women’s fiction – Page 3

The Tiger Catcher by Paullina Simons

A truly heart-breaking and enthralling story is the only way to describe The Tiger Catcher by Paullina Simons. It is a gratifying romance story and it explores the lengths to which a person will go to be with the one they love.

Julian is living a happy and successful life in Los Angeles. He is surround by family and friends that love him and has a long-standing girlfriend that everyone expects him to marry. Then a chance encounter, at a New York City theatre, with a young girl named Josephine changes everything.

When Julian returns to L. A. he can’t stop thinking about Josephine. Then one day she waltzes right into his life and his heart. As far as Julian is concerned the world has not only stopped but melted away. He is so absorbed with Josephine that he forgets to go to work or write his daily Mr. Know-It-All newsletter. Yet, the fates have other plans and when Josephine is lost to Julian, he falls into a stupor and nothing is able to bring him back to reality.

Julian dreams frequently of Josephine. In his dreams, he is always at a café and she sees him and is walking towards him but is never able to reach him. He believes that the café is in London. Therefore, he moves to London in search of her. After a year and a half, and many miles of walking London’s streets for the café in his dream, he is no closer to answers than he was in L. A. That is until he meets a shaman who gives Julian the means to find Josephine. There is a catch, the trip is dangerous and he will have to give up everything and everyone he knows and loves.

I loved the characters in this book. Julian was especially well done. I liked how the author showed us the depth of his love and then the pain and sorrow of his loss. It was raw and very real to me. In addition, the story had just enough fantasy and realism to suit my tastes.

The only negative I found was the plot. It dragged a little in the middle. Ms. Simons’s writing is always a little on the verbose side; however, here it was a bit heavy handed. Despite this, I was already so invested in the story that I had to know what happened. Therefore, I rushed to get to the end and then I had to noodle on the book for a bit before I picked up another one. It is always a good sign when a book makes me ponder for a bit after I finish it.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I also feel it is not in the same league as The Bronze Horseman, which is one of my all-time favorites. Tough I still found the story compelling and entertaining. I am looking forward to the next installment in the series and I hope the wait is not too long.

The Tiger Catcher is the perfect book for fans of The Time Traveler’s Wife, Paullina Simons and/or romance with a touch of magic.

I received a free copy from the publisher, via Library Thing’s Early Reviewer program, in exchange for my honest opinion.

Coming Back by K. L. Denman

Coming Back by K. L. Denman is a novella about a young woman, Julie, who has been in a horrific car accident. She has no memory of the accident and has been in therapy for over a year. Julie has been diagnosed with PTSD. Her therapist suggests that she get an emotional support animal to help her.

Her therapist was thinking a dog or cat would be the ideal animal; but Julie decides she wants a horse. She had ridden some when she was a young girl and loved the connection she felt with a horse. She is hoping that she will have that again. Also, a horse will force her to leave her home and interact with people.

Julie lays out her plan to her therapist and after some consideration she agrees. She does her research and purchases a lovely young mare she names Scarlett. Julie finds a dressage show barn that she is able to board Scarlett at. She can even take lessons there. Unfortunately, it turns out a show barn is not the right fit for her. She looks for another barn and finds one that does “natural horsemanship”. Yet it turns out to be not as advertised and she soon realizes she has moved from the frying pan to fire.

This book had everything going for it. I especially love stories centered around horses since I have ridden my entire life. The plot was good and the horse related stuff was correct. I know the pace was good because I flew through this book in under a day. Yet, there was something missing for me.

I am struggling to put my feelings into words here. That in itself says something. I think it is because the story did not match the prose. Let me explain further. I felt the writing was too simplistic for an adult or young adult reader. The writing style was best suited for a middle grade reader yet the story, which billed as young adult, had a decided adult theme to it. Therefore, it left me wanting more.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy from the publisher, via Library Thing’s Early Reviewer’s program, in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin

The Last Romantic is a compelling story, told retrospectively, from the view point of the youngest of four siblings. It is a story of the deep binding love shared among siblings, the things that drive them apart and the guilt for not being everything that a sibling needs. In addition, it is a profound look at how even the closest of young siblings can grow apart and how tragedy effects each differently.

The story opens in the distant future when renowned poet Fiona Skinner is doing a reading. She is asked who the inspiration is for the character of Luna in her famous work titled The Love Poem. She begins by telling of the death of her father when she was a young girl and the subsequent “Pause” as she and her siblings call the period in which her mother withdraws into herself leaving the siblings to fend for themselves.

The Pause leaves deep wounds on each of the siblings, some of which never heal. All the children bear these into adulthood and it effects many aspects of their lives. As Fiona further delves into the story and the individual lives of each sibling, she gets closer and closer to Luna; until, the unlikely connect is revealed between them.

The author, Tara Conklin, has a perceptive eye for all the intricacies of relationships and an even better skill at getting those thoughts into words. This made for some prose that is nothing short of outstanding. Despite the plot being rather slow, the book is so thought provoking I did not mind.

I would also like to note, this book is one of the more intimate looks into what makes a family, a family. By the end of the book, I understood the dynamics of the four siblings and how each of their experiences and personalities effected the others. Also, how each used the strength of the others, sometime to the others detriment, as a personal well of power or force with which to face the world.

This book has elements of both Women’s Fiction and Literary Fiction and at times was very introspective. I recommend this book to those readers who enjoy books that are reflective in nature. The author brings up a lot of life issues and because of this it would make an excellent book club selection.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves

It has been a while since I last read a book by Ms. Graves (that being On the Island) and I admire her ability to draw the reader into the world she creates and for her relatable characters. Her latest book The Girl He Used to Know is no exception to her extraordinary writing talents.

The story is told from two POVs and Annika, pronounced like Monica without the M, is where we begin. She has a chance meeting in a grocery store in Chicago with Jonathon her boyfriend from college. Ten years has passed since they last saw each other and a lot has changed. Jonathon has risen the corporate ladder in an investment banking firm and married then divorced in that time span. While Annika is working her dream job as a librarian.

They start seeing each other again and each character reflects on their shared past. Jonathon tells how he is drawn to this shy, beautiful, intelligent and enigmatic young woman he meets at the University chess club. He relates how he wins her trust and eventual falls in love with her. Annika relates how she has always struggled to fit in and how Jonathon accepts her despite all her quirks. He has been patient and understanding with her need to go slowly and she in turn falls for him.

Annika would love nothing more than to pick up where they left off. Yet, there is a lot of water under the bridge and they will have a lot work ahead of them to be able to move forward. Then just when everything is starting to look up tragedy strikes.

I love character driven stories and this one is just that. The author has given us two great charters and she has slowly unraveled them for us as the story progressed so that we understand them fully. This is truly the best thing about her stories. I can always depend on getting characters to love and route for. I especially liked how the author handled Annika’s character, that was excellent. I don’t want to say too much here because I would give away an essential element of the plot. I just hope you enjoy and appreciate the specialness of the character.

The plot was very well done. I liked that the story was not told in chronical order. It worked better switching from present to past and back again. It created suspense because we know that something happened that drove Jonathon and Annika apart and that dangling carrot kept me intrigued and I needed to know just what happened. Then the wrench in the works in the later quarter of the story heightened the drama. Fabulous!

I recommend this book to readers who love character driven stories especially those that fall into the women’s fiction and romance genre. In addition, this book would make an excellent pick for a book club because of the many social issues presented in the book, i.e. bullying.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Whisper Network by Chandler Baker

The Whisper Network by Chandler Baker is a pager turner that is part mystery part thought provoking look at corporate culture and women’s rights in the work place. I predict this will be one of the most talked about books in the Women’s Fiction genre this year.

The story revolves around four strong, and resilient women who work for the Fortune 500 company Truviv, Inc. Three of the women, Sloane, Grace, and Ardie, are attorneys and part of the inhouse legal team. The fourth, Rosalita is part of the night cleaning crew. They have one thing in common, they have all been sexual harassed by Ames Garrett another attorney on staff.

Each woman, for their own reasons, have remained silent about his behavior. Then when the CEO of the company dies unexpectedly and it appears that Ames is the shoe in for his job, they decide it has to end. What starts as just adding Ames to the “BAD Men’s” list circulating around Dallas turns into a law suit and much worse. The consequences will be far reaching and will affect the entirety of these women’s lives.

Baker did an excellent job of telling a story that is very relevant today. I was especially taken with how thoughtfully the characters were portrayed in the book. They were human and made mistakes… lots of them and despite being strong they doubted themselves. They struggled with work and family demands. They felt guilty for not being the perfect mother and wife, something most every woman has felt at some point in her life.

The pace of the story was a little slow at first, but once it got going it was a page turner. The story had some twists in that were predictable. Still, this story really grabs at you because despite being fiction it is so very real. The book will resonate with many.

I highly recommend this to any women working today. In addition, this would make an excellent book club read because the issues it addresses. I received a free ARC from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

The Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White

The Glass Ocean is a wonderfully entertaining story of intrigue and romance set in the days leading up to the entrance of the United States into WWI and grounded in the present by one woman who is linked irrevocably to the past.

Sarah Blake is an author with one best seller already under her belt. Despite her successfully debut, she is struggling with her finances and to come up with an idea for her next best seller. Her mother’s Alzheimer’s seems to be taking a toll on her creativity as well as her pocketbook. Desperate for an idea, Sarah decides to open a trunk, even after promising she would not, that has been passed down in her family from her great-grandfather.

Inside the truck she finds an intriguing note written during the final voyage of the Lusitania which was sunk by a German U-boat. Knowing in her gut this is the big idea that has been escaping her for so long, she heads off to the UK to do research. Once there she tracks down John Langford, who has troubles of his own, to enlist his help researching his family’s ties to the sinking of the Lusitania.

What they uncover will shock both of them to the core in more ways than one. It may even shed new light on the sinking of the Lusitania. The question is, are they prepared to tell the world of their discovery?

The Glass Ocean despite being written as a collaboration of three authors readers seamlessly. I liked all the characters and the development was good. I do wish I had understood Tessa’s sister a little better. The plot is totally fictional but seemed plausible. The pace was very nice and the intrigue kept me reading on several occasions when I should have been doing other things. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of the Lusitania and what life was like as a first-class passenger.

The one thing I was not happy with is the ending. Without giving anything away, I’ll just say that the fate of some characters did not work for me.

All-in-all, this is an entertaining historical fiction/romance and will appeal to a variety of readers. I recommend it to anyone who likes Historical Fiction set in the first quarter of the 20^th century. I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Ensnare (Burlin Butterfly #1) by Leah Moyes

Ensnare, book one of the Berlin Butterfly series by Leah Moyes, tells the heart wrenching story of a young, former orphan girl, Ella, trapped on the wrong side of Berlin when the wall is erected in August of 1961.

Ella’s father is gravely ill as soldiers start unrolling spools of barbed wire, which will form the first Berlin Wall, to keep the citizens of East Berlin from fleeing to the west. She is torn between escaping while she still can, with her young brother and best friend Anton, and staying behind to care for her sick father. Ella makes the only decision she feels she can and stays behind while entrusting her brother to Anton’s care.

In a very short time, Ella’s father passes away and she is stuck alone in East Berlin. She has no money for food or to bury her father. Therefore, she strikes a deal with the Frankes, a wealthy and influential family in East Berlin, whom runs a mortuary. She will work as domestic help for 2 years to pay off the debt she owes them for the casket and burial. Once Ella begins working for the Frankes she makes friends and seeks ways to escape East Berlin. Yet what awaits Ella in the next two years will be much more than she expected and will put her life in danger and the lives of those she comes to trust and even love.

I was captivated with the character of Ella from the first. Her story has a realness to it and kept me engaged throughout. Just thinking about a 15 year old girl having to make such a life changing decision gives me goose bumps. Yet, she is strong and resilient. I felt the author did justice to the character by making her that way. Times were different then and hard ship was common; therefore, children had to grow up much faster.

I also loved the historical aspect of the book and felt the setting was the perfect backdrop for Ella’s story. The descriptions of the East versus West side of Berlin rang true to the times. It is obvious that the author did her research.

In addition, the plot moves smoothly along and at a nice pace. I was never bored and never felt the story was rushed. The story just seemed to unfold effortlessly with just enough twists to keep your attention but not so much that it felt over worked. Really well done!

Ensnare is one of those books that has a lot going for it and should appeal to a broad audience. I highly recommend this book to lovers of Historical Fiction, Romance and Women’s Fiction.

I received a free copy from the author in exchange for my honest review.

Beyond the Point by Claire Gibson

If I had not known in advance this was a debut novel I would have said, “No way.” The prose is as polished as any seasoned writer. Beyond the Point, by Claire Gibson, takes the reader into the world of West Point where we meet three young women athletes, Hannah, Dani and Avery, recruited to play basketball.

When they first meet they do not become friends immediately. Avery and Dani develop a fierce rivalry on the basketball court. Dani is an incredibly gifted player and is given a place on the varsity team as a freshman. Avery finds this hard to handle and it fuels her own personal insecurities. Over time Hannah the shy and faith driven women, who tends to be the anchor of the group, brings them all together and slowly a fierce friendship is formed.

You might think this book is about how women endure the rigors of a male dominated school like West Point. It is that and so much more. It is ultimately about how three strong women forge a long lasting friendship and face the hardships of West Point together. The friendship they have not only makes them stronger; they draw upon this strength to navigate the world after West Point when tragedy strikes.

This book is strongly character driven. Dani, Avery and Hannah are all portrayed very realistically and are fully developed. I especially loved that the author gave me both their strengths and their weaknesses.

The story is told form all three points of view. So we get a window into the interworkings of each of the main characters. The plot is not slow or fast. It does meander some as the author, especially later in the book, keeps flashing back to things that happened at West Point that sheds light on to a current situation or event.

I am really excited to see what else this author has in store for the future and expect that this is just the being of many good things to come. I highly recommend this book to readers who like a character driven story especially those with strong female characters.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff is the fictional tale of women who were recruited and trained to become spies in Europe during WWII. It is a tale of incredible courage and fortitude in the face of overwhelming odds. Though the tale is fictional it is based on the fact that there were women that were spies during WWII.

This story starts in the U.S. shortly after the war is over. Grace Healey, a war widow herself, finds a suitcase in Grand Central station in New York City. She can’t resist the urge to open it and look through its contents. She finds a group of pictures of young women and this intrigues her. On a whim she takes the pictures and returns the suitcase to its hiding spot under a bench.

She becomes obsessed with finding out who the suitcase belonged to and who the women are in the pictures. As she works to gather information, the reader is introduced to Eleanor Trigg. Eleanor runs the organization in England that recruits, trains and handles women spies in German occupied Europe. Eleanor recruits a young single mother Marie Roux who is later sent to France as a radio operator for the French resistance. As Grace slows finds all the puzzle pieces and fits them together we see what really happened to these women.

My favorite thing about this book is the strong, resourceful, women characters the author has presented us. We normally think of women during WWII as entering the work force for the first time and doing men’s jobs in factories that would normally have been considered male only job. We tend to forget that women did play vital roles during WWII.

The story is told from three POVs, Grace, Eleanor and Marie. The author made sure the plot was seamless despite the changing POVs throughout. There was not tons of character development but there was enough to fit the plot. At first I thought this might be a flaw, but I in retrospect I think the author did this so on purpose. She gave us enough to connect to the characters but not enough to overwhelm the reader and bog down the plot.

The pace of the plot was good and there was plenty of intrigue to keep the reader turning the pages. I was hooked early on in the story and I wanted to see what actually happened. I also liked how everything wrapped up at the end. I wish I could elaborate further; yet, I don’t want to spoil the story for others. Let me just say that how the government handled things was spot on to what happens in real life.

I know from other books that the life expediency of a spy during WWII was very short. Therefore, the only thing I disliked about the story was the decisions made by Marie. I felt she was overly reckless and even a little naïve. Who would go off and become a spy knowing the odds of dying are very high and thus leaving a young child without a mother.

I highly recommend this book for readers of both Historical Fiction and WWII stories. I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau

Title: The Blue
Author: Nancy Bilyeau
Pub. Date: 3-Dec-2018
Rating: 5 Stars

I always like to point out to readers those books that hit all the right notes for me. Especially when it is an indie-author or from a small/independent publisher which is the case with The Blue by Nancy Bilyeau. The alluring thing for me about this lovely historical fiction is all the factual tidbits of 18^th century life and the production of porcelain in that era. This is the perfect example of why Historical Fiction is among my favorite genres.

Genevieve Planche is a young British women who lives with her grandfather, a well-known artist, in London. Her family are Huguenots and refugees, having fled France for England in the wake of religious persecution. Since she was born in England she has no particular loyalty to the French crown and Louis XV. A good thing, since England is now at war with France.

Despite being at war, the English still crave some French goods, such as the famous porcelain pieces produced by Sevres the French manufacturer preferred by Madame de Pompadour chief mistress to Louis XV. Genevieve finds herself drawn into the world of porcelain when her family arranges for her to become a painter at the English porcelain factory of Derby. What she really craves is to study painting under one of the great masters of her time. This is not an option for her because painting is not considered proper for a young lady.

Genevieve chafes at the constraints that society has placed upon her. She even goes so far as to attend a party giving by an English artist, who her grandfather knows, in hopes of persuading him to become her teacher. Of course, she utterly fails. Though she does meet Sir Gabriel Courtenay who later calls on her as her grandfather’s home. He manages to enlist her help as a spy. He desperately needs the formula for the new blue color that Derby is reported to have developed. In exchange, he has promised her what she wants the most, to study under a painter. She agrees to spy and only has a few short weeks to find the formula. Yet, spying is a dangerous business and spies are hanged.

As I already stated, I love Historical Fiction because I always learn some little tidbits. In this instance, I learned a lot of tidbits. The author has out done herself with researching the period and the subject of porcelain. She actually peaked my interest and I had to do some further reading about porcelain, particularly Derby and Sevres.

I also loved the complexity of the main character Genevieve. She is intelligent, a gifted artist and somewhat self-centered person who struggles with her sense of duty to family and friends. Most importantly she is a strong young woman. Imagine going off to live and work were you do not know anyone and you are 4 days away, by carriage, from any family. She also has her flaws, she can be reckless and fails to see the consequences of her actions until it is far too late.

I thought the pace of the plot was good and there were some interesting things that happened that encouraged me to keep reading. The author did an excellent job of marrying fact and fiction. It gave the story a boost and complemented the prose.

In short, this was an excellently crafted story that any Historical Fiction fan will be sure to enjoy. Be sure to mark it as “Read Soon” on your TBR list.

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.