A downhome feast of Southern humor, small town antics and the messy side of falling in love. PJ comes home for her father's funeral but can't seem to make herself go back and finish her Phd program in Nashville. She takes a short-order cook job at the local Chickie Shak where she meets newcomer Boof, a singer songwriter who has left Nashville and come to town looking for her birth mom. A beauty pageant between all the Chickie Shak locations gets everyone riled up as well as the fight to repeal a strange tax and the budding romance between PJ and Boof keeps everything spicy.
Sweet romance, priceless Southern charm and more witty comebacks than you can highlight plus the loyalty of small towns make this a warm and finger licking debut perfect for fans of Fannie Flagg, J. Ryan Stradal and the humor of Helen Ellis. 3 1/2 stars
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Take two resilient women from different worlds, one earthquake and a wealthy but cruel benefactor and you have the makings of a fantastic historical thriller set in 1906 San Francisco. Gemma is an opera singer who hopes to get her big break singing with legend Caruso but falls under the guiding hand and chokehold of a wealthy patron. Suling pretends to be a boy delivering laundry in Chinatown but is a very skilled embroideress who longs to set up her own shop in Paris. Both women meet through Henry Thornton's patronage and his collection of Chinese antiques.
The earthquake and fire change all their lives but it isn't until years later that the mystery and circle is complete. Rapid pace, historical drama with captivating characters make this yet another example of why these two authors on at the forefront of their genre. 5 stars Lana Turner was larger than life. A pin up girl whose beauty made her a legend on the screen and whose bad taste in men made her a legend in the gossip columns. Her choice of boyfriends/husbands ran from good guys who couldn't handle the fame to bad guys who couldn't control their temper. Her only child daughter Cheryl was sandwiched between mom's crazy film schedule and the latest "pretend father" at home. When one of these marriages turned really ugly Lana used her daughter to escape scandal. Lana was not going to win any mother of the year awards. Casey Sherman does the tightrope between pointing out her faults along with the tough road she walked under controlling studio heads, mobsters and just bad luck for a well balanced study of the underbelly of old Hollywood. She worked hard, played hard and proved that she was much more than just a pretty face when it came to business. Old movie buffs, Tinseltown aficionados and those of us who pretend we don't pay attention to the Hollywood historical scandals will devour this. 4 stars
A young bookseller is given a strange book by an older long time customer who passes away. Cassie isn't sure of what to make of The Book of Doors or why he gave it to her but she and her roommate discover it is magical and gives the owner the ability to step through whatever door they imagine. Cassie travels in and out of time and all over the globe but soon a dark violent woman is after her to get her hands on that and all the magical books. Cassie along with the help of the owners of other magical books must work together to rid the world of the hunter. Easier said than done and it makes for a fantastic romp through time and space with danger at their heels. Fans of THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY, THE WISHING GAME and all those books about magical books will seek this debut out. 4 1/2 stars
Laura, Daniel and Mo are presumed dead but suddenly return to be greeted by their old high school teacher who gives them an interesting proposition - if they can complete a series of magical quests they will be allowed to stay with the living. Not all will make it and there are a handful of supernatural creatures that want to make sure none of them succeed. Laura, Laura's sister Susannah and Daniel have been best friends and more for a long time. Susannah has been lost without them but is equally unsure how to deal with them back. Mo comes back to an empty house where his only family, his grandmother, passed away while he was gone. This book has a hefty page count and a rambling style that pulls in some many different examples of love, loss and magic. It explores the unshakeable bond of sisters, friendship, love and the trials and tribulations of growing up with a smattering of horror and violence. This will appeal to fans of her short stories and readers of the unusual, early Stephen King and PIRANESI. 3 1/2 stars
A murder mystery coupled with the Chinese mythology surrounding foxes and fox gods. A private detective is hired to solve the identity of a woman who froze to death with a smile on her face. He is pulled into the case much longer than necessary due to the connection of other mysterious deaths and missing people and fox gods being hinted as the culprits. Meanwhile Snow, who is a fox disguised as a woman is searching for the man who is responsible for her child's death. She ends up as a companion to an elderly woman who also has a fascination with foxes. Told in the halting soft cadence of a Chinese fairy tale it is mesmerizing in audiobook format. An ancient tale that you almost wish was true full of animal spirits, longing and revenge. 4 stars
Mari is a ghostwriter looking for her big break. When she auditions for the huge tell all memoir of a member of The Midnight Ramblers, one of the greatest rock bands, Mari feels like this could be it. Anke is hard to get to know, time is of the essence and she feels like something is being held back but she keeps pushing to get to the heart of the story. Something happens that pushes Mari from writing Anke's memoir and is instead pulled to Anke's ex husband also a member of The Midnight Ramblers. As Mari spends more time with the band she feels protective of them and their story while also trying to sort through a family situation at the same time. Burning the candle at both ends will either end her and her career or make her a legend. An in depth look at what could be any of the legendary bands of the seventies along with the in- fighting, jealousy, or complete loyalty plus the corrosive cost of fame. All the sex, drugs and rock & roll by an author who is well equipped as a ghostwriter and music critic herself. Readers of DAISY JONES & THE SIX and all those celebrity music memoirs will sing its praises - hits all the high notes for me. 4 stars
The horrors of war and the yearning for human connection drive two unlikely men together - one Canadian and one German trapped in a foxhole depending on only each other to survive. Meanwhile, back at home Laura receives word that her brother Freddie is missing and presumed dead she goes back to the front to find him. She is a skilled war nurse and has already been wounded but nothing prepares her for the current horror at the front line. She meets a strange violin playing hotelier Faland whose gift of helping others see what they want to see comes at a high price. Laura will do anything to find and help her brother and free others caught up in Faland's allure. Battlefield shock and the extreme violence of a brutal war makes it hard to see the good guys from the bad guys and gives way to ghosts, nightmares and perhaps selling your soul to the devil to find peace. A vivid portrayal of WWI staged beautifully in a hellish setting that reads like a cautionary fairy tale. 4 stars Rosie is hanging on by a slim financial thread her senior year at Yale. She will do anything to be the "have not" in her house of "have it all" friends and stay on the equestrian team and in the shadow of Cress and her financial king father. Annalise is added to the house capturing Rosie's attention and unseating Queen Bee Cress which leads to drama and disaster. Soon Rosie will see through the veneer and understand the reality of the world she so desperately wants to be a part of. Mean girls, class differences, privilege all play a part in this coming of age thriller. Prepare yourself for the mind games and twists that come together seamlessly. Readers of WHEN WE WERE BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL and the author's previous books will enjoy this one.
4 1/2 stars A riveting portrayal of a country at war both at home and far from home in Vietnam. It was a time of unrest and sadly those men and women who served their country (right or wrong) came home not to salutes and hugs but protest, insults and avoidance. Frankie (Frances) and her brother Finlay lead a charmed life surfing and hanging out at their California country club but that all changes when they both enlist to serve in Vietnam. While Finlay is branded a hero Frankie's decision to become an Army nurse is not and her parents are ashamed of her. Nothing prepares her for her time in Vietnam and she grows up overnight. In between the endless bombing, long nights of too many wounded and fatigue Frankie makes some lifelong friends and falls in love a couple of times. When she finally returns home she is met with denial that she even served unlike her male counterparts. Kristin Hannah gives us an honest and well researched story of love, friendship and coming of age in combat as well as dealing with the emotional toll of coming home. The nurses bond for life and help each other get through loss, PTSD and find happiness where they can. THE WOMEN brings us to the heart of the real experience of war and beyond where coming home was almost as bad as being there in an emotional story that only Kristin Hannah can tell. For those of us who only had TV shows like MASH and CHINA BEACH to understand the war in Asia this packs a punch. 4 1/2 stars
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