First Date
by Sue Watson

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

‘I thought we were getting somewhere, until he sent me his photo,’ she says. ‘Oh, not a pretty face?’ I ask. ‘I don’t know, didn’t see his face.’ ‘Oh gross.’

My Review:

I am a bit concerned about the British system as this office was staffed with social workers that were so poorly trained they should petition their universities for a refund on their educations.   I waffled over how to rate this book, but as the writer kept me reading and second and third guessing and shrewdly included several unpredictable twists and curveballs near the end that livened up the tale, I felt generous. The storylines progressed slowly with questionable characters and red herrings tucked in all the way through. I seriously wanted to give the main protagonist several swats to the head to hopefully wake up or jar loose a few working brain cells, but alas, it would have been a waste of my energy as she was truly entrenched and a lost cause.

As Luck Would Have It
by Zoe May

Natalie Jackson might keep up appearances on Instagram, but in reality, her fiancé has just jilted her after the birth of their baby and she’s moved back in with her mum. Life isn’t exactly going to plan!

So when she enters the village raffle for the holiday of a lifetime, she thinks she has no chance of winning. But her name is pulled out – and, as luck would have it, so is a ticket bought by her childhood nemesis: Will Brimble.

Surely a romantic holiday for two is the worst idea ever…right?

Sweet Pea Summer
by Alys Murray

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

In the small town of Hillsboro, California, rumors were like honey. Sweet. Addictive. And, once stained, impossible to get out except with a good, long, painful scrubbing.

I look like a puddle of sweat made sentient by an evil witch.

Small town decorum dictated that if you said something with enough polite charm, you could get away with pretty much anything.

I’d rather be hated for telling the truth than loved for being a liar.

My Review:

This tale combined several genres, women’s fiction, family drama, small town, and contemporary and second chance romance.   The storylines were light and sizzle free and would receive a seal of approval from my elderly mother’s book club.   Small town issues and amusing characters and quirks were front and center, although I had a difficult time appreciating the character of May as I found her lacking in integrity, as she was essentially a selfish and cowardly weasel. But I also know that condition is one of the pitfalls of being small-town and having a gossipy social conscious snob for a mother, and also one of the reasons why I beat feet and couldn’t get away from the inbred hillbilly haven of my youth fast enough. Despite my lack of regard for the self-serving and deceitful May, I was curious and enjoyed the amusing observations, peculiar characters, and continuing storylines from the first book.

Why She Died
by J.G. Roberts

Simon the Fiddler
by Paulette Jiles

About the Author

A Mother’s Secret
by Minna Howard

Saskia has nowhere else to go. Before she died, her mother left her with her father’s name and nothing else. The only way for Saskia to take care of herself – and her unborn baby – is to find the father she never knew. And the family that didn’t know she existed.

This family secret means the end of everything they’ve ever known. But could it also be the chance for a new beginning?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Delia, who had not had to earn her living for years, had little idea how most people’s lives worked and how they could not escape their jobs whenever the mood took them and expect to find them still there when they returned.

She knew it sounded incredulous especially as Toby found it difficult to imagine his father having a sex life before marriage and then probably only having it twice to make him and his brother.

She said you had a summer romance, a “piece of magic” she called it, resulting in me.

 My Review:

I was happily bumping along, curious and invested in this slowly developing and unpredictable family drama and found the storylines seemed to be coming together toward a pleasant outcome, then it just – stopped.   Say what?!? Grrrr, I need an ending, a nice tidy little bow… it doesn’t have to be bright and shiny but I do prefer a sense of closure, which was reflected in my overall rating. But that is just one of my quirks, I had otherwise enjoyed the storylines and writing style.

The characters were an odd mixture of earnest, annoying, petty, endearing, selfish, spoiled, testy, arrogant, and driven; like most groupings in fact. The writing was emotive, engaging, peppered with sneaky wryly amusing insights and observations, and easy to follow while the characters’ concerns were relatable and relevant, and although the circumstances were somewhat unusual, the issues were not uncommon. However, the abruptness of the ending, I just cannot forgive it, but I’m petty like that.

I did pick up a new phrase for my Brit List with gardening leave – which is a term for when an employee resigns or is terminated from their position and told not to return but still receives pay for a specific amount of time. I’d like some of that, although I tend to dish the dirt rather than play in it. 😉

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 The Cottage on Wildflower Lane
by Liz Davies

Esther’s life isn’t perfect (whose is?) – but she’s happy enough living in her little flat with her boyfriend, Josh.

But that’s about to change.

Bored out of her mind in work, she wishes that something, anything, would happen to liven her life up.

Unfortunately, her wish comes true when Josh calls her from the airport to tell her he’s going to work in a bar in Spain, and she’s not invited, Esther is devastated, and her unhappiness is compounded when she discovers she can actually view the bar via a webcam link and watch him chatting up other girls.

But when she inadvertently clicks on a link to another webcam which shows a pretty cottage and the rather hunky man who lives in it, her interest is piqued and she wishes she could get to know him.

Wishes don’t really come true, though – do they…?

My Rating:

My Review:

This rather sweet story was slowly evolving, amusing, and chaste enough for my elderly mother’s book club. The main characters were gentle and likable people who were struggling with transitions and disappointments from betrayals by those they thought were most dear, but apparently, they were so very wrong. The storylines were rather predictable but with a few interesting webcam twists. I had never considered the implications of these hidden cameras and Ms. Davies now has me pondering the use and potential abuse of such items. I will definitely be more mindful about scratching myself or readjusting my clothing when away from home.   😉

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

So hard to make cogent arguments against a smart tween while driving in LA; I needed to concentrate on swearing and shaking my fist at all the illegal left turns.

We all knew, deep inside, our kids were probably growing up to be entitled, overeducated blobs. We were raising hothouse flowers, unequipped to climb a fence or fry an egg or spend five minutes bored… “When the revolution comes,” I said, “our kids will be food.”

Lip filler lemmings… I’d tell them to jump off a cliff into the Pacific, but we all know silicone floats.

“No one’s reading like they used to. Have you ever considered hosting a YouTube channel?” “Yes! A lifestyle channel,” I said. “‘ Agnes’s Spectacular Guide to Failing.’ I’ll invite people who’ve failed miserably— our advertisers will be firearms, funeral homes, and pharmaceuticals.”

“Who’s opposing counsel?” she asked. “Ulger Blecks.” She whistled. “Why is it everyone whistles when they hear his name? Is he a dog?” “A pit bull that frightens rabies.”

“Let me tell you something, dearie,” Dad said and lowered his voice, which was how I knew he was heated. “The world was a better place when we settled matters with fists rather than lawyers.” I opened my mouth to object and found that I couldn’t argue with him. I would’ve loved to have popped Ulger in the mouth, but I feared he would eat it.

My Review:

This amusing tale was shot through with clever wit and razor-sharp snark while cast with mainly vapid, vile, exasperating, entitled, arrogant, shallow, and obliviously bone-headed characters who were of the type of ilk that I would never willingly share air.   The storylines had me rife with consternation and I was often simultaneously amused and intensely annoyed by the characters’ behaviors and poor choices. I will admit to being unfamiliar with many of the pop-culture references lavishly sprinkled throughout, so a considerable amount of the author’s cleverness flew right over my tiny pea-brained inhabited cranium and left me feeling more than a bit cretinous and imbecilic. The premise had such promise and the story threads had good bones with glimpses of cunning perceptiveness and sharp-edged humor that kept me reading to the end, but all in all, the odd pacing and unlikable characters consistently whittled at my enjoyment and rating.

She is the original writer of the screenplay for Stepmom and has written for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, and other publications. Levangie lives in Los Angeles.