Review: On the Rocks by Erin Duffy

On the Rocks by Erin Duffy: Abby is engaged to her college boyfriend and trying on dresses at Vera Wang in Boston's Back Bay when she learns, via a Facebook update no less, that her fiance Ben has announced that their relationship is over. Abby is reeling and slides into a depression during which she isolates herself and develops an unhealthy relationship with Ben and Jerry's. Her close friend Grace, who has her own problems in the relationship department with her boyfriend who is married and also her boss, wants to pull her friend out of the depths of despair and suggests they join a summer share in Newport. Reluctant but hopeless, Abby agrees and, with the help of the Newport sun and shore, begins to pull herself out of the hole. Will she be able to bounce back completely or will modern dating and social media continue to haunt her?

Abby and Grace are joined in Newport by their neighbors Bobby, an unemployed attorney and Wolf, a German recently arrived in the US whose forays into understanding American idioms provides welcome comic relief. Bobby takes on almost an older brother role for Abby - he tells it like it is and generally frustrates her but also looks out for her and senses she was badly hurt and needs a little help. He is determined to push Abby back into the world of dating with all its pitfalls and tries to educate her on how guys operate especially in a dating world filled with tweets, texts and Facebook status updates. Humiliated by her fiance via Facebook, Abby is understandably reluctant to engage in dating and resents how much social media has infiltrated modern dating - she yearns for a more old-fashioned courtship.

My Thoughts
This book was the perfect antidote to the winter blues (which have been particularly long this year!) - even the cover is beachy and summons memories of my own summer beach house shares. Abby is a likable character and it was heartening to watch her find her footing and get her confidence back as the book progresses. The story was told with funny, witty dialogue and you felt as if you were sitting on the couch  in Newport with Abby, Grace, Wolf and Bobby knocking back margaritas and snacking on chips.  I highly recommend this book for your beach bag this summer!

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Review: All The Summer Girls by Meg Donohue

In All The Summer Girls, Meg Donohue tells a story of three childhood girlfriends who return to the summer house at which they created enduring memories but also suffered a great loss. Now adults, each at a crossroads in their lives, they return to Avalon, NJ for a girls weekend in an effort to repair their friendship but also to heal themselves in order to move past their individual crises.

As students in Philadelphia Friends School, Kate, Dani and Vanessa were best friends. The three girls were very different from each other  - straight-laced Kate thrives on lists and order, Dani is a free-spirit with disregard for rules and convention and Vanessa is confident and rapidly growing into her striking good looks. Despite their differences, a close friendship is formed among the girls and they spend each summer at the shore in Avalon, NJ. Kate's twin brother, Colin, is also part of their group is much loved by each of the girls. When Colin drowns in the ocean the summer before their senior year in college, it devastates each of the girls, taints the Avalon shore for them and silently drives wedges between their friendship.

As adults, the women are still quite different from each other and more mature versions of their adolescent selves. Kate is a successful attorney in a Philadelphia law firm and still thrives on order in her personal and professional life. Dani has been wandering since college - she lives in San Francisco attempting to write her first novel while she runs through a string of jobs. Vanessa is now married and living in NYC and recently chose to quit her job and stay home with her young daughter, Lucy. Each woman is facing a crisis in their personal lives as they decide to reunite at the shore for a girls weekend. They are tentative with each other and Colin's death still remains as an unhealed wound for each woman.

My Thoughts
Meg Donohue has struck an interesting balance with this book - part beach read, part serious exploration of women's friendships. For about 10 years, I took part in a summer share on the Jersey Shore so when I saw the cover and read the synopsis, I expected (and looked forward to) a lighthearted romp of boozy weekends in the summer sun. This book was less about weekends at the shore and more about the role the shore played in cementing these women's friendships and whether it can bring them back together and heal them as adults. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed getting to know the women and the peeks offered of the shore. A perfect read  in the waning days of summer.

Review: Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky

Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky: Charlotte and Nicole were childhood friends and together they spent summers at Nicole's family's house on Quinnipeague Island, Maine. As adults, they grew apart when Nicole married Julian and fell into a career blogging about the farm to table movement while Charlotte traveled as a successful journalist. They are reuniting on the island for the summer in order to work together on a cookbook about the "Quinnie" specialties and the magic of the island and its locals. As the summer progresses, each woman reveals secrets which has the potential to destroy their recently rediscovered friendship.

 Charlotte was raised by irresponsible parents who practically neglected her; she found comfort in her friendship with Nicole and Nicole's parents became like parents to Charlotte. She spent many summers with them on the island of Quinnipeague in Maine. Charlotte feel in love with the island and the comfort she found there with Nicole's family. Due to her rough childhood, Charlotte always had an edge and was stronger than the more meek Nicole. Nicole is more trusting and less sure of herself and she relies on Charlotte to lead. After the girls grew apart and Charlotte didn't return to Quinnipeague for Nicole's father's funeral, Nicole still felt like the needy friend constantly connecting with Charlotte by email and tracking her career. What she didn't know, however, was that Charlotte desperately wanted to connect again with Nicole and to find comfort again on the island. When Nicole approached her about helping on the cookbook, Charlotte jumped at the chance.

 Through the love of the island and the work on the cookbook, the women begin to repair their relationship. As the summer goes on, however, each reveals secrets to each other than dramatically change their relationship. Nicole begins by revealing that her husband of ten years, Julian, has MS and the progression of the disease threatens his career as a surgeon. More than that, however, it is threatening their marriage as Julian swears Nicole to secrecy about the disease and shuts her out as she tries to help him. Charlotte has a history with Julian which is unknown to Nicole but in light of Julian illness, Charlotte feels compelled to share it with Nicole.

  My Thoughts
The cover of this book drew me in with its beautiful fields of lavender and the shoreline in the distance. In much the same way, the author drew me to Quinnipeague with the descriptions of the island's protective locals and the magic of the herbs which are endemic to the island. The island is a character in the book and it has a power over the two main characters in the book - Nicole and Charlotte. It feels as if their friendship could not be repaired or weather the revelations anywhere else but the island. Their shared history on the island (and maybe that salt air?) keep them committed to working through their issues and trying to recapture a little of what they had on the island as children.

Barbara Delinsky weaves a story with many twists and turns and works in multiple interesting, current topics. Those include progress in the treatment of MS, the farm to table movement, and umbilical cord blood banking. All of this, coupled with wanting to see how things progressed for Julian and whether Nicole and Charlotte could mend their relationship, kept me reading. Definitely a perfect summer read - or maybe a winter read when your mind needs to escape the dreary winter and get to a beautiful island!

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Beach Reads - June 11, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by Broke and Bookish and asks participants to create a top ten list around a different topic each week. This week's topic is "Top Ten Beach Reads". One of my favorite places to read is on the beach and there are some books that just belong there. When I did my winter covers collage earlier this year, a lot of commenters said they preferred summer/beach read - this one is for you! (If I have reviewed the book, the link goes to my review)

 A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand - If it is summer, there must be a book by Elin Hildebrand. She has the best summer/beach covers for these books and this one is no different. It has a meaty storyline but is utterly readable.

The Three Weismanns of Wesport by Cathleen Schine - This book is a take on Austen's Sense and Sensibility and it is what I call a "smart" beach read.

Life's a Beach by Claire Cook - of course, this one is a shoe-in for a beach read list!  Light and fluffy, perfect way to pass a beachy afternoon

Maine by J.Courtney Sullivan - Maine seems to be the literary destination of late.  I have seen a lot of books set there and it is, of course, a great summer destination.

Monarch Beach by Anita Hughes - Being an East Coast gal, most of my beach reads seem to feature the beaches of the Northeast but this book's setting is Laguna Beach on the West Coast

Releasing this summer  . . .

A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams - the vintage beach cover on this one just draws you in!

Sweet Salt Air by Barbara Delinsky - the water is in the distance on this one but salt air says beach to me!

The Last Original Wife by Dorothea Benton Frank - I read my first book by this author (Lowcountry Summer) earlier this year and really enjoyed it.  This one is also a winner (review coming soon) and the cover is quintessential beach.

Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand - see above re: this author!  She takes us back to Nantucket for a wedding in this one.

All The Summer Girls by Meg Donohue - I had a beach house share on the shore with friends for many years and this book takes me back to that time.

What are your favorite beach reads? Favorite Beach?