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Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray

Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray
Published by Berkley ISBN 9780593437056
Hardcover, $29, 528 pages

One of the reasons I enjoy reading historical fiction is that I learn more about historical figures I knew little about. Stephanie Dray's newest novel, Becoming Madam Secretary, shares the story of the life of Frances Perkins, best known as Franklin Roosevelt's Secretary of Labor following the Great Depression.

The novel opens in 1933 with the recently elected President of the United States Franklin Roosevelt summoning Frances Perkins and offering her the job as Secretary of Labor in his cabinet. Perkins would be the first woman in history to serve as a cabinet member, but that doesn't seem to persuade her to take on the role.

Perkins had prepared a list of things that she wants to accomplish if she took the job, including eliminating child labor, limiting working hours, instituting a federal minimum wage, and creating what would become Social Security. If she thought this would discourage Roosevelt, she was mistaken. He agrees to back her and she is stuck taking the job.

The book then goes back in time and we see Perkins' start, first as a graduate student in economics studying child malnutrition in Hells Kitchen in New York City. Her dedication, work ethic, and success captures the attention of others in the social work field, and she is asked to become a lobbyist with the New York Consumers League.

Through her lobbying efforts Perkins becomes acquainted with politicians like future governors of New York Al Smith and Franklin Roosevelt, and they recognize her talents and put them to good use. But being a woman in a man's world back then required a high wire act that Perkins managed to walk.

Frances also captures the attention of writer Sinclair Lewis, whose attempts to woo her are comical if unsuccessful. She does marry a man who appreciates that Frances has a career doing important work, but their union has troubled times ahead.

I found myself totally immersed in the life of Frances Perkins and I could not put Becoming Madam Secretary down. I found it reminiscent of Allison Pataki's The Magnificent Marjorie Post; both books highlighted women who accomplished so much in a time when women weren't expected to do much more than run a household. 

Frances Perkins saw a need to fix major problems in this country at a most challenging time, and she was  the woman for the job. Becoming Madam Secretary is an appropriate and excellent read for Women's History Month. I highly recommend it.

Thanks to Penguin Random House for providing a copy for an honest review.


Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Hypnotized By Love by Sariah Wilson

Hypnotized By Love by Sraiah Wilson
Published by Montlake ISBN 9781662514227
Trade paperback, $16.99, 283 pages


Sariah Wilson's latest rom-com Hypnotized by Love has a protagonist with a unique occupation- Savannah Sinclair practices hypnosis therapy. People come to Savannah for help with anxiety, sleep issues, and more.

As the story opens, Savannah has been censured by the Florida Board of Professional Hypnotists. When a patient came to her office, Savannah felt that something was not quite right and offered to refer him to another hypnotist. This man pursued Savannah romantically and when she demurred, he went online and left bad reviews and eventually filed a complaint stating that she was pursuing him romantically.

This hurt Savannah's business and her confidence. Her twin sister Sierra, an ER nurse, and their friend Bridget are doing their best to cheer Savannah up at a restaurant when in walks Mason Beckett, the guy who broke Savannah's heart in high school and who spread rumors about her that left her devastated.

Mason is a successful writer, and his parents and Savannah's have been best friends forever. The two families spent all their time together. He is the last person Savannah wants to see today.

It turns out that Mason is writing a magazine piece about hypnotherapy and he booked an appointment with Savannah under a different name. Savannah wants nothing to do with Mason, but when his mom asks her to see him as a favor, she relents. She will see him once, but when their session is interrupted before Savannah can bring him out of his trance by a fire in the building, a problem ensues.

Mason turns on the charm, but Savannah wants nothing to do with him romantically, and after the censure incident, has to be very careful not to be seen as anything but professional with Mason. But this is a rom-com, so we know that things will turn romantic.

Hypnotized By Love is a quick and enjoyable read, and I loved the clever banter between Savannah and Mason and Savannah and her twin sister Sierra. There are a lot of humorous quips that had me laughing. I found the hypnosis angle intriguing and different. Sariah Wilson manages to make the usual rom-com tropes refreshing with her witty writing and characters. Hypnotized By Love was a perfect plane read.

Thanks to TLC Tours for putting me on Sariah Wilson's Tour. The rest of her stops are here:

Instagram features:

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Wednesday, February 21st@mrsboomreads

Friday, February 23rd:  @purrfectpages

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Friday, March 8th @cozy.coffee.reads

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TIKTOK features:

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REVIEWS:

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Monday, March 4th@shopcoffeekids

Tuesday, March 5thBookChickDi

Wednesday, March 6thPick A Good Book and @pickagoodbook 

Thursday, March 7thRead Eat Repeat

Monday, March 11thWhat is That Book About

Wednesday, March 13th@dana.loves.books

Saturday, March 16th:  Girl Who Reads



Monday, March 4, 2024

Kilt Trip by Alexandra Kiley

Kilt Trip by Alexandra Kiley
Published by Canary Street Press ISBN 9781335009296
Trade paperback, $18.99, 336 pages


I traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland a few years ago, and when the opportunity to review Alexandra Kiley's romance Kilt Trip popped up, I enthusiastically joined and I'm glad I did.

Addie Macrae has an interesting job- she is a travel consultant. She works for a small company that advises tour companies around the world, and helps them better utilize such things as social media to maximize profitability.

Her newest assignment takes her to Edinburgh to help a family-run tour guide business. She begins by taking a tour incognito with the company . The tour guide is Logan Sutherland, whose father hired Addie's company. Looking quite ruggedly handsome in his kilt, Logan has a great personality in his role as a guide, but Addie is dismayed to discover that the tour leaves out the usual highlights that most people associate with Edinburgh.

Logan is charming to Addie during the tour but when he discovers that she is the consultant that his father hired, he is not happy. He believes that his tours show people the more interesting sites in Scotland, not the ones that every other tour guide company visits. That makes their company unique, but unfortunately not profitable enough.

Logan and Addie make a deal- Logan will take Addie on his favorite tour and Addie will take Logan on a tour she designs that hits all the touristy highlights people want to see. The winner gets to choose which tours the company will focus their efforts on.

Addie confides in Logan that her mother's family is from Scotland. Since her mother passed away thirteen years ago, Addie has been adrift. Logan arranges for Addie to see all of the places that her mother loved in Scotland, and this moves Addie.

In this enemies-to-lovers story, Addie and Logan overcome their animosity and give into their passion- and there is a lot of passion in this novel. Kilt Trip is a spicy read (the castle scene!), and there are enough bumps in the road to romance to keep things intriguing. Addie is torn between her growing attraction to Logan and her duty to her company and Logan's father to make their company profitable.

Kilt Trip is a fast read, one that had me turning the pages to see if Addie and Logan can make their different lifestyles work together. The scenery may inspire readers to travel to Scotland to find their own kilt-clad tour guide and see all the sights. I recommend Kilt Trip, a terrific spring break beach read.

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on their Winter 2024 Blog Tours.



Friday, February 23, 2024

Friday 5ive- February 24, 2024

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly-ish featuring five things that caught my attention this week.

1) I attended a luncheon at the beautiful Sarasota Club featuring a discussion with the popular The Thursday Authors talking books and the friendship they formed over Zoom during the pandemic. Fiona Davis, Lynda Cohen Loigman, Amy Poeppel and Susie Orman Schnall were led in discussion by Lea DeCesare. They talked about their current books, how they got their starts (all were not published until the age of 40+), the importance of sitting your butts in the seat and just writing, their favorite writing spots,  (Lynda writes at her kitchen table- how does she do that?) and so much more. The talk was interesting, inspiring and lots of fun. Many thanks to the Kappa Kappa Gamma alumnae of Sarasota/Manatee who put this terrific program together. (And Amy Poeppel is one of my go-to authors. I've read and loved all her books.)
Amy Poeppel and Susie Orman Schnall signed copies of their books


2) I had the most delicious appetizer at Café L'Europe in St. Armands Circle in Sarasota. It was deviled eggs topped with caviar and it was amazing. I will definitely be back.


3) What is the deal with this car parked on the Upper East Side? I don't know what it is trying to say. Any guesses? 

4) I saw the play "Doubt- A Parable" starring Liev Schreiber and Amy Ryan. I bought my tickets months ago when Tyne Daly was scheduled to play Sister Aloysius and I was so excited to see her back on Broadway as I have seen her in other shows and she is amazing. It was announced a few weeks ago that Tyne had to bow out for medical reasons and Amy Ryan was tapped to take over with just a few rehearsals. Amy's role is the biggest one in the show (Meryl Streep played the role in the movie). Amy Ryan was phenomenal, she hit it out of the park and should definitely get a Tony nomination for her performance. The show is set in the early 1960s at a Catholic school. Sister Alyosius suspects that a priest has been inappropriate with a young male student and she looks to a young nun, played so wonderfully by Zoe Kazan, to confirm her suspicions. Liev Schreiber plays the priest and this revival of John Patrick Shanley's 2004 play about doubt and convictions is timely and thought-provoking. Go see it if you can. 

5) The New York Times ran a piece featuring Oscar-nominated actors in their "Secret Places". Paul Giamatti, nominated for Best Actor for his role in The Holdovers, which he is brilliant in, chose to be photographed in a used bookstore.  As someone who runs a used bookstore in NYC (Paul lives in Brooklyn), I'd like to invite him to come see the Book Cellar. Here is the piece from the NY Times website:


Have a great week all, stay safe and healthy. Until next time.


Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Three Terrific Books For Galentine's Day

Reprinted from auburnpub.com


Valentine’s Day is February 14th but have you heard of Galentine’s Day? Fans of TV’s Parks & Recreation will recognize it as a holiday made up by the main character Leslie Knope to celebrate her friends. It took off in the popular culture and now is celebrated by many people every year on February 13th.


This month’s Book Report features some books that celebrate and honor female friendship and would be perfect gifts to give your best gal pals for Galentine’s Day.


Robyn Carr often writes about female friendships in her wonderful novels, and her latest is titled The Friendship Club. Marni hosts a popular cooking show on television filmed in her fantastic California kitchen (think Ina Garten). 



Ellen is the behind scenes person who does much of the creative cooking while Marni is the face of the show followed by millions. Marni is outgoing whereas Ellen is shy and has no interest in being in front of the camera. 


Sophia is their young college intern who is just starting a relationship with a man who showers her with attention, perhaps too much attention? Marni’s daughter Bella is awaiting the birth of her first baby, and is uncomfortable at the end of her pregnancy.


The four women bond together and help each other through the day-to-day of life. Marni and Ellen become concerned about Sophia’s boyfriend, fearing that he is trying to isolate Sophia. 


There is much to like about this story, and if you enjoy foodie fiction, your mouth may water at the descriptions of the food. It’s also nice to see that romance is not confined to young women, as Ellen and Marni are each delighted to find themselves in relationships with good men.


In a more serious vein, Kristin Hannah’s The Women takes the reader to the Vietnam War in in 1965. Frankie McGrath decides to follow her brother to war when she enlists as a nurse in the U.S. Army. 



Frankie is just 20 years old and has led a sheltered life, so life in a war zone is a complete shock. Her two bunkmates- Barb, a young Black tough surgical nurse and Ethel, who plans on becoming a veterinarian when she returns home- take Frankie under their wing and the three become inseparable.


Hannah does a great job putting the reader in Frankie’s shoes, we can feel the unbearable heat, the soaking rains that pour into her living quarters, and the confusion of being under attack from enemy bombs. Frankie goes from not knowing much to becoming such an outstanding nurse whom doctors trust her to do procedures. 


We also see the burgeoning anti-war movement growing back home through letters from Frankie’s mother, a conservative woman who doesn’t understand what is happening in her own country. 


When Frankie comes back home, she is lost and severely depressed. People spit at her when she arrived back in the U.S., and her service to her country is downplayed and even challenged by her father. She is told time and time again that “Women weren’t in Vietnam”.

Ethel and Barb reach out to Frankie when she is at rock bottom and the three women live together for awhile knowing that not many people understand what they went through, and trying to process how to move forward.


The Women is an emotional rollercoaster, and if you were a fan of TV’s China Beach or M*A*S*H, this is a book you won’t want to miss. 


When I think of the perfect Galentine’s Day read, Amy Poeppel’s The Sweet Spot comes to mind. Melinda’s husband leaves her for a hot young successful entrepreneur, Olivia loses her job at the entrepreneur’s fancy store after an unfortunate customer experience with Melinda goes viral, and Lauren designs ceramic pieces for the fancy store while trying to raise her three young children with her husband and deal with her mother-in-law (Evelyn, my favorite character) who comes to stay. 



How do these three women end up caring for a baby they are not related to? Well that is the question in this charming and delightful novel that is set in a fantastic New York City neighborhood that makes you feel like you’re sitting on the building stoop with these three women who form an unlikely friendship over a baby. The Sweet Spot will put a big smile on your face.











Happy Valentine’s and Galentine’s Day to all!


The Friendship Club by Robyn Carr- A-

Published by MIRA

Hardcover, $28.99, 336 pages


The Women by Kristin Hannah- A-

Published by St. Martin’s Press

Hardcover, $30, 471 pages


The Sweet Spot by Amy Poeppel- A

Published by Emily Bestler Books

Trade paperback, $17.99, 392 pages




Monday, February 12, 2024

The Last Days of Lilah Goodluck by Kylie Scott

The Last Days of Lilah Goodluck by Kylie Scott
Published by Graydon House ISBN 978152804809
Trade paperback, $18.99, 304 pages



From the publisher:

Red White and Royal Blue meets The Last Holiday in this delight of a novel, about a woman who unexpectedly finds "fall in love with a prince" on her bucket list after a fortune teller tells her she only has a week to live. Ideal for fans of Sophie Cousens and Rebecca Serle.

Your boyfriend is cheating on you

You will be passed over for the promotion

5-8-12-24-39-43

Your soulmate is a royal prince

And your time is up a week from Monday

When Lilah Goodluck saves the life of Good Witch Willow as they’re crossing a busy LA street, the last thing she expects is five unwanted predictions as a reward. Who gives someone the lotto numbers then tells them they’ve only got a week to live? And who believes in that nonsense anyway?

But when the first three predictions come true within twenty-four hours, Lilah’s disbelief turns to mild panic. She’s further horrified when she nearly runs a car off the road that belongs to Alistair Lennox, the illegitimate son of the English king.

Alistair is intrigued by her preposterous story, but Lilah is adamant about resisting the heat between her and the playboy prince. If he’s not her soulmate, then the last prediction can’t come true. But as the days count down, they become maybe friends…and then maybe more. Between the relentless paparazzi and his disapproving family, dating a sort-of prince isn’t easy, especially when you have death on your doorstep.


My Thoughts:
 
Kylie Scott writes novels that have unique concepts, touched with a little bit of the unknown. Her last book, End of Story (my review here), told the story of Susie a young woman renovating a home she inherited from an aunt. She hires Lars, a handsome contractor who happens to be her ex-boyfriend's best friend. When they find a divorce decree hidden within a wall that has Lars and Susie's names on it and it is dated 10 years in the future- mayhem ensues.

The Last Days of Lilah Goodluck's concept is similarly unique, with a psychic giving Lilah five predictions, the craziest of which is that her soulmate is a royal prince, who Lilah then proceeds to meet when she almost runs his car off the road.

In order to avoid the last prediction- that her time is up a week from Monday, Lilah and the prince cannot fall in love. We all know what will happen, but the fun is in the journey. Alistair (the prince) intends to help Lilah with her own bucket list, which includes having the best sex of her life before her time here is done.

Lilah and Alistair are wonderful characters, but my favorite character is Alistair's mother. She is sassy and tough, but has a heart of gold when it comes to her son. 

If you're looking for a clever, fun, spicy romance novel for Valentine's Day, you can't go wrong with The Last Days of Lilah Goodluck. 

Thanks to Harlequin Books for putting me on their Winter 2024 Blog Tours.




Sunday, February 11, 2024

The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West by Sara Ackerman

The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West
Published by MIRA, ISBN9780778369516
Trade paperback, $18.99, 384 pages

From the publisher:

1927. Olivia ‘Livy’ Jones is a young and determined pilot with a love of adventure. She’s been bit by the flying bug and yearns to cross oceans and see the world, pioneering the way for other women pilots. When she learns of the Dole Air Race–organized immediately after Charles Lindbergh’s famous flight–a race to be the first to make the 2,400 mile Pacific crossing from the West coast to Hawaii, with a huge grand prize of $25,000–she sets her sights on qualifying. But it soon becomes clear that only men will make the cut. In a last ditch effort to take part, Livy manages to be picked as a navigator for one of the pilots, before setting out on a harrowing journey that will change her life forever.

 


1987. Wren Summers is down to her last dime when she learns she has inherited a remote piece of land on the Big Island with nothing on it but a dilapidated barn and an overgrown mac nut grove. She plans on selling it and using the money to live on, but she is drawn in by the mysterious objects kept in the barn by her late great-uncle—clues to a tragic piece of aviation history lost to time. Determined to find out what really happened all those years ago, Wren enlists the help of residents at a nearby retirement home to uncover Olivia’s story piece by piece. What she discovers is more earth-shattering, and closer to home, than she could have ever imagined.

My Thoughts:

Last week there was a news story about the possible discovery of a plane submerged in the Pacific Ocean and there was speculation that it was the plane of Amelia Earhart, who was lost at sea in 1937 during her attempt to be the first woman to fly around the world, so it's a great time to read Sara Ackerman's novel The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West.

Frequently in dual timeline novels, one storyline is stronger than the other, but in this one, I was equally invested in both stories and both women. Livy Jones is an intelligent young woman who figures out a way to make into the boys' club of aviation by working hard and taking advantage of every opportunity to be around pilots and eventually convincing one pilot to let her fly with him. 

In the 1987 timeline, when Wren's life appears to be falling apart, she leaves her home and when she sees the dilapidated barn, pulls herself together and works to make a new home for herself. Ackerman paints such a vivid portrait of the barn, I felt like if I closed my eyes I could see it.

Both characters are well-drawn and I enjoyed following the progress that Livy made during her flight to Hawaii and Wren made restoring her great-uncle's plane. There's history, romance, some interesting Hawaiian culture, and a nice twist at the end that careful readers may be able to guess. I recommend it for fans of historical fiction featuring strong women.

I reviewed Sara Ackerman's previous book Radar Girls here.

Thanks to Harlequin Books for putting me on their Winter 2024 Blog Tours.