The wedding will be a no-expense-spared affair at Lake Como, and all is delightful — except the kids aren’t happy. Clearly, Greg needs Patrick’s help.

As Greg prepares to meet his fiancée Livia in Italy for wedding prep, Patrick agrees to take the kids for summer. They meet him in London (where he’s wrapping filming on a new movie co-starring Jude Law!), and then accompany Patrick on a European vacation. His goal? Teach them all about love and love languages, so they can maybe find it in their hearts to accept Livia and their dad’s upcoming marriage.

Patrick, Maisie, and Grant are as amazing together as ever… although it is a bit disconcerting to encounter them at ages 14 and 11. Kids grow up so fast! Maisie is hovering between childhood and full-on teen mode, and Grant has outgrown his lisp but not his cuteness. As the trio traverse Paris, Salzburg, and Venice, Patrick does his best to teach them about cherishing people who care about them, accepting gifts with gratitude, and opening their hearts to new people and experiences. It’s an uphill climb for sure. Maisie and Grant still carry their grief for their mother, as does Patrick, and can’t fathom allowing Livia into their lives.

Can grief and gratitude coexist? Could he miss the kids’ mother and also be grateful for his time with Maisie and Grant? Or did the gratitude just make him miss Sara more and wish she was the one on this train with him instead of her sleeping kids? And in helping them these past few years with their grief, had he once again neglected his own?

The Guncle Abroad is as riotously funny as the previous book. Patrick is so incredibly over the top, and honestly, I love him to bits. But silly quips and jokes are not the only things going for this book. There are deeper veins of love, loss, healing, honoring memories, finding hope, and facing hard truths. The European adventure is eye-opening not just for Maisie and Grant, but also for Patrick.

Okay, but we do actually need to pay tribute to just a few of the passages and conversations that cracked me up:

Grant’s game console made a sound like something swirling a drain and he groaned. “Why can’t Dad marry Palmina?”

Speaking of nemeses, a cold child ran down Patrick’s spine. “Palmina’s a lesbian, you know that.”

Grant didn’t seem to view that as disqualifying. “Yeah, but gay marriage is legal now.”

“Children,” Livia said, part greeting, part statement of fact.

“I ask what’s going on, I do, but they don’t give me straight answers.”

“Do they give you gay ones?”

Patrick really is utter perfection — outwardly vain, always needing the spotlight, and with a bon mot for all occasions — but inwardly sensitive and oh-so-amazing as an uncle (guncle) to the pair of children he loves so much.

I listened to the audiobook version of The Guncle Abroad, and as with the previous book, the author is also the narrator. And while some authors are cringe-level awful at narration, the opposite is totally true here. Steven Rowley absolutely nails his characters voices, and his delivery as Patrick is *chef’s kiss* amazing.

My only teensy quibbles with The Guncle Abroad have to do with Livia and her sister Palmina. Livia is something of a blank. We see her in various scenes, but I didn’t feel that I got to know anything about her personality or a deeper sense of how she feels about Greg and the children. Meanwhile, Palmina (referred to by the kids as their new “launt”) immediately sets off Patrick’s alarms as competition for the kids’ affection and admiration — she’s just so effortlessly cool — but the shtick gets old pretty quickly, and I could have done without quite so much Palmina focus.

Still, these factors did not in the slightest keep me from loving this book. The Guncle Abroad is sweet, funny, honest, and constantly entertaining, and Patrick is the best. (Have I said that already? It’s true. He is). The Guncle Abroad has a super satisfying ending… but I still felt sad, because it seems pretty definitively to have wrapped up all storylines, and I’d love to think that there’s another Patrick/Maisie/Grant adventure in our future. Maybe when they’re another five years older?

Having read Steve Rowley’s three most recent books, I can safely say that I’ll read whatever he writes from this point forward. I love his characters, his humor, his pacing, and his way with snappy dialogue. I encourage everyone to check out The Guncle Abroad (read The Guncle first, obviously)… and if you really want a treat, give the audiobook a try.

23May2024

Audiobook Review: The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Neighbor Favor
Author: Kristina Forest
Narrators: Keylor Leigh & Malik Rashad
Publisher: Forever
Publication date: February 28, 2023
Print length: 403 pages
Audio length: 10 hours 6 minutes
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Library
Rating:

In this heart-fluttering romance by Kristina Forest, a shy bookworm enlists her charming neighbor to help her score a date, not knowing he’s the obscure author she’s been corresponding with.

Shy, bookish, and admittedly awkward, Lily Greene has always felt inadequate compared to the rest of her accomplished family, who strive for Black excellence. She dreams of becoming an editor of children’s books but has been frustratingly stuck in the nonfiction division for years without a promotion in sight. Lily finds escapism in her correspondences with her favorite fantasy author, and what begins as two lonely people connecting over e-mail turns into a tentative friendship and possibly something else Lily won’t let herself entertain–until he ghosts her.

Months later, still crushed but determined to take charge of her life, Lily seeks a date to her sister’s wedding. And the perfect person to help her is Nick Brown, her charming, attractive new neighbor, whom she feels drawn to for unexplainable reasons. Little does she know that Nick is an author–her favorite fantasy author.

Nick, who has his reasons for using a pen name and for pushing people away, soon realizes that the beautiful, quiet woman from down the hall is the same Lily he fell in love with over e-mail months ago. Unwilling to complicate things even more between them, he agrees to set her up with someone else, though this simple favor between two neighbors is anything but–not when he can’t get her off his mind.

The Neighbor Favor is a sweet contemporary romance, set in the world of book publishing and sure to set booklovers’ hearts a-flutter! A random email exchange between a book fan and the book’s author turns into a deeper connection… and while it ends badly, the two people involved still manage to find one another and explore what it means to open up in real life.

Lily emails the author of her favorite fantasy novel on a whim when she discovers that the mysterious author finally has a website. She loved his book, but it seems to have faded away into obscurity after publication by a small indie press. She’s thrilled to hear back from N. R. Strickland, and soon their correspondence turns into an ongoing series of honest exchanges, where each reveals more of themselves than they ever have to other people. But when “Strick” reaches the point where he’ll have to truly show himself to Lily, he breaks off contact abruptly and leaves her heartbroken.

Months later, Lily keeps running into the new guy who just moved into the apartment down the hall from her. And he’s hot. Oh, and seems like a really nice guy, and she’s even noticed him carrying books with him — always a good sign. Of course, he notices Lily too, despite her shyness and awkwardness around new people. As they strike up an acquaintance and set off some early sparks, Nick puts the brakes on — so Lily asks him (as you do) to help her find a date for her sister’s wedding. (It’s complicated).

Of course, Nick IS N. R. Strickland, and he realizes pretty quickly that this Lily is the Lily from the emails, and knows he should stay far, far away. His life is messy and he’s sure he’d be no good for her, so despite how much he likes her and how attractive he finds her, he’s determined to stay away. But fate seems to keep throwing them together, and their chemistry really is undeniable.

Meanwhile, both are dealing with their own family situations and career struggles — and yet, it’s only a matter of time before they get together. Even when they do, they have to deal with the fallout of hidden identities and cover-ups, and figure out whether they can truly trust enough to let one another in.

I liked quite a bit about The Neighbor Favor, although in general, I think I’ve run out of patience for romances where a significant lie is the main obstacle between the love interests. Nick could have come clean much earlier, or he could have stayed away. Getting involved but not being honest feels like an overworn romance trope, and it irritated me here. Nick and Lily are both such likable people — it’s no fun seeing them tied up in knots over a problem caused by base-level dishonesty.

On the other hand, the fact that these two are such book lovers, and especially, that they love fantasy so much, makes this book a delight. The author has the characters name-drop a ton of great books (Ella Enchanted, Riot Baby, How to Win the Time War, The Poppy War) — some of which I’ve read, some I’ve immediately added to my TBR list — and it’s a geeky joy to see them gush over how much they love their favorite books and authors. (Although, I was so frustrated to learn their shared favorite author, Elena Masterson, and her books, The Nermana Chronicles, are fictional — I want them to be real!) (And I’d also love to read Nick’s books, The Elves of Ceradon… it sounds amazing!)

I listened to the audiobook, and it was very entertaining, with gifted narrators. In the Lily chapters, the narration did become kind of screechy while voicing certain characters (especially one of Lily’s sisters), but otherwise, the narrators did a fine job bringing Lily, Nick, and their friends to life. A downside, however, is the fact that part one of The Neighbor Favor is the initial email relationship between Lily and Nick… and at least as it comes across via audio, it goes on for a really, really long time. Maybe it’s better in print, but listening to this endless email exchange gets really tiresome after a while.

Other than that, I enjoyed the audiobook. The plot moves quickly, and there are lots of fun side characters and situations that sparkle. Sure, the plot relies a bit too heavily on coincidence (really? he moved not only to New York but into Lily’s apartment building? and the very same floor?), but given how much I liked the characters, I decided to just accept it and enjoy the ride.

The Neighbor Favor is an entertaining story about relatable characters who may make questionable choices, but are still fundamentally good people. The author has a new book that released earlier this year, The Partner Plot, with Lily’s older sister as the main character. It’s supposedly a stand-alone, but in the same general world as The Neighbor Favor. While I didn’t love this particular sister in The Neighbor Favor, the description of this book makes it sound like it’ll be another fun one to experience.

Meanwhile, if you enjoy contemporary romance with booklovers front and center, be sure to check out The Neighbor Favor!

18May2024

Book Review: Where Have All the Boys Gone? by Jenny Colgan

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Where Have All the Boys Gone
Author: Jenny Colgan
Publisher: Avon
Publication date: 2005
Length: 368 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Purchased
Rating:

From New York Times bestselling author Jenny Colgan comes this hilarious romance about a woman who trades in the comforts of city life in hopes of finding love in a small Scottish town in the middle of nowhere.

Faced with the harsh reality that there are 25,000 more women than men in London, Katie’s dating prospects are at an all-time low. While she’s glad it’s not a man’s world anymore, it wouldn’t hurt if there were more eligible bachelors.

More likely to get murdered than married, according to gleeful media reports, Katie resigns herself to the fact that there’s no sex in the city for her and decides to head for the hills—or the Scottish Highlands to be exact. Despite the fact she’s never been one for muddy rain boats—and Fairlish is in the middle of nowhere—the tiny town does have one major draw: men. LOTS of them!

But while Katie relishes the chance to do battle with armies of admirers, she’s not excited about going head to head with her shady new boss, Harry. At least there’s the local eye-candy to distract her, including gorgeous newshound Iain. But he is at loggerheads with Harry, and she can’t afford to get on Harry’s bad side any more than she already has.

Life in the country might not be one big roll in the hay, but now that Katie has taken the plunge, can she ever turn her back on the delights of Fairlish and return to city life…?

Jenny Colgan is a go-to author for me, and since I’ve read all of her more recent books, I’ve decided to go deeper into the backlist. Sadly, Where Have All the Boys Gone? was not the fun reading/listening experience I was looking for.

In this book, originally published in 2005, a London-based young woman who’s suffered through bad date after bad date gets assigned to a temporary job in a small town in the Scottish Highlands. Along with gorgeous forests and landscapes, Fairlish is also home to men — lots and lots of them. And they all seem super excited by the arrival of Katie and her bestie Louise.

Much silliness ensues. Katie’s job in Fairlish is doing PR for the local forest preservation society, whose director seems to believe it’s better to keep quiet about the threat of a new golf course moving in rather than upsetting all the locals. Doesn’t exactly make sense, but okay. Katie has to convince him to go public and make a splash — otherwise, the greedy corporate types will be chopping down Harry’s beloved forests in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, Katie and Louise get into all sorts of mishaps, such as inadverently sharing secrets over a hot mic at a country fair, pissing off the local baker, and breaking the rules of their starchy, food-withholding boarding-house owner. Katie also gets drawn into a love triangle (the outcome seems pretty obvious), has to deal with a spoiled, irresponsible sister, and yet somehow manages to pull off a gala that’s the social event of the season (Ewan McGregor even attends!).

This is a lightweight novel, and it shows its age. At almost 20 years past its original release, Where Have All the Boys Gone? feels dated and full of cringey observations about dating, what men want, what women want, relationships, and more. Perhaps it might have felt more fun and breezy back in 2005; as a 2024 read, the attempts at humor seem slapstick, the sexism on display isn’t quaint or endearing, and there’s one element of the fundraiser that’s just awful. (A slave auction! They actually call it a slave auction. Noooooo. It’s just a terrible scene).

I usually love Jenny Colgan books, so it pains me to say that this one is a bust. I wholeheartedly recommend her more recent books — the Mure series is wonderful, the Little Beach Street Bakery books are terrific, and I loved the Sweetshop of Dreams books, not to mention some great stand-alones. But reading Where Have All the Boys Gone? has reminded me that sometimes backlist books are best left unexplored.**

**I do actually have a couple of other older Jenny Colgan books on my Kindle, so… never say never, but I’ll approach those with caution.

16May2024

Book Review: The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Return of Ellie Black
Author: Emiko Jean
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication date: May 7, 2024
Length: 320 pages
Genre: Thriller
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s life is turned upside down when she gets the call Ellie Black, a girl who disappeared years earlier, has resurfaced in the woods of Washington state—but Ellie’s reappearance leaves Chelsey with more questions than answers.

“I stayed up late into the night turning the pages until I learned the truth of what happened to Ellie—and gasped when Jean delivered a truly jaw-dropping twist.” —Jessica Knoll, New York Times bestselling author of Luckiest Girl Alive and Bright Young Women

It’s been twenty years since Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s sister vanished when they were teenagers, and ever since she’s been searching: for signs, for closure, for other missing girls. But happy endings are rare in Chelsey’s line of work.

Then a glimmer: local teenager Ellie Black, who disappeared without a trace two years earlier, has been found alive in the woods of Washington State.

But something is not right with Ellie. She won’t say where she’s been, or who she’s protecting, and it’s up to Chelsey to find the answers. She needs to get to the bottom of what happened to Ellie: for herself, and for the memory of her sister, but mostly for the next girl who could be taken—and who, unlike Ellie, might never return.

The debut thriller from New York Times bestselling author Emiko Jean, The Return of Ellie Black is both a feminist tour de force about the embers of hope that burn in the aftermath of tragedy and a twisty page-turner that will shock and surprise you right up until the final page.

The Return of Ellie Black is certainly a departure for author Emiko Jean, whose three most recent books are on the light, upbeat, quirky side. That description does not fit this new book at all — it’s a dark, disturbing book about abduction and abuse.

In The Return of Ellie Black, detective Chelsey Calhoun’s life is defined by sorrow. As a teen, her beloved older sister was murdered, and she’s never gotten over the pain. As an adult, Chelsey investigates missing girls, dedicating herself to these difficult cases to the point of obsession. Loss is a constant for Chelsey, and despite being married to a lovely man who supports her every way he can, Chelsey has an emptiness inside that’s constantly with her.

As the story opens, Ellie Black — missing for two years — suddenly turns up on a hiking trail. She’s disoriented, has wounds on her body, and is wearing a bloody sweatshirt. Ellie is clearly traumatized, and although she initially speaks with Chelsey, she soon declares that she wants to be left alone and refuses to participate in the investigation.

But Chelsey doesn’t want to give up. Whoever took Ellie is still out there, and what’s to stop them from taking another girl? As Chelsey refuses to leave the case alone, she unearths an unexpected pattern, and before long, it’s clear that Ellie is far from the only victim of this unknown predator — and it’s also clear that there still may be girls to locate and save before it’s too late.

(Content warnings in the next paragraph — skip if you prefer not to know)

The Return of Ellie Black is very, very dark. (I know I said that already, but it bears repeating). Content includes kidnapping, imprisonment, mind control, cult-like conditions, sexual abuse, rape, physical assault, intimidation, and more. I don’t often get too into the details when it comes to trigger warnings, but this may be a very upsetting book for some readers.

(End of content warnings)

The case itself is fascinating. Chelsey is a complicated, damaged character, and her childhood traumas are all very much a part of her day-to-day life, informing her investigations and her approach toward evidence and witnesses.

In sections interspersed throughout the book, we also get glimpses of Ellie’s memories of her experiences while a captive, and it’s very harrowing and difficult to read.

As for the mystery element, there are clues that come together, as well as false leads and missteps. I didn’t love the ultimate resolution, largely because there were too many coincidences and overlaps for my liking. (Can’t really say more without getting into spoiler territory…) Still, the suspense is terrific, and the mounting sense of time running out and looming disaster is very well developed. I was on the edge of my seat throughout, and couldn’t put the book down.

The Return of Ellie Black is a gripping thriller that’s almost painful to read — but I’m glad I hung in there. The story is unfailingly interesting, with some unusual and unexpected twists, and Chelsey herself is a terrific, complicated main character. If you enjoy thrillers, definitely check it out.

9May2024

Book Review: The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Paradise Problem
Author: Christina Lauren
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication date: May 14. 2024
Length: 352 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction/romance
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

Christina Lauren, returns with a delicious new romance between the buttoned-up heir of a grocery chain and his free-spirited artist ex as they fake their relationship in order to receive a massive inheritance.

Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam “West” Weston for access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She also thought she’d signed divorce papers when the graduation caps were tossed, and they both went on their merry ways.

Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There’s just one catch.

Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather’s will, Liam won’t see a penny until he’s been happily married for five years. Just when Liam thinks he’s in the home stretch, pressure mounts from his family to see this mysterious spouse, and he has no choice but to turn to the one person he’s afraid to introduce to his one-percenter parents—his unpolished, not-so-ex-wife.

But in the presence of his family, Liam’s fears quickly shift from whether the feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered Anna can play the part to whether the toxic world of wealth will corrupt someone as pure of heart as his surprisingly grounded and loyal wife. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprouted from a lie.

It’s no surprise that a new Christina Lauren book is fun, fast-paced, steamy, and full of delicious plot twists… right? I’m happy to share that The Paradise Problem continues this author duo’s winning streak — CL fans will be over the moon.

In The Paradise Problem, Anna Green is having a Very Bad Day. She’s been fired from her terrible convenience store job by its terrible 18-year-old manager. Her decrepit car has been sideswiped and damaged. Worst of all, her crappy job was her one means of attempting to pay off the mounds of medical debt related to her father’s chemo treatments. And that’s not even mentioning the fact that her artwork has failed to sell, and she hasn’t heard from her agent in a year.

So Anna is not in a great place when “West” Weston (aka Liam) knocks on her door needing her help. Five years earlier, she married Liam (on paper) so they’d qualify for campus housing… but when he moved out, she signed divorce papers, or so she believed. It turns out that the papers stipulated a divorce further in the future (along with a nice buyout) — and while Anna thinks it’s weird that they’re still technically married, she doesn’t see the problem. The time is almost up, after all.

The catch is, Liam’s sister’s wedding is coming up, and his family is demanding that he attend with his wife. Yes, his fake wife (that would be Anna), who he’s also told them is a busy medical student (okay, well, she was pre-med back when they shared an apartment.) Liam desperately needs Anna to come to the wedding, play the part of loving wife, and get him through the big family event. Once they make it to their five-year anniversary, Liam’s inheritance will be secure, and they can safely divorce. As incentive, he’s offering Anna a huge payment in exchange for her play-acting, which will more than cover the medical bills, and even give her enough breathing room to focus on her art. How could she say no?

Once they zip off to the private island (via Singapore) where the wedding will be held, it’s like something out of Crazy Rich Asians (if it had a baby with Succession). These people are so elitist and over the top that it’s impossible not to just laugh at how ridiculous they are. The money is insane… and Liam’s family is just awful. His father is a controlling pig, and his mother exudes wealthy passive-aggressiveness with every breath she takes.

And yet… Anna actually starts to enjoy some parts of this little escapade, especially sharing the over-water bungalow with Liam and getting to appreciate the hotness she never fully noticed back when they lived together.

I won’t go too far into the details — but use your imagination, and picture two hot, interesting, awesome people forced into constant close proximity on a gorgeous tropical island. To say sparks fly is putting it mildly. But on top of all this romantic chemistry, there’s a non-romantic plot too! Liam’s family is messy (and not in a good way). With Anna’s support, he has to navigate the awful family dynamics and try to come out of it unscathed, and no, it’s not just about the money. There’s more at stake than initially meets the eye, and getting to the bottom of it all is a big piece of the fun of this book.

My quibbles are truly very minor. Within the big lie about being happily married, why maintain the lie about Anna being a medical student, with stories about fake med school attendance and projects overseas? This seems like a detail that Liam could have explained away — the family has never met Anna and Liam has kept his distance from them, so surely he could have said she changed careers at some point? As is, this is the piece of the lie easiest to trip Anna up with, and it seems like it needlessly complicates an already complicated situation.

Another minor issue for me — Liam’s name! He’s introduced as West, his family calls him Liam, his name is actually William… Even writing this review, I wasn’t sure which name to use!

For those who like to know the steam levels in advance: Some scenes are more explicit than suits my taste, but fans of the open door approach will love it. I tend to enjoy the “implied” rather than “shown” approach to these scenes, and in The Paradise Problem, we see all! This didn’t stop me from enjoying the book in the slightest… I just sort of wanted to look away from time to time.

Overall, this book was a terrific read, and I finished it in one day. Seriously, I just couldn’t stop!

The Paradise Problem revolves around an intriguing set-up, opposites-attract characters in a fake (but getting more real by the second) marriage, an ultra-luxury setting, and crazy family politics. It’s a blast, plain and simple.

Christina Lauren fans will be delighted… and for anyone who hasn’t had the pleasure yet of experiencing one of their novels, The Paradise Problem is a great place to dive in. Definitely recommended for anyone who enjoys contemporary romance with more than a pinch of humor and outstanding chemistry between lead characters.

28Apr2024

Book Review: Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie by Jackie Lau

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie
Author: Jackie Lau
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: May 7, 2024
Length: 352 pages
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

A charming rom-com about a young woman’s desperate attempts to fend off her meddling mother…only to find that maybe mother does know best.

Mark Chan this. Mark Chan that.

Writer and barista Emily Hung is tired of hearing about the great Mark Chan, the son of her parents’ friends. You’d think he single-handedly stopped climate change and ended child poverty from the way her mother raves about him. But in reality, he’s just a boring, sweater-vest-wearing engineer, and when they’re forced together at Emily’s sister’s wedding, it’s obvious he thinks he’s too good for her.

But now that Emily is her family’s last single daughter, her mother is fixated on getting her married and she has her sights on Mark. There’s only one solution, clearly : convince Mark to be in a fake relationship with her long enough to put an end to her mom’s meddling. He reluctantly agrees.

Unfortunately, lying isn’t enough. Family friends keep popping up at their supposed dates—including a bubble tea shop and cake-decorating class—so they’ll have to spend more time together to make their relationship look real. With each fake date, though, Emily realizes that Mark’s not quite what she assumed and maybe that argyle sweater isn’t so ugly after all…

In this cute fake-dating romance, Emily realizes that the best way to get her mother to stop pushing Mark Chan on her… is to pretend to date Mark Chan. Emily is the only unmarried daughter in her large family, and she knows that all her immigrant parents want is for her to have a steady, successful career, own a nice home, and marry an eligible man. That’s not asking too much, is it?

Unfortunately for her mother’s dreams, Emily, while a published author, still has to work as a barista to make rent on her shared apartment, and struggles to find time and energy to finish edits on her second novel and finally develop the great new idea she has for her next book. She’s well aware that she’s a disappointment, and it’s hard to take… and the fact that Mark Chan is the perfect guy that every Chinese parents dreams of is not helping matters. Finally pushed too far, Emily proposes a fake-dating scenario, and surprisingly, Mark agrees.

But just pretending to go on dates isn’t working, since Emily’s mom has eyes and ears everywhere, and soon the couple realizes that they’ll have to actually go on dates together in order to keep up the charade. As they spend time together, Emily starts to realize that there might be more to Mark than she assumed (the fact that he has an adorable cat named Ms. Margaret Muffins certainly helps), and… gasp… are they actually developing feelings? But that would mean that her mother (another gasp!) is right!

Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie is a funny, engaging blast that’s easy to tear through in a day. Emily’s varied predicaments had me laughing out loud, and I really enjoyed seeing the world through her eyes. There’s a lot going on beneath the humor and silliness, including dealing with more serious issues around parental expectations, family pressure, and how easy it is to misinterpret other people’s actions, no matter how well meaning they are.

My only quibbles with this book are (a) I don’t necessarily felt like I got the best handle on Mark as a person — he’s a delicious fake (then real) boyfriend, but his personality remained a bit of a cipher, and (b) the big crisis that’s obligatory at the end of any contemporary romance here felt a bit uneventful. Thankfully, the crisis isn’t about a huge misunderstanding between Emily and Mark, but even so, it’s something that feels unimportant to me, and has a weirdly magnified effect.

Putting those two minor issues aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Having read the author’s two previous novels (Donut Fall in Love and The Stand-Up Groomsman), I wasn’t surprised by how much fun this book is. Jackie Lau is great at creating engaging, funny characters and putting them in relatable but over-the-top situations.

If you enjoy light-hearted romance with plenty of humor — plus great exploration of family dynamics and expectations — definitely check out Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie.

27Apr2024

Book Review: Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Darling Girls
Author: Sally Hepworth
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication date: April 23, 2024
Length: 368 pages
Genre: Thriller
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley (also won a copy in a Goodreads giveaway)
Rating:

SISTERS, SECRETS, LOVE, AND MURDER… Sally Hepworth’s new novel has it all.

For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. As young girls they were rescued from family tragedies and raised by a loving foster mother, Miss Fairchild, on an idyllic farming estate and given an elusive second chance at a happy family life.

But their childhood wasn’t the fairy tale everyone thinks it was. Miss Fairchild had rules. Miss Fairchild could be unpredictable. And Miss Fairchild was never, ever to be crossed. In a moment of desperation, the three broke away from Miss Fairchild and thought they were free. Even though they never saw her again, she was always somewhere in the shadows of their minds. When a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, the foster sisters find themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses. Or are they prime suspects?

A thrilling page-turner of sisterhood, secrets, love, and murder by New York Times bestselling author Sally Hepworth.

If you’ve read any books by Sally Hepworth, you know to expect twists, turns, and then even more twists. Darling Girls delivers them all, and packs in plenty of complex relationships and emotions as well.

In Darling Girls, we meet Jessica, Alicia, and Norah — a chosen family of sisters who came together through traumatic years as foster children. Despite the terrible experiences they endured as young teens, their relationship has been the bedrock of their years since then. Now adults, they’re all dysfunctional in different ways, but their sister bonds are the one constant that keeps them grounded.

When bones are found under the demolished home where they once lived, they’re summoned back to the town of Port Agatha to give statements to the police. What actually happened at Wild Meadows? Whose bones could they be? And are the sisters witnesses or suspects?

Through flashback chapters, we learn more about their childhood. Jessica was the first to be fostered with Miss Fairchild, a seemingly lovely woman whose farmhouse and grounds appear to be ideal for a small child. And at first, everything is perfect. Miss Fairchild dotes on Jessica, encourages her to call her “Mummy”, and never wants them to be apart. There are downsides, of course: When Jessica begins attending school and talking about new friends, she’s quickly shut down. No one is allowed to replace Mummy as the center of Jessica’s life.

Years later, when Miss Fairchild also takes in Norah and Alicia, Jessica’s world is abruptly changed yet again, as she’s reprimanded, punished, and pushed aside. But Miss Fairchild’s iron control is slipping — she hadn’t anticipated the girls’ bond or that they might start to question her rules and her methods.

It’s best not to know much more than that when reading Darling Girls. The characters are quite interesting — the sisters all have lasting scars from their years in the foster system, and their trauma manifests in different ways. The depiction feels realistic, and it’s sad and scary to read. At the same time, the chosen family is beautiful in its own way, and I loved seeing the unwavering support that Jessica, Norah, and Alicia provide to one another.

Being a Sally Hepworth book, I knew to expect to have my expectations up-ended, and that’s exactly what happened. I’m not a frequent thriller reader, but diving in every once in a while and going along for the roller coaster ride is quite fun.

As with all books by this author, Darling Girls is immersive and impossible to put down. It made me think, it gave me a few chills along the way, and it definitely kept me on my toes. Check it out!