Reviews: THE HOMEWRECKERS & EVERYTHING MUST GO
/10 Comments/by SuzanneHappy Monday all! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. We had absolutely fantastic weather here so I spent a lot of time outside starting to get our yard and flower beds ready for planting. I’ve also been helping my son prepare for his AP Science test so lots of nights spent quizzing on vocabulary words. I did manage to squeeze some reading time in as well though, so I’m back today with a couple of new reviews for you.
The Homewreckers Goodreads
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Publication Date: May 3, 2022
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews is a story about love, loss, and how to find your path forward after losing the love of your life. Set in beautiful Savannah, Georgia, the story follows Hattie Kavanaugh, a young woman who tragically lost her husband in a motorcycle accident seven years ago. Since his death, Hattie has basically thrown herself completely into her work, while leaving the rest of her life on hold. Hattie’s work is restoring old historic homes to their former glory, a passion she shared with her husband and which she still shares with her father-in-law. Hattie’s head still isn’t completely in the game though and so when she makes a bad investment on a house she was hoping to restore and flip, she finds herself in desperate need of cash and reluctantly agrees to star in a reality TV show about flipping houses. Little does she realize that not wanting to be on TV will soon be the least of her worries.
Hattie is a fantastic protagonist. She’s feisty and fierce, takes no crap from anyone, probably a byproduct of working in a field that is filled predominantly with men and therefore constantly underestimated. Beneath that tough exterior, however, there’s also the vulnerable, heartbroken side of Hattie. I found her such an easy character to love and I was fully invested in her story. I also loved that she has maintained such a close relationship with her father-in-law. It was sweet watching the two of them interact. Even though her husband is gone, it’s clear that Hattie is still very much part of the Kavanaugh family.
Aside from my love for Hattie, what really took this story to the next level for me was all the drama that ensued from the moment production starts on Hattie’s show. First, there’s the aggressively determined producer who is convinced Hattie and this TV show are going to be huge hits. Then there’s the handsome and all-too-charming cohost whose interest in Hattie may or may not be genuine. Lastly, there’s the renovation project itself, which seems to be downright cursed. One bad thing after another keeps happening – fires, threats, code violations, and when they open up one of the walls in the old house to repair some damage, they even find the wallet of a beloved high school teacher who has been missing for 17 years and presumed dead. In short, there’s drama, intrigue, and suspense in spades, making for one heck of a wild ride!
I don’t want to give away anything about the developments in that missing person case, but wow, talk about twists and turns. Andrews kept me guessing every step of the way and glued to this book until I had all the answers. There is a bit of romance as well, but I’d say it definitely takes a backseat to Hattie’s overall journey, to what is going on with the house renovations (the actual filming, the butting of heads between cast members, showrunners, network executives, etc.), and of course with finding out what happened to the teacher and how her wallet ended up inside the wall of a random old beach house.
If the way I devoured this story in less than a day is any indication, I think The Homewreckers is going to land in a lot of beach bags this summer. It’s the perfect beach read! 4 STARS
Everything Must Go Goodreads
Author: Camille Pagán
Publication Date: April 26, 2022
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Everything Must Go by Camille Pagan is a wonderful, heartfelt story about love, family, and second chances. It also explores the strength of the bond between mother-daughter, as well as that of the bond between sisters.
Laine Francis’ life is in turmoil. More than anything, she wants to be a mother, but her husband has been putting her off for years, saying he’s not ready. Laine’s biological clock is ticking so loudly that it’s all she can hear and so she tells her husband she wants a divorce since they clearly don’t want the same things. On top of that, she has received a frantic call from one of her sisters, begging her to come to New York to help with their mom, who hasn’t been herself lately. Even though Laine has no desire to come back to New York, she knows she is the only sibling who doesn’t have small children to care for so she’s the logical choice. When Laine arrives in New York, she runs into Ben, her former best friend. She hasn’t seen Ben since they had a huge falling out years ago, so seeing him again after all this time brings back a lot of memories. She hopes seeing him again will provide the opportunity to mend their relationships, but she soon realizes that her sisters were right about their mom. Something is definitely wrong and it’s not just the occasional forgetfulness.
I think this is a story that many readers, especially those with aging parents, are going to find so relatable. As the sisters try to determine the full extent of their mom’s memory loss, they have to have tough heart-to-heart conversations about what to do, how best to care for her, while maintaining as much of her independence and dignity as possible, etc. I loved how realistically these relationships were portrayed and how the sisters all came together to help their mom. I also loved that in addition to Laine’s perspective, which we got since she was the one taking the lead when it came to their mom, we also got the perspective of Sally, so we could see what was going on in her head, both as she realized what was happening to her and as she realized that her girls knew as well. Not only that, but we also get an inside look at some pretty major secrets Sally has been keeping from her family. I found Laine’s journey to figure out what she really wants from her life, especially regarding motherhood, just as compelling as Sally’s story. There were so many different layers that kept me turning the pages and fully invested in seeing how things would turn out for both Laine and Sally.
While Everything Must Go touches on some pretty weighty topics like divorce and dementia, it’s ultimately a feel good story that left me shedding a few happy tears by the time I got to the last page. 4 STARS
Can’t Wait Wednesday – Do You Take This Man by Denise Williams
/24 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 Do You Take This Man by Denise Williams. I loved this author’s first two novels so I’m very excited that she not only has her airport novella series coming out this year but another full length novel as well. Williams is an auto-buy author for me because I love her sharp, funny dialogue and her very relatable characters, and I’m sure Do You Take This Man will deliver in both of those areas.
Do You Take This Man by Denise Williams
Publication Date: September 6, 2022 by Berkley Books
From Goodreads:
After butting heads, an event planner and a wedding officiant begin an enemies with benefits arrangement as wedding bells chime around them in the newest rom-com from acclaimed author Denise Williams.
Divorce attorney RJ would never describe herself as romantic. But when she ends up officiating an unplanned wedding for a newly engaged couple in a park, her life is turned upside down. The video of the ceremony goes viral, and she finds herself in the unlikely position of being a sought-after local wedding officiant. Spending her free time overseeing “I dos” isn’t her most strategic career move, but she enjoys it, except for the type A dude-bro wedding planner she’s forced to work with.
Former pro-football event manager Lear is a people person, but after his longtime girlfriend betrayed him, he isn’t looking for love. He knows how to execute events and likes being in control, so working with an opinionated and inflexible officiant who can’t stand him is not high on his list. He’s never had trouble winning people over, but RJ seems immune to his charms.
Surrounded by love at every turn, their physical attraction pulls them together despite their best efforts to stay an arm’s length apart. Lear refuses to get hurt again. RJ refuses to let herself be vulnerable to anyone. But when it comes to happily ever after, their clients might not be the only ones saying “I do.”
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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 – Bookish Merchandise I’d Love to Own
/46 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 Bookish Merchandise I’d Like to Own. These kinds of topics are always fun because there’s so much great bookish merchandise out there, and I of course, want it all, lol. Here’s my most recent list of bookish items I’ve had my eye on. If you’re interested in purchasing any of these items, the pictures are all linked back to the shops that are selling them.
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Bookish Merchandise I’d Love to Own
1. Bookish Statement T-Shirt
I’ve had my eye on this “Ban bigots, not books” t shirt ever since two of my county’s school board members made the national news for advocating the burning of books they didn’t like. It’s a super cute tee and the statement is very effective.
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2. Funny Bookish T-Shirt
I also love funny t-shirt and this shirt featuring someone drowning under their TBR pile cracked me up, haha.
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3. Bookish Tote Bags
I have an obsession with bookish tote bags and probably have a lifetime supply of them already, but I can’t resist adding to my collection whenever a cute one like this catches my eye.
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4. Bookish Mugs
I’m not sure which is worse, my bookish tote obsession or my bookish mug obsession. I literally have no more room for mugs in my cabinet and that’s the only thing that has stopped me from buying this fun one.
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5. Bookish Quote Postcards
These caught my eye, not because I actually mail postcards to anyone, but I thought the collection of them might be cute framed on a wall in my library/office.
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6. Bookish Embroidery
If work ever slows down to the point where I don’t spend most of my free time napping, I’d love to learn how to embroider and this cute bookish beginner kit caught my eye.
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7. Bookish Cross Stitch Kit
I may end up taking the lazy way out though since I at least do already know how to do cross stitch, so here’s another crafty kit I’ve been eyeing on Etsy.
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8. Enamel Pins
I collect enamel pins too. I have a fabric covered decorative board in my office and I display my pins on that. I thought this one was really cute.
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9. Bookish Themed Candles
This romance-themed candle is scented with rosewood, lilac, and blackberry. Doesn’t that sound like it would smell incredible? I really need to get one of these.
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10. Bookmarks!
I still mostly use receipts for my actual bookmarks, but I do love to collect bookmarks. I don’t have many author-specific ones, but my newfound love of Colleen Hoover’s books made me zero in on this fun one, which is a bookstack of all of her novels.
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