And Then I Found You by Patti Callahan Henry

Kate is a accomplished woman in her thirties with her own boutique and a close-knit family. Despite appearing to have it all, she is haunted by the decision she made as a young adult to give up her newborn girl to an adoptive family. She is also haunted by unfinished business with her high school sweetheart and father to her daughter, Jack. Other than a letter they write to each other each year on their daughter's birthday, Jack and Kate have not seen or talked to each since Kate announced she was pregnant. When Kate brings Jack back into her life and her daughter finds her, Kate is within striking distance of having everything she ever wanted but can she be happy?

 Kate and Jack have been in love since high school and have sweet, first love aspect to their relationship; even though they attended college in different cities, they stayed together through the distance. When Kate took a job while Jack attended law school in Birmingham, however, the two began to grow apart. Kate seemed ambivalent about their relationship - she stayed on at her job in Arizona even though Jack wanted her to be with him in Birmingham. Shortly after their last night together before they broke up, Kate discovers she is pregnant.  She goes to Birmingham to tell Jack and informs him of her decision to give the baby up for adoption. It is a sad decision for both of them but Jack has moved on to a new relationship and Kate doesn't feel ready to give a child what she feels a child deserves. Fast forward thirteen years and Kate is now in a relationship with Rowan and he is on the brink of proposing but Kate still has not told him about the daughter she gave up for adoption thirteen years ago or that she and Jack exchange letters each year on their daughter's birthday.

My Thoughts
 And Then I Found You is based on author Patti Callahan Henry's own experience when her niece contacted her sister years after her sister had given her up for adoption. The fact that this is based on a real experience shines through in the description of Kate's loss following the adoption and the constant presence of her daughter as she moves through her life. In addition, the author does a great job in painting Kate's family, the big role they play in her life and their own feelings about the niece and granddaughter they never got to know.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and read it in almost one sitting.  The story moves back and forth between present and the time at which Kate gave her daughter up for adoption and it also switches between Kate/Jack/Rowan's story and Emily's (Kate and Jack's daughter) story. This allows you to see many sides of the same story and also allows parts of the story to be revealed slowly which kept me reading. My one quibble with the novel is Kate's ambivalence about her relationship with Jack which continues into adulthood  - I had a hard time relating to that and found myself irritated with her constant waffling between Jack and Rowan. Despite that element, the book is a quick read with a very moving story line. Recommend

I received an ARC from Wunderkind PR for review

Review: Lowcountry Summer by Dorothea Benton Frank

Caroline Wimbley is matriarch of a large Southern family. She is easing into the role following the death of her mother, Lavinia, who seems to loom large at Tall Pines both in life and death. As a newly crowned matriarch, Caroline has her work cut out for her. Her brother's estranged wife, Frances Mae, has a drinking problem which has once again veered out of control and she is frequently being brought home by the police. Their three daughters are a rowdy bunch without any of the refined manners that their Aunt Caroline expects of young Southern women. Somehow, Caroline must keep up the appearance of the family despite their antics. Lowcountry Summer is the story of a large Southern family, their fearless matriarch and her adventures in holding up standards.

Caroline is riddled with contradictions - she is very concerned about what people think of the family but she liaises with a series of men for flings and the whole town knows. She worships tradition and regales the younger members of the family with the family history all the way back to Colonel Sherman. At the same time however, she broke with tradition herself when she married a "Yankee" psychologist and moved to New York City as a young woman. She wants her nieces, however, to maintain certain Southern traditions including being "debuted" to society.  It won't be easy to get this crew ready for presentation. Although Caroline may have been conflicted about these traditions at points of her own life, she now feels a great obligation, and desire, to uphold them almost as an offering to her mother, Lavinia.

My Thoughts
At first, I found some of Caroline's traditions and her steadfast defense of them, frustrating.  They seemed anachronistic and Caroline was out of touch by insisting that her family try to adhere to them.  But as the book progressed, Caroline grew on me.  I began to understand that a love for her mother and everything she held dear was driving Caroline as matriarch. Although the Wimbley family is dysfunctional, there is a lot of love to go around that family and it binds them together.

The dysfunction also brings a humorous element to the book - I couldn't help but laugh at some of the escapades of Caroline's nieces.  Perhaps even funnier, however, is Caroline's horrified reaction to each new embarrassment perpetrated by the teenage hellions.

I am looking forward to immersing myself in other southern charmers by this author (including the prequel to this novel, Plantation).

Audiobook Review: The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds by Alexander McCall Smith

The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds by Alexander McCall Smith (8 hours, 12 mins; narrated by Davina Porter) is book 9 in the author's Isabel Dalhousie series. When an art collector Duncan Monrowe discovers a painting is missing from his collection, Isabel is asked to help him solve the mystery of who stole the painting. Isabel is a philosopher and edits a journal on the topic but she is also an amateur detective who solves these mysteries in her hometown of Edinburgh. Since Duncan suspects his own son may be involved in the theft of the Poussin painting, Isabel is the perfect sleuth to assist in solving the mystery - she uses keen observational skills and her understanding of the human condition to solve her mysteries.

Duncan Monrowe planned to donate the Poussin to the Scottish National Gallery and is dismayed when it goes missing from his estate outside Edinburgh. Once Isabel gets involved, she soon learns that Duncan has a troubled relationship with his son and suspects there could be some connection to between their fractious relationship and the disappearance of the valuable painting. Duncan has inherited his estate from family and his son resents the titled class system and feels the estate should be distributed to those with fewer privileges. This irks his father as he is very invested in the family estate and wants his son to want to carry it on for the family. Isabel, after many discussions with both Duncan's son and daughter, however, begins to suspect the son may not be the only family member about which Duncan should be wary. Duncan's daughter also has motive to steal the painting and is quick to implicate her brother.

My Thoughts
This is my first novel by Alexander McCall Smith and I thoroughly enjoyed it - the mystery was by no means complex and in some ways is really a subplot to the human interest stories of those involved in the mystery and, of course, the detective Isabel. In addition to trying to solve the mystery of the Poussin painting, Isabel is embroiled in a power struggle with her young son's nanny and worries about the older woman's defiance of Isabel's wishes for her son. Isabel is immensely likeable - she is empathetic and that gives her an insight into those involved in these mysteries which allows her to see things more traditional detectives might overlook. I will definitely read more of the Isabel Dalhousie series although this book stands on its own - I didn't feel as if there were elements I was missing from earlier installments.

Perhaps my favorite part of this audiobook, however, was the narrator - Davina Porter.  This is a new narrator for me and I am glad to have discovered her.  Her Scottish accent was melodic and each sentence was spoken with such expression that is was like listening to a play rather than a book narration. My grandmother was Scottish and I felt as I was listening to her speak while listening to this audiobook.  All in all a success -  a new author, a new series and a new narrator - each with many more installments for me to enjoy!

Review: The Bungalow by Sarah Jio

In The Bungalow by Sarah Jio, readers are swept off to Bora Bora during World War II. Anne Calloway, a daughter of privilege living in Seattle, is bored with her well defined life and is looking for some excitement and the chance to step outside the expectations to which she has always lived up. So, despite her upcoming nuptials, she volunteers for the war with her friend Kitty. As they head off to Bora Bora, they don't know what they will find but are excited by the prospect of new experiences and a more exotic life than they had in Seattle. Of course, along with the exotic life, they also find heartache and experience loss. Now, almost seventy years later, Anne is reflecting on her time in Bora Bora and trying to unravel some lingering mysteries about her time there.

 Anne Calloway's granddaughter finds a postcard from Bora Bora in her grandmother's belongings and it prompts a conversation about her grandmother's war time service - it is a period about which Anne has spoken very little. Anne reflects on her time in the tropics and is surprised to see she still has feelings for Westry - the soldier she fell in love with while in Bora Bora. The two had discovered a bungalow on a beach near the base and made it into a love nest where they would sneak away from the prying eyes of their friends and co-workers as they tried to keep their relationship a secret. Anne's memories are filled with images of she and Westry together in the bungalow, leaving notes for each other in a hiding spot under the floorboards and tentatively making plans for after the war. Circumstances intervened, however, and now Anne wonders about Westry and where he is now. She also wonders about Kitty - she and Kitty had argued when they last saw each other and despite their once strong friendship, they had not spoken since the war.

  My Thoughts

 I started this book while on a plane and was immediately drawn into Anne's story and the beautifully described scenes from the tropics. I certainly felt swept away. The passion between Westry and Anne was palpable and I anxiously turned pages to see what would come to them next. I also appreciated the bit of murder mystery thrown in because that also kept the story moving and added another dimension to what would have otherwise been just a love story. There were some loose ends tied up in the end in a way that felt too pat and hard to believe but the criticism feels minor for a book that introduced me to great characters and the beautiful island of Bora Bora. I am looking forward to reading the author's other novels and being swept away once again.

Review: Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Little Bee by Chris Cleave: Little Bee is a sixteen year old Nigerian girl who is in a UK immigrant detention center when the book opens. She has sought asylum in the UK after witnessing atrocities in her war torn Nigeria where everyone is fighting for control of the country's lucrative oil fields. She and three of her fellow detainees are released from the detention center unexpectedly and are suddenly outside the detention center with all their critical documents in a plastic baggie. From the beginning, Little Bee is a precocious leader and she tries to guide the other girls. She has worked hard to learn "the Queens English" while detained and it serves her well when she needs to navigate on the outside. Eventually, she heads to Surrey and arrives at the home of Sarah O'Rourke whom Little Bee met in Nigeria while Sarah and her husband vacationed at a beach resort. On that beach, Sarah and Little Bee were cleaved together by a horrific event and Little Bee has sought Sarah out now that she is in England.

The story alternates between Sarah's perspective and Little Bee's as the book progresses creating an interesting contrast between first world and third world, privileged and wanting, secure and threatened. As is often the case, Little Bee brings a clarity to her observations that eludes Sarah who complicates things that might otherwise be straightforward. For example, Little Bee observes of horror films, "Horror in your country is a something you take a dose of to remind yourself that you are not suffering from it".  Little Bee, having witnessed family members murdered before her eyes does not have the luxury of horror films - she has experienced horror in her own life. She carries those scars with her - one of the most disturbing scenes in the book is watching as Little Bee assesses every place she goes to - a church, a nursery, Sarah's home - and figures out what she will do "if the men come". The men in Nigeria visited violence on her village and family and that insecurity cannot easily be shaken. Bee is always looking for her way out. It is a horrible way to live but evidence that Little Bee is a survivor.  

My Thoughts
I have deliberately not given many details in this review because the book is best enjoyed when the story is allowed to unfold with little bits offered by Little Bee and then Sarah. Interestingly I felt this way even before I read the following on the back cover:

We don't want to tell you what happens in this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know enough to buy it so we will just say this: This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day and one of them as to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, the meet again - the story starts there . . .Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens. The magic is in how the story unfolds.

I saw some reviews where people did not like the fact that the reader is kept in the dark from the outset. That didn't bother me - I often don't like when all the key plot points are revealed in a jacket summary and I find myself reading to get to the next big moment that I already know is coming up. Little Bee certainly endeared herself to me as a character. She has a quiet strength and insight much greater than the adults around her. As for the adults, they are largely disappointing. Sarah, her husband and especially her lover, Lawrence, are self-absorbed and mindlessly complicating their lives. They provide a counterpoint to Little Bee who doesn't have the luxury of such complications.

Is this book without problems? No. I wonder about the likelihood that traumatized Little Bee would make her way to Sarah's home and just stay or what happened to some characters that were being developed but then seemingly abandoned. But it is still an excellent read with well crafted sentences and a wonderful main character. Definitely recommend!

Review: Magnolia Wednesdays

Magnolia Wednesdays by Wendy Wax is an enjoyable novel set in suburban Atlanta which tells the story of Vivien, a hard-driving journalist who left the South to pursue her career in the concrete jungle of New York City.  She looks with derision on the land of suburbia and feels superior to the women tending to homes and children.  That is, until she finds herself 41, pregnant and unemployed.  In desperation, she heads back down south to live with her widowed sister, Melanie, and her two teen children.  Things get interesting when Vivien takes a job reporting on life in suburbia under the pen name of "Scarlett Leigh" and begins investigating the death of her brother in law - all unbeknownst to her sister and the friends she has made in the 'burbs.

Wendy Wax has created quite an ensemble cast of characters in this book  - the main characters are Vivien and her sister, Melanie but there is also their critical mother, Caroline and the members of a belly-dancing class hosted at the dance studio owned by Melanie.  Each of the "supporting" cast members have their own stories which add a depth and interest to the book.  Like Vivien, they each undergo an evolution as the novel progresses and it is interesting to watch how they change.

Vivien, however, undergoes the most change - both physically and emotionally.  As her pregnancy progresses, she is surprised by the change in her shape and size but she also begins to notice a shift in her opinion of her suburban neighbors that she so harshly criticizes in her weekly newspaper column.  Slowly, she integrates into the community she has found in the 'burbs and she recognizes that there is life beyond the big bad city.

This book is a funny, entertaining read with just enough depth to make it a truly worthwhile read.  I wholeheartedly recommend it!

Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows is a charming novel set on the island of Guernsey post WWII.  The novel is unique in that it is told completely in letters (and the occasional telegram); through the letters, the authors provide insight to the psyche of the islanders as they rebuild their lives following the oppression of the German Occupation.  They cope with loss and try to make sense of the many injuries they and the Island suffered at the hands of the Germans. 


Juliet Ashton is a writer living in London when she receives a letter from Dawsey, a Guernsey native who has received a book she once owned and wants to learn more about its author.  Her exchange with Dawsey piques Juliet's interest in the Island and she makes her way there to write a book about the German occupation of the Island during WWII.  Over the course of her stay on the Island, she learns of the indecencies suffered by the Island residents during Occupation  - with the German soldiers controlling access to food and other basics, some residents befriended soldiers and turned in neighbors in order to gain privileges from the Germans.  They put their young children on boats to England to protect them during the Occupation and then agonized about their whereabouts and wondered when or if they would ever see them again.

Credit: TripAdvisor

The islanders are most affected, however, by the loss of their own Elizabeth.  Elizabeth, mother to Kit and the darling of the Island community, is sent to the Ravensbruck concentration camp by the Germans and never returns.  Her absence leaves a gaping hole in the community; Juliet ultimately steps into that hole and endeavors to tell Elizabeth's story.  Each of the islanders reveal part of Elizabeth's story to Juliet and in the process Juliet falls in love with both the Island and its residents.

Credit: TripAdvisor

I was so charmed by this book - it took time to get used to the epistolary style and to keep track of the characters but once I did I enjoyed the quiet stories of each of the islanders.  The authors did an excellent job of mixing the every day with the dark days of the occupation.  Interestingly, I read one review of this book in which a commenter spoke of how much she disliked the book and felt the authors had made light of a very serious time in British history during which many had suffered.  I must say I disagree -  I don't think the authors made light of what Guernsey endured during the War at all- in fact, I found their war stories even more poignant interspersed as they were between the eccentricities of the island's residents.  Most of all, however, I was inspired by the triumph of the human spirit evidenced by each of the residents as they came to terms with what they had endured during the war and moved on with life.  My one regret is that I waited so long to read this favorite!





I read many great reviews of this book but the one that inspired me to take the book off the shelf and read it was this one by Cornflower Books.

Review: Eternal on Water by Joseph Monninger

Eternal on the Water by Joseph Monninger

Publisher Summary (from Simon and Schuster):

From the day Cobb and Mary meet kayaking on Maine's Allagash River and fall deeply in love, the two approach life with the same sense of adventure they use to conquer the river's treacherous rapids. But rivers do not let go so easily...and neither does their love. So when Mary's life takes the cruelest turn, she vows to face those rough waters on her own terms and asks Cobb to promise, when the time comes, to help her return to their beloved river for one final journey.

Set against the rugged wilderness of Maine, the exotic islands of Indonesia, the sweeping panoramas of Yellowstone National Park, and the tranquil villages of rural New England, Eternal on the Water is at once heartbreaking and uplifting -- a timeless, beautifully rendered story of true love's power.

My Review

This book is beautifully written - the prose is simple but artful in its simplicity. There is a lyricism in the writing that is difficult to articulate in a review - as a reader, I felt that I was gently carried through the novel. Below is an example of the simplicity of the writing:

"The boy's breathing had been unsteady for the past two hours. Air had become more difficult for the boy to find."

By saying air was "difficult to find", the author allowed me to visualize the boy struggling to breathe without saying it so plainly. There are many other such examples throughout the novel.

The storyline is poignant but relatively simple and there are no sudden turns in the plot - in fact, the book opens with Mary's death so you really already know how it ends before you begin. Yet, despite that, I was completely drawn in and enjoyed every moment of Mary and Cobb's story. I was honestly surprised by how much their story captivated me - there is no background provided about either Mary or Cobb before they meet so you are not invested in them as individuals at all before they meet and fall in love. They fall in love immediately and are discussing futures including the possibility of children within two days of their initial meeting. I am not a romantic by any definition of the word - I can be logical to a fault at times and I struggle to understand love at first sight. I cannot imagine falling so quickly and completely for another person and yet I loved Mary and Cobb's story - I credit the author's skill in subtly telling their story with my ability to set aside logic and just fall along with Mary and Cobb.

Mary and Cobb's relationship faces a challenge - Mary knows she will likely develop Huntington's disease which is progressively debilitating and ultimately fatal. Having watched her father die a horrible death at the hand of this disease, Mary has strong feelings about living life fully and exerting some control over her own death. The specter of her death and the hand she expects Cobb to play at the end of her life challenges the reader to consider important questions - would I choose to live my life differently knowing for certain that I would not live a long life? How does one summon the strength to make difficult end of life decisions?

This book has it all - a beautifully told love story, scenery spanning from Maine to Indonesia and it challenges you to consider life's big questions. I absolutely loved this novel and the emotional ride I took with Mary and Cobb.

Thank you to the publisher for providing this review copy.

This book qualifies for the "body of water" category of the What's In a Name Challenge and the "New in 2010" category of the TwentyTen Challenge