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Top Ten Tuesday: These Are My People | Bookish Book Characters

Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This Week's Top Ten Tuesday Topic:

These Are My People - Bookish Book Characters

As a bookworm, is there anything better than reading about a fellow book person?

Whether a character is a reader, a writer, a bookstore owner, or some other bookish thing, I get positively giddy when I read about someone who loves books and reading as much as I do. It's like, instant connection! And I want to yell: you are my people!

Here are my picks for some of my favorite bookish characters.

My Beautiful Neighbor

Presley opens a bookstore (next door to the guy who is pursuing her).

When You Come Back to Me

Holden becomes a respected author (while pining for River).

Crowbones

Julian owns a bookstore (sometimes frequented by non-humans).

Obsidian

Kat is a book blogger (with a sexy alien next door).

The Becoming

Breen becomes a published author (in between battles and riding a dragon).

Make Me Stay

Presley loves to read (and gets sexy cowboy Colton to pose in her Bookstagram pics).

The Night She Disappeared

Sophie is a mystery writer (who finds herself involved in a real life mystery).

The Fault in Our Stars

Hazel loves books (so much that she travels to Amsterdam to meet her favorite author).

Kiss and Don't Tell

Winnie helped run her mother's bookstore (and then fell for a professional hockey player).

Fallen Jester

Cassandra becomes an author (and gets pregnant after one night with a former MC member).

Have you read any of these books?

The Sunday Post #287 | May 8, 2022

Sunday, May 8, 2022

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's a chance to share news: a post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books,

and share what's coming up on your blog in the week ahead.

T H E W E E K I N R E V I E W

Happy Mother's Day to those who celebrate it. For those of you who do not have a mom (or mom-figure) in your life right now, I'm sending you hugs. I know that Father's Day is a little sad for me since losing my dad. I should be seeing my mom for dinner tonight. I hope you have a great day no matter how you spend it.

Is it just me or was this the Longest. Week. Ever? Not a bad week, but looong. I worked from home on Thursday just to break up the week and have a change of pace. I was beyond happy when Friday finally rolled around. Sheesh!

The NHL playoffs started this week and it's been up and down. My team (the Tampa Lightning) have won one game and lost two. It's a best of seven series sooo... they really need to win tonight before they're in dire straits.

In some "hey, that's pretty cool" news, the Broward County Public Library in Florida is allowing anyone to sign up for a library card, no matter where they live (although, I imagine it's limited to the U.S.). That means you would get access to their entire Hoopla catalog... so hooray for more free ebooks and audiobooks! Just go here and click on Apply Online for a Library Instant eCard.

Duran Duran was my band throughout the 80's. I was obsessed. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this week so for this week's 80's music fix we're going with The Reflex (1983). Enjoy!

O N T H E B L O G

Tuesday, May 3

Top Ten Tuesday: One Word Reviews

Friday, May 6

Review: The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner

W H A T I R E A D

Audio: Kiss and Don't Tell (Vancouver Agitators #1) by Meghan Quinn - ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25

Kindle: Visions of Heat (Psy-Changeling #2) by Nalini Singh - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Kindle: A Night for Us (The Wilder Brother #0.5) by Carrie Ann Ryan - ⭐⭐⭐.5

Kindle: Roping the Cowboy (Circle B Ranch #0.5)by Kennedy Fox - ⭐⭐⭐.5

C U R R E N T L Y R E A D I N G

Audio: My Famous Frenemy (Greene Family #6) by Piper Rayne

Kindle: One Way Back to Me (The Wilder Brothers #1) by Carrie Ann Ryan

N E W A D D I T I O N S

Not a thing.

T O T A L L Y R A N D O M

HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?

I'D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT IT!

Review: The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner

Friday, May 6, 2022

THE SUMMER PLACE

by Jennifer Weiner

Publication date: May 10, 2022

Format: eARC

Source: Atria Books and Netgalley

4 Stars

When her twenty-two-year-old stepdaughter announces her engagement to her pandemic boyfriend, Sarah Danhauser is shocked. But the wheels are in motion. Headstrong Ruby has already set a date (just three months away!) and spoken to her beloved safta, Sarah’s mother Veronica, about having the wedding at the family’s beach house on Cape Cod. Sarah might be worried, but Veronica is thrilled to be bringing the family together one last time before putting the big house on the market.

But the road to a wedding day usually comes with a few bumps. Ruby has always known exactly what she wants, but as the wedding date approaches, she finds herself grappling with the wounds left by the mother who walked out when she was a baby. Veronica ends up facing unexpected news, thanks to her meddling sister, and must revisit the choices she made long ago, when she was a bestselling novelist with a different life. Sarah’s twin brother, Sam, is recovering from a terrible loss, and confronting big questions about who he is—questions he hopes to resolve during his stay on the Cape. Sarah’s husband, Eli, who’s been inexplicably distant during the pandemic, confronts the consequences of a long ago lapse from his typical good-guy behavior. And Sarah, frustrated by her husband, concerned about her stepdaughter, and worn out by challenges of life during quarantine, faces the alluring reappearance of someone from her past and a life that could have been.

When the wedding day arrives, lovers are revealed as their true selves, misunderstandings take on a life of their own, and secrets come to light. There are confrontations and revelations that will touch each member of the extended family, ensuring that nothing will ever be the same.

On sale: May 10, 2022 | Atria Books

Hardcover | 416 pages | ISBN: 9781501133572, $28.00

eBook ISBN: 9781501133596, $14.99

GOODREADS | AMAZON | AUDIBLE

Every spring/summer I know to expect soaring temperatures (I’m in Florida so hot and humid is the norm), an influx of tourists (also the norm), and a juicy new release from Jennifer Weiner. This year’s release, The Summer Place, brings a multi-generational story of family secrets that all (well, almost all) come to light as everyone gathers at the matriarch’s Cape Cod beach house for a wedding.

The Summer Place is told from multiple points of view, each character with their own background, their own struggles, and bringing their own secrets to the family gathering. Among them are:

Sarah – An almost-forty mother and stepmother, whose husband has become increasingly distant. As she grapples with the what-if’s in her life, she’s also questioning the state of her marriage.

Eli – Sarah’s husband, who moved past his first wife walking out on him and their young daughter more than twenty years ago. Now a past indiscretion threatens to upset the life he has built with Sarah.

Ruby – Eli’s daughter who, at twenty-two has always known exactly what she wanted and worked toward it with single-minded determination. With her wedding date drawing nearer, she finds that for the first time in her life she’s not quite so certain of what she wants.

Veronica (Ronnie) – Happy to host the wedding of her step-granddaughter, Ronnie is thrilled for a large family gathering at her beloved Cape Cod home before putting the house on the market.

Sam – Sarah's twin brother has always felt something was missing. Now widowed and raising his young stepson on the West coast, Sam begins to question who he is and what he wants – and hopes for answers when he returns home to Cape Cod for his niece’s wedding.

Admittedly, this did start out a bit slow for me. Weiner delved into the background of each character, establishing their history and their motivations. This went a long way toward character development, but also felt as though there wasn’t a lot of forward momentum to the story. Thankfully, the second half picked up considerably and the more I read the less I wanted to put the book down. By the end I was turning the pages in a blur, desperate to see how it would all play out.

Weiner is a longtime favorite and she has a true gift at creating fully-rounded, complex, and flawed characters. In many ways, their lives and their situations are all too real and relatable. The Summer Place has clever twists and coincidences, but at its heart is a story about the bonds of family, in all its messy glory. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Disclosure: I received a complimentary advance copy of this book for review. This does not impact my opinion of the book or the content of this review. I received no compensation and my review is voluntary.

About Jennifer Weiner...

Jennifer Weiner is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of eighteen books, including Big Summer, Mrs. Everything, Good in Bed, and an essay collection, Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing. A graduate of Princeton University and a frequent contributor to the New York Times Opinion section, Jennifer lives with her family in Philadelphia.

Twitter: @jenniferweiner

Facebook: @jenniferweiner

Instagram: @jenniferweinerwrites

TikTok: @jenweinerwrites

Website: jenniferweiner.com

Top Ten Tuesday: Quickie Edition | One Word Book Reviews

Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This Week's Top Ten Tuesday Topic:

One Word Book Reviews

When I saw this week's topic, my first thought was no way can I do one word reviews.

But on second thought, it seemed like a fun challenge.

Once We Were Starlight - Mia Sheridan

One word review: Heartrending

Shenanigans - Sarina Bowen

One word review: Swoony

Baden - Sawyer Bennett

One word review: Emotional

Tin Queen - Devney Perry

One word review: Bittersweet

Challenge - Amy Daws

One word review: Delightful

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me - Mariana Zapata

One word review: Exceptional

Slave to Sensation - Nalini Singh

One word review: Gripping

Crowbones - Anne Bishop
One word review: Immersive

My Bestie's Ex - Piper Rayne

One word review: Frustrating

My Unexpected Surprise - Piper Rayne

One word review: Charming

Have you read any of these books?

The Sunday Post #286 | May 1, 2022

Sunday, May 1, 2022

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's a chance to share news: a post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books,

and share what's coming up on your blog in the week ahead.

T H E W E E K I N R E V I E W

I was out of town last weekend, hence no Sunday Post. I was down in Tampa attending my first hockey game. (Well, my first NHL game - I've been to a couple minor league games.) Seeing my team (the Tampa Bay Lightning) live and in-person was ah-mazing. Our seats were center ice, 4th row, right behind the Lightning bench. *cue me flailing* It was an incredible, exciting, unforgettable experience and I'd love to go again. Oh, and they beat the Nashville Predators 6-2. 😊

Me + The Husband at the Lightning game

My boss returned from a week-long trip and promptly tested positive for Covid. The one day he was in the office before testing positive, we'd had a half-hour meeting in his office so, yeah, I'd been exposed. I was advised to wait five days from the date of exposure and then get tested. So, that's what I'll be doing Sunday morning as you read this. I feel fine so I think I'm probably good since exposure wasn't really prolonged, but I want to test and make sure just in case I'm asymptomatic.

In happier news, today is my wedding anniversary. The Husband and I have been married for 23 years (and together for 30 years). Not sure how I was so certain at the young age of 23 that he was The One, but I was as certain then as I am now. He's my best friend, the best person I know, no one makes me laugh more, and I still get excited when he walks in the door. Better than any book boyfriend. 😍

c. 1991-1992 2019

For a dose of feel-good news, this story will restore some of your faith in humanity. A couple in Vancouver is converting their resort property in order to house dozens of Ukrainian refugees. You can read the story here.

This week's 80's music fix is The One Thing (1982) by INXS. With lyrics like "You know your voice is a love song, it's a cat call from the past", this has always been one of my favorites from INXS.