Can’t Wait Wednesday – ONE LAST GIFT by Emily Stone
/16 Comments/by Suzanne
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about. It is a meme that I have loved participating in since I first started blogging, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.
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My selection for this week is ONE LAST GIFT by Emily Stone. I know it’s early to be posting about holiday romances but I couldn’t resist sharing Emily Stone’s new novel since her debut was one of my favorite reads last year and this new one sounds just as good.
ONE LAST GIFT by Emily Stone
Publication Date: October 11, 2022 by Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine
From Goodreads:
When a young woman finds herself lost and at a crossroads, one last gift from her brother just might give her another chance at life and at love in this epic holiday romance from the author of Always, in December
Sometimes the best gifts in life are the ones you don’t expect.
Cassie and Tom lost their parents at a young age and relied on each other–as well as a community of friends–to get through it. Especially Tom’s best friend, Sam, who always made sure Tom and Cassie were surrounded with love. But now, twenty years later, Cassie has lost Tom as well. And in a way, she’s also lost Sam; over the years they’ve drifted apart, and now the man she always had a crush on is someone she doesn’t even recognize anymore.
She’s never felt more alone.
Then she finds an envelope with her name on it, written in Tom’s terrible handwriting, and she knows immediately what it is. It’s the first clue in the Christmas scavenger hunt Tom made for her every year; he’d promised her for months that this year’s would be the grandest one yet. At first, she’s too scared to open it–what if she can’t figure out the clues without his help? Or what if she does figure them all out, and her last connection to Tom is gone?
Tom’s clues set Cassie on a heart-wrenching and beautiful journey that will change her life–if she lets them. And as she travels from London to the Welsh mountains to the French countryside, she reconnects with old friends, rekindles a lost love, and most importantly, rediscovers herself. But once she’s solved the final clue, will she be brave enough to accept the gift her brother has given her–and the love it’s led her to?
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I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂
Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Books I Was SO EXCITED to Get, but Still Haven’t Read
/40 Comments/by Suzanne
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is Books I Was SO EXCITED to Get, but Still Haven’t Read. In my head, I call this “The List of Shame.” Those books I just had to have, couldn’t wait to get my hands on them, and then proceed to let them sit on my shelf for months or even years before I finally get around to reading them. I did finally put a dent in the last list I made like this, but there are always more to share. The biggest trend I see is that I’ve neglected my fantasy reading for a while now. During the pandemic I have craved pretty much exclusively romance so all of those fantasy novels I was dying to read got pushed aside. I did finally read the entire Poppy Wars trilogy this year though so I’m hoping to start working my way through all of these series as well. I think the book that has the “honor” of sitting on my shelf unread the longest is Uprooted. I didn’t love Spinning Silver as much as I hoped to so I’ve kind of lost interest in Uprooted as a result. Honestly the only reason I haven’t just gotten rid of it is that the cover is so stunning, lol.
10 Books I Was SO EXCITED to Get, but Still Haven’t Read
1. EMPIRE OF THE VAMPIRE by Jay Kristoff
2. THE CITY OF BRASS by S.A. Chakraborty
3. THE LANGUAGE OF THORNS by Leigh Bardugo
5. AN ENCHANTMENT OF RAVENS by Margaret Rogerson
6. THE NEAR WITCH by V.E. Schwab
8. THE COUSINS by Karen McManus
9. WHEN WE LEFT CUBA by Chanel Cleeton
10. THE FRIEND ZONE by Abby Jimenez
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Question: Do you have books sitting around that you just had to have, but have still yet to read them?
Review: THE SUMMER PLACE by Jennifer Weiner
/23 Comments/by SuzanneAlso by this author: Mrs. Everything, Big Summer
Published by Atria Books on May 10, 2022
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Women's Fiction
Pages: 432
Source: Netgalley
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
Goodreads
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
It’s almost summer so you know what that means — it’s time for a new novel from Jennifer Weiner! The Summer Place is everything I’ve come to expect from Weiner’s novels – a healthy dose of family drama, juicy secrets, flawed but relatable characters, and a whole lot of heart.
The drama in the story revolves around an upcoming wedding. The story opens with Sarah Danhauser’s 22-year-old stepdaughter unexpectedly announcing that she and her boyfriend are getting married in three months. Everyone in the family, Sarah included, thinks she’s too young and the wedding is too soon, but Ruby is determined so wedding plans commence and the wedding is set to take place at Sarah’s mom’s beach house in Cape Cod. The house is about to be sold so the wedding will also serve as a perfect goodbye to a house that has been in the family for generations.
As the wedding plans are being made, however, it soon becomes clear that nearly every character in the book has a secret they’re trying to keep under wraps. You can almost immediately tell that there’s going to be some pretty intense drama if and when these secrets start to come to light, especially since there are hints that the secrets could very well derail Ruby’s wedding.
Weiner is a master when it comes to fully fleshing out her characters, and The Summer Place is no exception to that. She has the story unfold from the perspective of several key characters: Sarah; her husband Eli; Ruby; Sarah’s twin brother, Sam; Sarah’s mother, Ronnie, and Rosa, the mother of the groom. Weiner provides pretty extensive background on each of these characters, and I have to admit that it took me a little while to really become invested in the story. Once all the characters are fully introduced though, the story takes off and becomes one heck of an addicting ride!
I can’t say much more without spoiling the plot, but I will say that there are secrets and mistakes from the past that come back to haunt many of these characters, there are misunderstandings that get blown way out of proportion, and there are confrontations and revelations that could rock everyone in the family to the core. That said, The Summer Place is also a heartfelt and satisfying story about love, sacrifice, and especially about families sticking together no matter how messy things get. Throw this one in your beach bag because you’re going to love it!
About Jennifer Weiner
Jennifer Weiner is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of seventeen books, including Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, and, most recently, Mrs. Everything. Her new novel, Big Summer, debuted May 5, 2020. A graduate of Princeton University and contributor to the New York Times Opinion section, she lives with her family in Philadelphia. Visit her online at JenniferWeiner.com.