Reviews: THE WEDDING SEASON & I KISSED SHARA WHEELER
TGIF! I’m so happy the weekend is here. I don’t really have any big plans to speak of, but I’m hoping for nice enough weather to actually be able to read outside for a bit. Today I’m sharing reviews on two pretty great reads I had this week, one from a favorite author, Casey McQuiston, and one from a new-to-me author, Katy Birchall.
The Wedding Season Goodreads Author: Katy Birchall
Publication Date: May 3, 2022
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
I’ve been wanting to try Katy Birchall’s novels for a while now and when I saw her latest novel, The Wedding Season, described as Four Weddings and a Funeral meets The Wedding Party, I knew I had to read it.
The story opens with the protagonist, Freya Scott, happily preparing to marry her longtime boyfriend, Matthew. That is, until Matthew pulls her into a broom closet the day before the wedding and breaks up with her. Feeling utterly humiliated, Freya wonders how in the world she will survive the seven weddings she has to attend in the upcoming months, what she and her friends have dubbed “The Wedding Season.” She has no idea how she’ll be able to cope with the awkward pitying looks, the gossip, and even worse, the fact that Matthew will probably also be attending most of them since they have so many mutual friends. Freya’s best friends Ruby and Leo, who as an aside, are very much friendship goals, come to the rescue. They devise a list of outrageous challenges, one per wedding, that will serve to distract Freya and keep her from dwelling on her own misfortune. The tasks range from being the last person standing on the dancefloor, to kissing a stranger, to running naked down a hotel corridor. Armed with this survival guide and endless moral support from Ruby and Leo, Freya sets out to tackle “The Wedding Season.” She has no idea how truly life changing her challenges will turn out to be!
You guys, this book was such a delight! I think what Freya was going through is an experience that many will find either relatable or else one of their own worst nightmares. I loved how even though she was devastated, Freya does start to embrace the idea of moving on without Matthew and that she just goes for it when it comes to completing the tasks on her list. That list provides so many laugh out loud moments and they made for a fantastic balance with the more serious elements of the story, just as they made Freya an even more endearing character than she already was.
Watching Freya find her way forward without Matthew was such a wonderful experience. It’s an awkward journey for her at times as she navigates through some confrontational moments with Matthew, but it’s also very healing and freeing for her as she comes to realize she doesn’t need him in her life and that she may actually be better off without him. She also starts to open her eyes and heart to the possibility of a new romance, but that aspect of the story takes a bit of a backseat to Freya’s personal journey. I would have loved a little more romance, but I was all in for Freya so the story was still fantastic as is.
The Wedding Season is a heartwarming and hilarious story about love and friendship. It left me feeling so hopeful about Freya’s future and also wanting sequels that feature all of Freya’s fabulous friends. Just an all around delightful read! 4.5 STARS
I Kissed Shara Wheeler Goodreads
Author: Casey McQuiston
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.
I was a big fan of Casey McQuiston’s first two novels, Red White and Royal Blue and One Last Stop, so I was excited to hear she has a new one coming out and that it’s her YA debut.
I Kissed Shara Wheeler follows Chloe Green, a high school senior who moved from California to Alabama her freshman year. Enrolled in a conservative Christian school, Chloe has felt like the black sheep of the school the entire time she has been there. When the story opens, she is just months away from graduation and has her eyes on the prize, class Valedictorian. She has been competing neck and neck for the coveted title and all its glory with the school darling, Shara Wheeler. Shara is the Principal’s daughter, a good Christian girl, and everyone just adores her. Well, everyone except Chloe. Chloe can’t stand her and would love nothing more than to beat her out for the top spot.
A month before graduation everything changes though – out of nowhere, Shara kisses Chloe and then by the next morning, has disappeared. Chloe starts desperately hunting for clues as to Shara’s whereabouts, because let’s face it, winning Valedictorian because your main rival stopped coming to school isn’t very satisfying. During her search, she learns that she isn’t the only one Shara kissed. She also kissed Rory Heron, the bad boy who lives next door to her, and she kissed her longtime boyfriend, Smith Parker. What kind of game is Shara playing? Because it clearly is a game, considering that before she vanished, she left each of them a letter, followed by a series of clues that promise to lead to her whereabouts. It becomes clear that if they want to solve the mystery of where Shara is, why she chose to disappear, and why she chose them to play the game, they’re going to have to work together to piece together this odd scavenger hunt.
McQuiston has a gift for writing lovable characters so it’s no surprise that I really liked Chloe, Rory, and Smith. I enjoyed them all individually, and as a group, as they begin to bond while they work to solve each of Shara’s clues. Chloe is scrappy and determined, Rory has a reputation for being a bad boy but is actually pretty sweet, and Smith is also just a cinnamon roll. While I was just as clueless as these three as to why Shara has them jumping through so many hoops for her, I loved what the quest actually does for them. It leads them to interact with each other as well as other students in the school they’ve never really interacted with before because the school is full of cliques. Chloe, in particular, shows a lot of growth in this area because as she interacts with more and more different people, she realizes that she isn’t as different from some of her fellow students as she had led herself to believe and it leads her to examine some of her own prejudices and realize how unfair she was being. As fascinating as the journey was to find Shara and learn her reasons for doing what she did, I found this journey of Chloe’s to be my favorite part of the story. Speaking of the mystery surrounding Shara, I don’t want to spoil anything there so I’ll leave it for you to discover on your own. It’s one heck of a ride though, I’ll say that much, and eye opening for all of the characters involved.
The only real downside for me was that we only get chapters from Chloe’s perspective. I think some chapters from Rory or Smith as they are on Shara’s trail, or even from Shara herself to give us some hints into her motivations, would have made the story even better. Still a fabulous read though so it’s only a minor quibble.
I Kissed Shara Wheeler is a story about relentlessly pursuing what you think you want in life, only to stumble into what it is you really need. It’s a mystery, a romance, a story about second chances, and so much more. There’s definitely a little something for everyone, so be sure to check it out! 4 STARS.
Top Ten Tuesday – Books That Feature Umbrellas on their Covers
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 with [___] On the Cover (Pick a thing (a color, an item, a place, an animal, a scripty font, a sexy person, etc.) and share covers that have that thing on the cover). I have no idea why, but the first thing that popped into my head when I saw this topic was UMBRELLAS (maybe it’s hearing the expression April showers bring May flowers so much lately, lol). Whatever the reason, that’s what I’m sharing this week. 🙂
Books That Feature Umbrellas on their Covers
1. A HUNDRED SUMMERS by Beatriz Williams
2. CUTTING FOR STONE by Abraham Verghese
3. WEATHER GIRL by Rachel Lynn Solomon
4. HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET by Jamie Ford
5. HAPPY NEVER AFTER by Mary Kay Andrews
6. LADIES’ NIGHT by Mary Kay Andrews
7. MARY POPPINS by P. L. Travers
8. THE FAVORITE SISTER by Jessica Knoll
9. THE IDENTICALS by Elin Hilderbrand
10. THE NANNY DIARIES by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
* * * * * *
Question: Can you think of any other books that feature umbrellas on their covers?
Reviews: THE HOMEWRECKERS & EVERYTHING MUST GO
Happy 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