Book Review: "Rachel to the Rescue" by Elinor Lipman

Well, you knew the novels about working in the Trump White House were imminent. And with Elinor Lipman's Rachel to the Rescue, the game is underway!

Rachel Klein has a job at the Trump White House, where she essentially has to scotch tape all of the letters and documents the president tears up. She's not too fond of her job. One night she sends an email to a colleague in which she complains and insults the president. But of course, instead of simply replying to his email, she hits “reply to all” instead. Oops.

It's not long before Rachel is escorted off the premises. As she is leaving, she is hit by a car. The car, it turns out, was driven by an optometrist who happens to be a “special friend” of Trump’s. While Rachel is recovering, she is approached by an attorney for the driver, who quickly wants to settle the case off the books. And although Rachel isn't really interested in causing a fuss, she knows she's worth more than what they're offering. Which, of course, makes everyone nervous.

After a brief stint recovering at home with her meddlesome but well-meaning parents, Rachel is ready to get back to the job market. She lands a job with a journalist known for his torrid exposés—and he has a particular venom for the current president. It's not long before she's dipping her toe in the muckraking department herself, but is this what she's cut out for?

In this wacky yet outrageously believable book, Rachel has to put herself out there, and isn't sure what she'll get in return. Along the way she has to deal with matchmaking roommates and a new love interest, and wait to see what happens when all the dust settles.

I tend not to love so-called "funny" books because my sense of humor leans more toward the sarcastic than the silly. And while I don't know how ready I was to start reading about Trump when he's still the president, Rachel to the Rescue was definitely a zany story that made me laugh more than a few times.

I was fortunate to be on the blog tour for this book. Wunderkind PR provided me a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks to them, along with Storygram Tours, Eye & Lightning Books, and Elinor Lipman for making it available!

Book Review: "The Inheritance Games" by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Jennifer Lynn Barnes' The Inheritance Games was so good I stayed up until 2:00 a.m. to finish it!

Avery Grambs’ life hasn’t been great since her mom died. She’s hoping to nail a scholarship for college so she can become an actuary, but in the meantime she’s barely getting by. She works as much as possible to eke out a living, and every time her half-sister takes her abusive boyfriend back, she sleeps in her car to avoid him.

All that changes in an instant when she is summoned by the attorneys for multibillionaire philanthropist Tobias Hawthorne, whom she has never met. It turns out this man bypassed his daughters and his four grandsons and left the bulk of his massive estate to Avery. With no explanation.

But of course, there’s a catch. The will stipulates she must live in Hawthorne House, his sprawling mansion, with his grandsons and his daughters, for one year, or everything is null and void.

Why would a man she had never met leave this enormous fortune to her? Avery is just as determined to find out the truth as Hawthorne’s family is. It turns out that the man never met a riddle or puzzle he didn’t like and he used to challenge his grandsons to use their intellect, so it’s going to be quite an ordeal to get to the bottom of everything. His family doesn't know what to think: did she somehow bewitch Hawthorne, is she a long-lost relative, or just a con artist?

As she partners with three of the four grandsons—each of whom she’s drawn to in some way—she doesn’t know where the danger will come from, or whom she can trust. And the secrets she doesn’t know are just as confusing.

This book felt like a YA version of the movie Knives Out. It was really twisty and fun and emotional in parts, and it hooked me completely. I heard The Inheritance Games may be the first book in a series, and I definitely hope so!!

Book Review: "Bitter Falls" by Rachel Caine

I think my heart rate needed a few hours to return to normal after reading this book!

Gwen Proctor and her family are back in Bitter Falls, Book 4 of Rachel Caine’s Stillhouse Lake series.

While Gwen and her children, as well as her partner, are trying to put all of the past horrors of their lives behind them, everyone around them won’t let them forget. Her kids are constantly bullied at school and their neighbors want them gone, because the more attention they attract, the more it hampers everyone else’s unsavory activities. And of course, they're subject to constant online harassment and horribly violent threats.

Still, Gwen is working as a private investigator and hoping the hubbub will eventually die down. She lands a cold case of a young man who went missing three years ago in Tennessee, after telling his family he was trying to help a girl he met at church. The family has no clues but they’ve not given up hope even if it seems they should.

What Gwen stumbles into is far more lethal and widespread than she even imagined. Once again, those she loves wind up in the crossfire, and the result could prove deadly. It’s going to require every last bit of strength and cunning she has, not to mention an alliance with an unsavory group of people. But Gwen will stop at nothing to save those she loves, and perhaps solve the case at the same time.

I’ve really enjoyed this series, and find Gwen in particular a fascinating character. These books are intense but I can’t get enough of them, and Caine ratchets up the pace and the tension throughout.

The one thing that is starting to frustrate me with the last few books is that so much trouble is caused by Gwen's kids. I get that they have been through so much trauma and are chafing from all the restrictions on their lives but after a while it gets annoying when one of their actions sets trouble in motion.

I found out today that Caine lost her battle with cancer earlier this month. I'm so sad to hear this news, as I've really been enjoying her books. The good news is that Book 5 in this series will be published in the spring of 2021.

If you love thrillers, this is a great series to explore. Gwen is definitely a badass!

Book Review: "Written in the Stars" by Alexandria Bellefleur

Alexandria Bellefleur's Written in the Stars is just the fun and sexy rom-com I was looking for!

Ever since she moved to Seattle, Darcy’s brother Brendon keeps setting her up on blind dates that don’t seem to work. The latest one was the last straw. While she and Elle definitely had chemistry, they couldn’t have been less suited for each other—Elle is a quirky free spirit and an astrologer, and Darcy is an actuary who definitely doesn’t believe in that stuff.

In an effort to get her brother off her back, Darcy tells him that she has fallen for Elle. Of course, she didn’t count on him telling Elle (who happens to be his new business partner), who was surprised considering how dismissive Darcy was during their date. (She heard her tell someone on the phone that Elle was "a mess.") But when Darcy begs her to play along for a while, Elle agrees, because Darcy’s stability might help her own family take her seriously for once.

So they decide to fake their relationship, just for a few weeks. What could go wrong? It’s not like they’ll ACTUALLY fall for each other, right? (If you’ve never read a rom-com before you might wonder what will happen, lol.)

This was fun, steamy, and romantic, and I loved Darcy and Elle, as well as the two supporting characters, Margot and Brendon. I so enjoy the fake-dating trope, and this book had so much going for it.

I’d love to see this made into a movie. I’m also psyched that Bellefleur is writing a second book with Brendon as the protagonist. Of course, we'll have to wait until sometime in 2021...

Book Review: "Pretending" by Holly Bourne

Holly Bourne's new novel, Pretending, is a thought-provoking look at a woman’s struggles, both in dating and emotionally.

April wants to be in a relationship. She’s pretty, smart, kind, thoughtful, and tremendously empathetic, but she can’t seem to make it beyond the fifth date with a guy before they break it off or ghost her. It’s shattered her confidence and self-esteem, but it's also causing her hatred of men to grow, too.

On a whim she creates an alter ego, Gretel, who has tremendous self-confidence and knows how to hold her own when it comes to dating and romance. She thinks Gretel is the type of woman all men would like to date. When she meets Joshua, as Gretel she has control of the relationship for the first time, and she likes how confident she feels instead of constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.

But as they grow closer, when is the appropriate time for April to stop pretending and tell Joshua the truth? And if she’s able to pretend so successfully in this aspect of her life, what else isn’t she dealing with?

I liked the concept of Pretending as it captured dating in the #MeToo world. It’s humorous at times but also very emotionally powerful, and it definitely made me think.

While the book took a humorous approach to the whole “I hate men” thing, there were more serious things in play at the same time. I feel like April wasn’t dealing with some past trauma, and that was just as much an issue as the dating foibles she had to face. At times that put a damper on the book's sense of humor.

I was lucky to be on the blog tour for this book. Mira Books provided me with a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!

Book Review: "Little Wishes" by Michelle Adams

Michelle Adams' newest book, Little Wishes, is sappy and romantic, just how I like it.

I mean, I’m not crying, you’re crying.

One day every year for the last 49 years, Elizabeth wakes to find a small blue crocus and a romantic note on the porch of her English cottage. The notes say things like, "I wish that today we could lounge in bed all morning, listening to the sound of the waves.” Although the notes aren’t signed, she knows they’re from her first and only real love, Tom, to mark the anniversary of their first kiss.

But today, on the 50th anniversary, there is no flower, no note from Tom. What could have happened? Despite the fact that they’ve had no actual contact in 50 years, Elizabeth leaves the small village where they grew up and heads to London to find out what might have kept Tom from delivering his annual gift.

When the two are finally reunited, Elizabeth discovers that Tom is terminally ill and he didn’t have the strength to keep their tradition going this year. But now that they are together, they’re determined to take advantage of every last second, and try to fulfill as many of the wishes Tom left for her through the years.

Given their love for each other, why did it take 50 years to get together? What secrets have been kept, what assumptions were made, what obstacles stood in their way?

Alternating between past and present, Little Wishes is a story about second chances and enduring love. I knew how the story would unfold but I was utterly captivated by it. I stayed up super late to finish it and, yes, I got a little weepy a few times.

Thanks to William Morrow Books for the complimentary copy in exchange for an unbiased review!

Book Review: "The Guest List" by Lucy Foley

In The Guest List, Lucy Foley's new mystery/thriller, a posh wedding on a remote Irish island turns deadly.

Guests are gathering on Cormorant Island for the wedding of Will, the handsome, magnetic star of a reality survival show, and Julia, the driven, ambitious publisher. Every detail has been attended to in order to make sure the first wedding in this new place will be unforgettable.

Everyone is there for the wedding—Will’s boarding school friends, serving as best man and ushers; Charlie, Julia’s best friend (and perhaps more?) and his wife, Hannah; Julia’s troubled sister, Olivia, and many more. Once the alcohol starts flowing, old memories and hurts and jealousies are brought up and have the potential to put a damper on things.

But all of the melodrama is no match for the weather. In the midst of the reception, a storm hits the island. The electricity goes out, leaving the guests in darkened, wind-whipped tents. And then a scream cuts through it all, as someone found a body.

Who was killed? Who was responsible? It seems like everyone had a motive, so who was the killer? Was it the bride? Her sister? The best man? The wedding planner? The guest of someone in the wedding party?

I loved the concept of this story and the drama that flowed through it. The story shifts back and forth between the events leading up to the wedding and the discovery of the body, and is narrated by multiple people. The plot moved a little slower for me than I would’ve liked, and there were a couple of coincidences that made me roll my eyes a tiny bit.

In the end, though, I needed to know what everyone’s secrets were, how they’d be revealed, and who would get their comeuppance. I was hooked on The Guest List, even though I didn't love it.