Summer on the Island by Brenda Novak

Summer on the Island by Brenda Novak

Published by MIRA ISBN 9780778311856

Trade paperback, $16.99, 400 pages

In Brenda Novak's latest novel, Summer on the Island, successful young divorce attorney Marlow Madsen leaves Los Angeles to go to her family's summer retreat on Teach Island in Florida, unsure if she will return to her life in LA. Her father, a longtime respected Senator, has passed away from COVID, and her mother has suffered from MS for years. 

Marlow intends to help her mother pack up the family's other homes in Virginia and Atlanta for sale, and then reassess her life plan. She brought two friends with her- Aida, whom Marlow represented in a difficult divorce, and Claire, a young woman who lost her home and yoga studio in a recent California wildfire.

When Marlow returns home, she finds her grieving mother Eileen and longtime family housekeeper Rosemary, who helps with Eileen's care. Rosemary's son Reese takes care of the house and property, and his older brother Walker is now the town's chief of police.

Walker and Marlow grew up together, and as teenagers their friendship blossomed into something more. Because of their different backgrounds, they grew apart. Marlow went onto college and law school, Walker into police work. 

Things ended badly between Walker and Marlow, but clearly the heat is still there.  (Oh yes, it is steamy in summer in Florida!) Even though Walker does his best to avoid Marlow while she is home, when they are in close proximity things happen.

Marlow's work makes her jaded about love and marriage. She has to deal with Aida's ex-husband who threatened her during the nasty divorce. Although she knows her marriage is over, Aida still remembers the good times she had with her husband. Claire also has to deal with a man- her ex-boyfriend who lied about being married and is determined to win her back.

Summer on the Island is about former loves, secrets, friendship, and how to (or if you should) forgive people who have wronged you. I found the theme of forgiveness intriguing, it really made me think about the topic. Brenda Novak writes characters who are interesting; they certainly have their flaws, and who doesn't love a book with a fabulous beach town setting when the spring weather is so unpredictable? This is another solid book from Benda Novak.

Thanks to Harlequin Books for putting me on their Winter 2022 Women's Fiction Blog Tour.

Keep Me Warm at Christmas by Brenda Novak

Keep Me Warm at Christmas by Brenda Novak

Published by MIRA ISBN 978077831256

Mass Market Paperback, $9.99, 416 pages

Last Christmas I read Brenda Novak's A California Christmas (my review is here), the seventh book in her Silver Springs series and was pleased to see we return to Silver Springs again this Christmas for Keep Me Warm at Christmas.

Tia Bennett is a young actress recovering from a terrible car accident that left her face disfigured. She is recuperating at the home of Maxi, the producer of her breakout film, which has just been released and is garnering Oscar buzz for Tia and the movie.

The paparazzi swarmed her Los Angeles condo, so Tia takes Maxi up on his offer to hide out at in the guest house of his gated home in the small town of Silver Springs. All she has to do is feed and care for his pet parrot while is he out of the country.

While Tia is severely depressed about her situation, she discovers that Maxi has also invited Seth, a reknowned artist and sculptor, to stay in the main house. Seth is still mourning the loss of his young wife three years ago. He grew up in Silver Springs, one of many young boys adopted by Aiyana, the woman who runs a school for troubled teens.

Seth is back to teach an art class Aiyana's school. While he loves Aiyana, he is still troubled by his past. His birth mother gave him and his two brothers up, and later reclaimed his older and young brother but not him. As a young teen, Seth had problems with the law, but straightened his life out.

After Seth sees how depressed Tia is, he becomes determined to reach out to her. He cooks for her, encourages her to exercise, and when a paparazzi comes looking for her, Seth protects her.

Tia and Seth are both going through difficult times. Tia fears her burgeoning career is over, and her Mennonite family is pressuring her to come home to Iowa. Seth is missing his wife and dealing with his in-laws who see him as only an ATM. Can they bring each other out of the depths of their sadness?

Keep Me Warm at Christmas is about forgiveness. Seth has to decide if he can forgive his birth family and in-laws, Tia has to work on forgiving her family,  and Tia has to think about forgiving Seth for something he says that hurts her deeply.

We learn a little bit about the Mennonite religion in this novel, something I found interesting as I don't know much about the relgion. We don't see much of Aiyana and her family as we did in the last book, this one really revolves around Tia and Seth. I hope to revisit Silver Springs again next Christmas and see  more of Aiyana and her family.

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on their Holiday Romance Blog Tour.

A California Christmas by Brenda Novak

A California Christmas by Brenda Novak

Published by MIRA ISBN 9780778361039

Mass market paperback, $7.99, 400 pages

I think we are all ready for Christmas to come this year, and I have been trying to read more books with a Christmas setting to get me in the mood. While I don't normally think California when I think of Christmas, Brenda Novak's A California Christmas intrigued me, so I picked it up.

When Los Angeles TV news anchor Emery Bliss breaks up with her co-anchor with whom she had been romantically involved, he posts a sexually explicit video of them online and Emery is not only mortified, she is fired.

Traumatized, she runs away to the home of her mother's friend Aiyana who runs a school for children who have had difficulties in their young lives in the small town of Silver Springs. Aiyana adopted several of the young boys herself, including Dallas, a young man who lost his mother and sister to violence when he was a child.

Dallas is making a name for himself as a free rock climber, traveling the world, with no ties to anyone. He had a crush on Emery in high school and is saddened to discover what happened to her. Emery is in a fragile state, and Aiyana warns Dallas to be careful with her.

Emery and Dallas are attracted to each other, and Dallas becomes protective of her. He offers her a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen. His concern for her is very sweet, and his gentle manner gives men a good name.

While she ponders suing the news station for firing her, Emery takes a job at a local ice cream parlor, worrying the entire time that someone will recognize her. More than once Dallas comes to her rescue in that regard.

Eventually Emery and Dallas can't fight their attraction, and the resulting sexual relationship is very steamy indeed. But with Dallas traveling the world and Emery possibly moving to Boston with her mother and sick grandmother, a long term relationship seems impossible, no matter how much either wants one.

I think Dallas is good character, a very evolved young man in the way he respects Emery's feelings, not wanting to do anything that would make her uncomfortable, but he also has an old-fashioned chivalry about him. I also liked Aiyana and her soon-to-be husband's relationship. She had been single for so long, and finally is ready to take the marital plunge. It's nice to read about a mature, loving relationship.

A California Christmas is the seventh book in Brenda Novak's Silver Springs series, I just may have to dip into the others to get more background on these characters.

Thanks to Harlequin for putting me on their Harlequin Holiday Book Tour.

Friday 5ive- December 4, 2020

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly blog post featuring five things that caught my attention during the week. I took last week off for Thanksgiving, so this post will cover two weeks worth of fun.

1)  I was watching the Today Show a few weeks ago and Jill Martin had a segment on women-owned companies. She highlighted Hestia Harlow, an events planning company in Washington DC that was hit hard by the pandemic. They pivoted to renting table settings and tablescapes to consumers, and with Thanksgiving coming up, we rented a package from them. UPS delivered the boxes two days before Thanksgiving, and we had fun putting all the pretty things on our table. Rinse it all off, put it back in the boxes, set out on the porch the next day and UPS picks it up. It was so easy, and our table never looked more beautiful. We may do it again for Christmas or New Years.

Our Thanksgiving table

2)  I am loving seeing everyone's Christmas trees, ornaments, and decorations on Facebook, it really puts me in the holiday spirit. And it sure does feel good to be talking about something positive after a brutal political season and pandemic worries. This is our tree:

3)  While out running errands I saw two things that caught my eye. The first is a window display at Housing Works, a thrift store in my neighborhood. There are many of these stores in the city, and they support programs for people with HIV. The theme of the window is Breakfast at Tiffany's and it's pretty great.

A few blocks away, Treadwell Restaurant had this sign in front of their outdoor seating area. Any establishment that quotes Shakespeare has it going on in my book. 

4)  I wanted to find something festive to watch while writing out my Christmas cards, so I put on Dolly Parton's Netflix movie, Christmas on the Square. Dolly plays an angel (who would be better?) who is mentoring a young angel. Dolly wrote all the many songs, and Debbie Allen directed and choreographed the dances, so this movie is a notch above most Christmas movies. The fantastic Christine Baranski plays the owner of a the land where the town square is located. She is selling the land to a mega-mall developer, displacing all of the town's small businesses, including the salon owned by her childhood best friend (played by the amazing Jennifer Lewis) and the general store previously owned by her father, now owned by her former boyfriend, played by Treat Williams. It's great to hear Treat singing again, I haven't heard him sing since he did the movie Hair. The acting and singing by the main cast is wonderful, and although the story may be a little corny, I did tear up a little bit at parts. I recommend it. 

5) Between Thanksgiving and Christmas decorating, shopping, card writing, I only had time to finish one books, Brenda Novak's A California Christmas. When Emery, a young news anchor is the victim of revenge porn from her former boyfriend and co-anchor, she runs away to the home of her mother's friend, Aiyana, who runs a school for young people who have had trouble in the lives. There she meets up with Aiyana's adopted son she knew in high school and old feelings are reignited. It took me awhile to get into this one, but once I did, I liked the story. Just a warning (or recommendation, depending on your preferences), it's pretty steamy. My full review publishes on Tuesday.

Stay safe, socially distant, wear a mask and wash your hand