What Happens in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand- Battle of the Book

As one could guess by the title of this post, I'm bringing back the Battle of the Book!!
I just found out from Jessica what her stance on the book was and I think that warrants the different opinions on the same title.  

Why not at least make it fun to blog, you know?

What Happens in Paradise is the second book in the Paradise series by Elin Hilderbrand.  The first book in the series is Winter in Paradise.  This series is marked as being a trilogy but it seems that the second book has the flexibility of almost being a standalone novel.  You're able to read this book if you haven't read the first one- you'll be able to understand what's presented and you won't feel like you're missing anything. 

The first book in the series is Winter in Paradise.  This series is marked as being a trilogy but it seems that the second book has the flexibility of almost being a standalone novel.  You're able to read this book if you haven't read the first one- you'll be able to understand what's presented and you won't feel like you're missing anything. 

Starting back in Iowa, the reader catches up with Cash and Irene.  Cash wakes up in his mother's house, jobless and Irene is starting to make notification about Russ's death.  

While Baker is in Texas coming to terms with Anna's request to file for divorce. 

In a strange twist of fate, these three Steele’s find themselves back down in St. John’s as a way to heal. 

Cash picks up a job with Ayers on the boat giving tours and Irene helps out Huck by going to work on his fishing boat. Baker’s reason to be down there seems a little far fetched for me but if it works, it works. 

While there was some soul searching being done at Little Cinnamon, there was some searching that Ayers was doing on her own. 

Ayers was given the opportunity to help with Rosie’s belongings. In doing so, Ayers stumbles upon diaries that had been kept by Rosie, from the time that she 18 until when she died. Rosie didn’t write down everything that happened everyday but she wrote down some major and pivotal events. 

What Ayers learns turns everything upside down. 

There are more twists and turn in this book than in the first one but I liked this one more.  I say that because I liked reading Rosie's journal entries.  I liked the complexities of Russ's life and finding things out. 

There's one character that I didn't care for in the first book and I didn't care for that character now is Baker.  I found him to be whiny and pretentious and I don't like how he's uprooting him and his young son to be close to a girl who doesn't seem to be super interested in him? (Though I'm happy that Cash seemed to have found someone).

That's my only complaint!

I would definitely recommend this book and for that.... 5 coffee beans out of 5! :) 

- Jillian

Floating in the Neversink: A Novel-In-Stories by Andrea Simon- Reshleved Books

Hi all!

We were asked to be part of the book tour for Andrea Simon's new book Floating the Neversink.  As part of this review, we will be giving away a copy of Floating in the Neversink!  Check out our IG post for more information on that. 

Floating in the Neversink tells the story of Amanda "Mandy" Gerber over the course of 6 years.  The reader is introduced to Amanda at the tender age of 9.  She's leaving Brooklyn with her family, to spend the summer away at her grandmother's summer house in upstate New York. 

Pay no mind to this book being a thinner. It's able to pack a huge punch and boy, it does! This book is told in an interesting way; each chapter is it's own story.  I found this to be a fun take on the telling of a story.  

 The book also flips between Mandy's time spent in Brooklyn and her time spent in the Catskills.

The way that Simon writes allows for you as the reader to feel Mandy's emotions. Which, is something I find not all authors can do.  The book tells the pivotal stories of Mandy's life and which each story, you can get a sense of what she's feeling. 
Not only was Simon able to make you feel such strong emotions, but she was also able to paint intense imagery.  Reading each story made you feel like you were there, next to Mandy as everything unfolded. 

Simon doesn't shy away from much when she's telling Mandy's story either.  As the reader, you get to see the struggles that Mandy faces with her friendships and at home.  (Mandy's character went through some uncomfortable scenarios going up)

I really enjoyed Floating in the Neversink.  If you're looking for a good book to cozy up with, I would definitely recommend this one. 

I give this book 4 coffee beans out of 5.  

~ Jillian

One Day in December by Josie Silver- Reshelved Books

Back before I requested an INSANE amount of galleys from Netgalley and making myself so incredibly sick of reading and stripping away all of the enjoyment I found in reading- because I was BURIED under book after book after book; I found this book as an arc.  I thought of how cute it sounded and how I would very much like to review it.

Fast forward to the end of 2018.  That was months ago.  The book made Reese Witherspoon's Book Club.  I purchased One Day in December by Josie Silver to read it. 

Here we are in the beginnings of 2019 and I'm giving you the review!

Yes, my picture has tiny ornaments. Yes, the title says "December".  In my defense, the book does span 10 years and in that time, Laurie is always opening that new year with a list of her New Year's Resolutions.  Fact.

As noted by the red double Decker bus on the cover of this bus, we are yet again jumping across the pond! (If you can't tell, I would loooove to visit England.  Especially at Christmas time.  I think that it would be truly spectacular and beautiful)


I really really liked this book! It was a pleasure to read.  I didn't fit it to be dull or lukewarm (unlike my review from New Year's Day)

Laurie is riding the bus home from work, miserable.  When she finds that she has caught her eye on a mysterious man.  It was an instant connection! But like any good love story, the bus pulls away and Laurie spends the next year looking for this fellow. 

Again, like any other good love story, Sarah who is Laurie's best friend happens to be dating the guy from the bus- who has a name now.  He is Jack!

Obviously Laurie can't tell Sarah that Jack is the guy from the bus - that wouldn't be cool. Especially because of how happy Sarah and Jack make each other. 

There are a few moments that Jack and Laurie share; there are some major life events that Laurie goes through.  Jack even has a life altering experience himself but they're there for each other as friends. 

Over the course of the book, the reader does get to see how the dynamics of these relationships change.  I found that the book was realistic and relatable. (It was a love story that wasn't far fetched)

Silver wrote a story that left you rooting for Laurie and Jack, whatever their paths may have been.

My rating?  This book is an easy 4 coffee beans out of 5!

~ Jillian

A Million Little Things by Susan Mallery - Reshelved Books

Hello Dewey Readers!

It's snowing here is Jersey and not just a little dusting this time either.  It is snowing HARD.  So what better way is there to spend a day snowed in, than with a book review that takes place near, but not exactly on, the beach?  That's right there is no better way!  It just isn't possible.  

So I picked up a copy of Susan Mallery's A Million Little Things a couple weeks ago at used book store called Footnotes, that specializes in romance novels.  It looked adorable, and as you all know, I absolutely adore the shore.  Perhaps maybe even more than books.... okay maybe not.   I guess what I'm trying to say is that I judged this book based off of the cover, bought it, and brought it home.   

Jillian hasn't read this novel.  In fact, I don't think I even talked to her about it yet, but I think that the two main characters in it our our soul sisters.  The two of us are defiantly equally both of the two characters.  We're semi-insane and definitely quirky.  (Jillian, you can have it after I give it to my Grandma.  Promise.) 

So in this novel, we meet Zoe.  Zoe recently broke up with her boyfriend after she purchased a house thinking that he and his children would move in with her, they'd marry, and have a happily ever after life.  Zoe even quit her job as a teacher, taking a different job that allowed her to work from home so that she could stay home and  theoretically raise her boyfriend's children.  But then, they break up!  And big surprise, the little fantasy that she planned her life around just didn't happen.  The back of the novel says that Zoe "is more than just single - she's alone."  But she's not really alone.  I mean, she does have her cat.  And when Zoe gets stuck inside her windowless attic early on in the novel (the door with the drop down steps got stuck) her cat was stuck with her.....

Now, the other main character we meet in this novel is Zoe's best friend Jen.  Jen has high anxiety.  Her husband is a cop who recently took a promotion as a detective, and her son (I think he's 22 months old?) will not speak.  Jen is constantly worried that something bad will happen to her husband, and is equally, if not more so, worried that there's something wrong with her son.  Everyone tells Jen that there's nothing wrong with her son, but she's so anxious and hypocondriatic that it just makes her even more anxious that no one seems to take her seriously.  Jen needs to come to the crystal shop with us and buy some lavender oil.     

Unlike a lot of romance novels, which can be sappy, cliche, and really sort of dull, Mallery draws the readers into her characters and their actual lives.  Lives that don't primarily revolve around finding and keeping a man, but I guess as one always secretly hopes, does play a role.  So Dewey Readers, I leave you with a rating of 4.5 out of 5 Coffee Beans!

Happy Reading! 

~Jessica  

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah - Reshelved Books

Hello Dewey Readers! 

Happy February reading!  I have been in such a reading slump lately, but I promised you that I would get back to it, and I also promised that my next review would be something different from Colleen Hoover.  This is difficult because between this review and the last one, I read Hoover's Maybe Someday and bought November 9.   In the to-read pile the later will go....and so I will stop boring you and proceed to today's review.

I have loved Kristin Hannah's novels ever since I picked up Firefly Lane when I was 19 years old.  Hannah's latest novel, The Great Alone, sort of follows the trend of writing something different from what she previously wrote, which was a turn Hannah took when she published her historical novel The Nightingale last year.  In The Great Alone, we still dive into a novel that is primarily domestic fiction, but instead of focusing on Washington State, this time Hannah takes her readers deep into the Alaskan wilderness.  My co-wokers raved about this novel.  They absoutlely ADORED it, and now they all want to visit Alaska.  While I did enjoy reading it and was thankful that it pulled me out of my reading slump, I didn't relish in it to the point where I too am jumping on the next plane out into the Alaskan wilderness.   

So about the book.  In this novel we travel back in time to 1974 (similar to how Firefly Lane began in the '70s.  VW buses, anyone?)  and we meet the Allbright's, a family of 3, who's patriarch is a Vietnam veteran.  The war has changed Ernt.  He suffers from PTSD, constantly wants to move the family around, and is abusive towards his wife.  In the hopes of healing Ernt and starting fresh, the family moves to the Alaskan wilderness.  It is a place where the winters are brutal and where one mistake can kill you.  This novel is about mistakes. It is about tragedy.  It is about love. And most importantly, it is about survival.  This novel is messy, where the characters lives and emotions are literally a mess no matter which way they turn, and just as mistakes can be deadly, so can luck.  The one issue I had with the novel was the ending.  Without giving it away, I felt like it was almost "too neat" compared to the rest of the book, which is why I will not be giving it 5 coffee beans.  So go ahead, give this one a read, and tell us what you think!       

& until the next read,  I leave you with a rating of 4 out of 5 Coffee Beans.  
Happy Reading! 

~ Jessica 

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover - Reshelved Books

OH MY GOODNESS Dewey Readers!

I just finished Colleen Hoover's novel It Ends With Us, and I am SO in love.  I literally devoured this book in under 24 hours.  It was THAT good.   

This is my first novel by Hoover, and I picked it up while at work, thinking that I would try to do a new adult / ya crossover display for the library.  I'm trying to target the 20-30 crowd.  But it got me thinking, have I read any authors that are primarily known for NA fiction?  Not really.  I mostly read YA and women's fiction, with a few random ones in between.  Hoover's novel literally jumped off the shelf at me. Literally. So needless to say, I checked it out and took it home.    

I am so glad I did.

So, let's talk about the novel.  Lily is 23 years old.  After her father passes away, Lilly is asked to say the eulogy at his funeral.  The problem is that she doesn't have anything good to say about him. So she stands there and says nothing.  NOTHING. You see, Lily's father abused her mother throughout her entire childhood.  He only stopped beating and raping her mother when he became too sick to do so.  Her mother stayed with him the entire time.    

When Lily was 15 years old, she fell in love with a boy who was living in the abandoned house which joined backyards with Lily's home.  Like Lily, Atlas too came from an abusive household.  Except his step-father abused HIM.

Fast forward, and Lily is now living in Boston.  She's on a rooftop patio reflecting about her father's death and her wordless eulogy when a man appears.  Heavily upset, he begins to kick a chair in anger only to turn around and realize that Lily was there watching.  This man is so very handsome and he is a neurosurgeon.  Can you believe it?  A neurosurgeon!  It is many months until they meet again.  

As I'm writing this, I realize that my small summary really sucks and does NOT give this novel justice.  So I'm just going to stop.  

What absolutely amazes me about this novel, is that Hoover is able to tell a love story but she does so by showing both the good aspects of love (that keep us going back for more) and the dirty and terrible aspects of love (that hide underneath the good.)  Hoover mentions in the novel that we all have a limit of what we can take and when "incidents" happen with someone you love, that limit gets pushed back bit by bit.  This highlights the importance of paying attention to little red flags early on and staying true to your limit.  This is also something that I'm slowly learning to put into practice.  Be bold.  Be true.  It's easier said than done.  

What also amazes me is that Hoover is able to craft a character who Lily is able to both love, hate and fear at the same time, but she crafts him in such a way that the reader also is able to fall in love with him, fear him, and struggle with these feelings similar to how Lilly does.  No matter Lilly's decision, I couldn't blame her because I wasn't sure what I would have done in her situation or what I wanted her to do.  Yes, we know what we should do as a detached persona, but not what we would do or what we necessarily want to do. I realize I'm rambling, but this book just has me so excited.  I think I found my new favorite author. 

I feel a book hangover coming on.

I give this book 10 out of 5 Coffee Beans, because I can.  

~Jessica 

   

The Good Neighbor by Amy Sue Nathan - Reshelved Books

Hello Deweys!

Yes, that is our P.O. Box key!

Today I finished a book that I had found on the bargain table at Barnes and Noble.  I brought this novel home with me, not because I needed to buy another book.  Really, I should NOT be buying books.  I brought it home because the main character's situation reminded me of us, and such brings me to my review of The Good Neighbor by Amy Sue Nathan.  

This is a classic women's fiction / chick lit novel.  We meet Izzy Lane who is a divorced single mother of a little boy who's ex-husband, while he's there for is son in theory, is flighty and can't be trusted.  When Izzy's ex husband tells her that he doesn't have the money to help pay for their son's daycare and that he is leaving the state with his new girlfriend to "look for work," she is faced with quite a dilemma.  To make a little extra money, Izzy begins blogging for Philly Over 40, specifically about dating over 40.  The only problem is that Izzy hasn't gone on a date since her divorce.  Izzy's nights out consist of visiting her elderly neighbor who has become a dear friend and confident.  But that's not going to help her meet any men, and quite frankly Izzy doesn't seem like she wants to go out and meet any men.  Sure, the idea of dating is interesting in theory, but why be bothered? Men are just too messy and there are SO MANY weirdos out there....So, Izzy begins to invent herself an imaginary boyfriend named Mac with whom she writes about for her blog purposes.  

But you see, the small blog begins to become more and more successful.  & Izzy can't tell anyone that Mac is made up, because if her secret is out, the blog will tank.  Even her best friends think that Mac is real.  Throw in a deeper secret that Izzy's elderly neighbor has been hiding for years, and you get one messy (yet light) novel about truth, love, family, and blogging.  

So dear Dewey Readers, if you like blogs (which if you are reading this we're assuming you do!) go pick up this book and give it a read!  And dear readers, I leave you with a rating of 3.75 out of 5 Coffee Beans.  

Until the next read!
~Jessica

The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain - Reshelved Books

Hello Dewey Readers!

I just finished an absolutely amazing book.  It was just the book I needed to distract myself from my life. I could NOT put it down.  What was this magical book, you ask?  Diane Chamberlain's The Stolen Marriage.  


I love Diane Chamberlain.  She blends suspense with women's fiction (and this time historical fiction) in a way that just makes you keep wanting more. 

In this novel we meet Tess, a young woman who is studying to become a nurse and who is engaged to a newly minted young doctor named Vincent.  Tess and Vincent grew up together in Baltimore's section of Little Italy, both as devout Catholics and both with families who love the couple and each other dearly.  It is also1943, the middle of WWII, and  the beginning of a large polio epidemic, which at this point is hitting it's hardest in Chicago.  Vincent, being the good man and enthusiastic new doctor he is, goes to Chicago to volunteer his time.  What he claims to be a few weeks turns into a few months and Tess is well... she's upset and lonely.  So, rather than sit home and sulk, Gina and Tess take a girl's weekend trip to Washington D.C.  Only Tess makes one large and horrifying mistake that changes EVERYTHING.  

Now, while I absolutely adored this book I did have one complaint.  I wanted more.  I felt that the ending was too abrupt, and prior to the epilogue, I was hoping that this novel would continue into a sequel.  WHY DID IT HAVE TO END SO QUICKLY!?!? 

So Dewey Readers, I give you a rating of 4.5 out of 5 Coffee Beans.  (But, I gave it 5 on GoodReads.)  

Until the next read!
~Jessica  

Beach House for Rent by Mary Alice Monroe - Reshelved Books

I love Mary Alice Monroe's Beach House series.  I discovered these books years ago when my Grandma's friend lent us Swimming Lesson's (Book #2).  After devouring Swimming Lessons and reading it twice, I jumped right into The Beach House (Book #1), and Beach House Memories (Book #3).  And no, they do not have to be read in order... So it's an understatement to say that I was both thrilled and excited to learn that a 4th book in the series entitled Beach House for Rent was due to be released this summer!  

You can check out brief summaries of these novels, as well as other novels by Monroe here.

I wanted to take a #bookstagram with all 4 novels,
but the other 3 are packed away in the basement... So here is my pool.

So a brief background to this series:

These books tell the story of a beach house on the North Carolina coast owned by Olivia "Lovie" Rutledge.  Lovie was known as the "turtle lady" of the shore, active in conservation, and protector of the sea turtle nests.  When Lovie's daughter Cara loses her job up North, she returns home, mending broken ties with her family and discovering both new and old relationships all linked to a love for turtles and ultimately for the beach house.  One of these relationships is in found in Toy, a young pregnant girl fleeing an abusive relationship and family situation whom Lovie takes in, and another is in her romance with Brett, a local man whom Cara falls in love with and begins to replant her Carolina roots with.  As Cara begins to learn more about her mother's past and the woman that she is, she also learns that her mother is dying from cancer. Eventually after Lovie's passing, the beach house is left to Cara, which sets the readers up for the latest installment.

Now on to the latest novel:

Beach House for Rent opens with Cara and Brett working on the beach house and getting it ready to rent for the summer.  Hence the title. The woman renting the beach house, Heather, is a young and pretty 26 who suffers from terrible social anxiety issues that became worse after her mother passed away in a car accident. There is also hinting at financial difficulties that place a strain on Cara and Brett's relationship, which becomes clearly known to reader when it is learned that they cannot make the loan payments on a tour boat they recently purchased.  The couple is now faced with a dilemma.  Should they sell Cara's beach house, or sell their home which is legally Brett's house (his name is still the only one on the deed.)  Like with Nancy Thayer's novel, this part of the book struck me.  Not because it's the life I live now, but the beach house vs. regular home is a fantasy I have contemplated in my head. Can I have a beach house now, please!? After a fight, Brett goes out for a run, where he dies suddenly of a heart attack.  This was an unexpected twist to the story that came out of nowhere to the reader, and ultimately leaves Cara utterly devastated.  Cara returns to the beach house, where along with Heather they learn to heal themselves and grow despite their grief and their guilt.    

Why I like it...
One thing that I adore about this series is how Monroe focuses on endangered wildlife.  In Swimming Lessons, Monroe did this by offering readers short facts about sea turtles.  In Beach House for Rent, Monroe does this by bringing attention to endangered shore birds.  Monroe accomplishes this both by short facts about various shore birds, and also through Heather, who is studying the birds so she can accurately paint them for postage stamps.

Why I don't...
However unlike the other novels, which I felt could be read as stand alones or even out of order, I felt that Beach House for Rent relies too much on the backstories of the other novels.  If a reader had picked up this book instead of one of the other 3 it wouldn't have the same effect.  I also was disappointed that Monroe didn't bring Toy into the story.  She mentioned her character in passing, but she was such a large and important character in Swimming Lessons and The Beach House.  I missed her.

So my dear For the Love of Dewey Readers, I leave you with a rating of 3.5 out of 4 Coffee Beans.  I love this series, but I love Swimming Lessons and The Beach House more.  This novel alone does not do the series proper justice. 

~Jessica 

P.S.  This series was one of the group of books that Grandma & I have successfully gotten my non-bookish mother to read and enjoy.   

Love Anthony & Just Like Other Daughters - Reshelved Books

Hello everyone!  Today I am offering you all a 2 for the price of 1 book review.  These two books tackle the subject of disablities in the forms of Autism and Downs Syndrome, focusing on their effects on family relationships.  

Love Anthony by Lisa Genova tells the stories of two women, Olivia, who's son Anthony was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 3 and passes away shortly after from causes the reader is not sure of until the very end, and Beth, a woman with three daughters who is struggling with the infidelity of her husband.   I had read an AR copy of this book so I'm not sure how the finalized published draft has or had changed.  However, the back summary on my copy of the book only mentions the storyline with Olivia, which I found to be interesting because the novel opens with Beth and the discovery that her husband had cheated.  What ties the two story lines together is Beth's writing of a novel inspired by Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, and who's main character is a boy with Autism.   While I enjoyed this book, I struggled to finish it.  This could easily be because I have been working long nights on cleaning and fixing up my new home.  I. Am. Exhausted. But honestly, the book just didn't wow me.  I found myself skimming through the sections of Beth's novel, and when I was more than halfway through, didn't really feel like I learned anything more about the characters than I had already found out in the beginning.  Up until tonight I was going to give this book a rating of 2.5 out of 5 Coffee beans, but once I got to page 250 the book did pick up.  I really did enjoy the ending.   So For the Love of Dewey Readers, for this book I am going to give 3 out of 5 Coffee Beans.  That being said, my Grandma also read this book and gave it 5.   

Just Like Other Daughters by Colleen Faulkner... why did it take me so long to start this book?  I used to read 2 books a week.  What is wrong with me?  And this was a library copy for Pete's sake!...  This is the second book I have read and reviewed by Faulkner.  I absolutely LOVED Julia's Daughters, so was excited to give another book by Faulkner a try.  I was not disappointed.  Just Like Other Daughters is similar to Love Anthony, where character Alicia struggles with her daughter Chole's Down Syndrome.  It shows the struggle that Chole's diagnosis has placed on her family, contributing to Alicia's divorce from Chole's father, as well as a difficulty in her dating life.  Unlike Love Anthony, which gives the reader an inside perspective on the thought process of a boy with autism through Beth's fictional tale, Just Like Other Daughters allows the reader to hear the same story both from Alicia's voice and from Chole's.  One thing that really made this novel stand apart was how it explores the ideas of love and of romantic relationships between mentally disabled adults.  While reading this book, I had taken a break to skim through GoodReads reviews.  I wanted to see if other readers were loving this book as much as I was.  One review made me pause, it read, "This book angered me."  I know I shouldn't have, but I read the comments to that review and it sort of spoiled the ending.  While I didn't necessarily love the ending, it did not anger me.  This book really made me think about love, about relationships, and about life. Therefore, I am going to give a rating of 4.5 out of 5 Coffee Beans.     

Happy Reading!

~Jessica 

The Little French Bistro by Nina George - Reshelved Books

Guess what!? I won a book in a GoodReads giveaway! *yippeeeee!* 

When The Little French Bistro by Nina George arrived in the mail I was super excited.  It looked like a cute Parisian read that I could not wait to get my hands on.  I had George's other novel, The Little Paris Bookshop, on my to-read list for a while after seeing it advertised at NYC BookCon two years back.  It's safe to say that she has been on my dewey-radar for a while... 

Isn't this cover adorable!?

After the reading slump that I have been in, I was hoping that this novel would grip me and hold my attention.  I want to be cleaning the bathrooms of my new house and wish I was reading.  NOT reading and wishing I was still cleaning the bathrooms. In the beginning it gripped me and I loved it! But towards the end? Not so much.

The Little French Bistro opens with the story of woman who lives in Germany and is questioning her life and all of the choices that she has made throughout it.  She is married to a man who does not truly love, value, or treat her well.  She is lonely, she is regretful, and she is depressed enough to attempt suicide by jumping into a river.  The river that she jumps in (I'm pretty sure) separates Germany from France.  Miraculously, the woman is saved by a Parisian man.  My knowledge of geography sucks, so I had to look at a map to confirm that France and Germany do in fact border each other.  I should feel shamed. Anyway, back to the book...

At first I liked the way that this novel was written, in a style that brought to mind the feeling that I had while reading  Guy de Maupassant's short story The Necklace and thus also Solane Crosley's novel The Clasp.  Two pieces of writing that I adore.  However, this feeling slowly began to leave and left me flat.  At times I wasn't even sure what was going on in the novel.  Am I losing my reading touch?  Am I just over tired?  I turned to GoodRead's reviews of the novel to hopefully calm my reading worries.  It can't just be me, right?  Other people had to not love this book too?  Most readers rated this book with 4 out of 5 stars, but there were a fair amount of other readers who simply did not love it.  Maybe I expected something lighter, or maybe I just didn't know what to expect.  


So For the Love of Dewey readers, I leave you with a rating of 2 out of 5 Coffee Beans.  If you have read this book or Nina George's other novel, please comment below with what you thought! 

~Jessica  

The Mermaid Collector by Erika Marks - Reshelved Books

Hello dear For the Love of Dewey Readers!

After finishing  Julia's Daughters by Colleen Faulkner I thought I was going to have a terrible book hangover and have trouble getting into a new book.  It was snowing outside, so I wanted something beachy to take my mind off of the snow -- but not summery.   I had just packed up a bunch of books in preparation for my big move coming up this spring (including most of my to-read pile) and found this one that I have been meaning to read for probably 3 years now.  I'm terrible, I know.

These are all books...except for that red box...

At first I thought that Erika Marks' The Mermaid Collector was going to be too much fantasy based.  I guess I wasn't sure what exactly to expect and I was a little bit apprehensive.  But nonetheless, I started reading it and had trouble putting it down.  

The lighthouse on the cover looks just like the Portland Lighthouse
 I was lucky enough to visit this past fall.

This novel is as much of a love story as it is a historical fiction and ghost story about the origin of local myth and legend.  It follows the present day stories of Tess Patterson and Tom Grace, two people who have given up on love, lost parents to tragic deaths, and are struggling to heal themselves and learn to trust others.  Tess Patterson has grown up in Maine, living near the water with both her mother and step-father, until her mother commits suicide by drowning in the cove.  Tom Grace, comes to costal Maine when he inherits the light keeper's house after his family falls victim to a tragic hit-and-run accident.  An accident that takes the life of his parents.  What makes this book stand out from other novels that deal with love, tragedy, heartbreak, and family issues is seen from the historical flashbacks that tie the custom of the annual Mermaid Festival of the present to the novel's mermaid lore of the past.     

This novel offers reader's glimpses of  the couple that perviously lived in the Light Keeper's house back in the 1800's by telling the mermaid legend in segments that leave the reader wanting more.  Showing how  love, loss, tragedy and the past can have haunting and lasting impressions on the future.  Do ghosts exist in the physical sense?  Or a ghosts the rippling effects the past has on the present? 

So my dear For the Love of Dewey readers, I give you ANOTHER rating of 5 out of 5 coffee beans! 

I could not put this book down, and I was so sad when it was over.  I have such a terrible book hangover that now I don't even know what I want to read!

Does anyone have any suggestions? 

~Jessica     

Julia's Daughters by Colleen Faulkner - Reshelved Books

Guys, I think I found a new favorite author!

I stumbled across Julia's Daughters by Colleen Faulkner in the dollar store where I was looking for a bucket.  As someone who is in the process of moving and renovating a home, did I need a new book? No.  Should I be buying a new book? No.  Do I have the money for a new book?  Not really... I need housewares.  But I was drawn to this book not only because the cover is gorgeous and #bookstagram worthy, but because it sounded SO good and authors like Susan Wiggs, Holly Chamberlin, and Cathy Lamb have raved about Faulkner's other work. So I came home with both a bucket and a new book.  

Isn't this book just beautiful? 

  

Imagine you had a daughter who died as a passenger in a tragic car accident because the person driving ran a stop sign...But what if the person driving was your other daughter? 

Julia's Daughters explores the story of a family who lost a daughter to this type of tragedy, following the grief, guilt, and healing that parallels a journey of a mother and daughter road trip from Las Vegas to Maine.  The premise for this book sort of reminded me of Night Road by Kristin Hannah. (It's an awesome and gut wrenching read. You should definitely check it out!) Anyway, Julia's Daughters switches between the voices of the mother, Julia, and her two remaining daughters, Haley and Izzy, to show not only how grief effects them individually but also how they come to heal together. Lately I have been reading a lot of young adult fiction and have been in a reading slump regarding adult fiction.  Reading a novel like this, with both adult and young adult character perspectives, was a surprising and nice transition between genres.

This novel was such a quick read.  I started it on a Sunday evening and finished it on a Tuesday.  When I wasn't reading it I was WISHING I was reading it.  Aren't those the best kind of books?

And so I leave you my dear For the Love of Dewey readers, with a rating of 5 out of 5 Coffee Beans.

And the best part?  Faulkner's other novels look just as good.  

~Jessica       

Last One Home by Debbie Macomber: Reshelved Books

Happy Sunday reading everyone!  I'm terribly busy with school and work, and slightly overwhelmed.   Nonetheless I give you our For the Love of Dewey book review of Debbie Macomber's latest book Last One Home and a rating of 4 out of 5 coffee beans!

Let me start by saying I absolutely devoured this book, and read it under two days!  (Way before I actually got a chance to post this.) You know how sometimes you need  a book that just makes you feel good?  One that balances out your current life with one that is fictional and leaves you feeling hopeful and happy, but not in an overly sappy way?  Well, this book did just that for me. 

In my Currently Reading post I gave you a bit of a synopsis of the first 50-something pages of this novel.  I also mentioned that while the main character Cassie appeared to have a lot of good things going for her, I feared that by becoming involved in too many good things, she would begin to wear herself thin, in turn causing all of these good things to become a bad thing.  Well, this kind of happened.  Cassie had lost the extra part-time job that she took on and had some emotional set backs regarding new relationships.  However, she did learn the importance of taking a step back, keeping her mind clear, and moving forward, which is perhaps one of the greatest lessons this novel has to teach us.

In this novel, Macomber reminds readers that no matter how bad life gets, or how down you feel, everything works in a cyclical motion.  Just because you're down now, does not mean that you can't get back up again.  But this works both ways.  Cassie's sisters appeared to have perfect lives with perfect husbands.  However, this idea of perfection did not last for long and eventually they too hit low points.  Through this, Macomber reminds the reader that nothing lasts forever, both the good and the bad.  While this can be scary -- that fear of being happy only to have the other shoe drop -- it is also reassuring to remember that life, just like fortune, is fluid. 

~Jessica

Currently Reading: Last One Home by Debbie Macomber

Hello all!  

     I recently started reading Last One Home by Debbie Macomber.  This book is supposed to be about "new beginnings" and "fresh starts."  And boy oh boy, after the rough last week that I've had, I can sure use a fresh start.

     Right now, I am on page 56 of this book and I am loving it.  Last One Home opens with a scene of three young sisters playing outside on a perfect summer evening.  They're carefree and their outlook on life is the ideal image of childhood innocence.  We're talking warm summer breezes, fireflies, porch lights, games of tag as dusk approaches....Actually, a scene very similar to the cover of this novel (minus the children, of course). 
      Fast forward and the reader meets one of the sisters, Cassie, who is now estranged from the other two.  At one point Cassie ran away from home in the name of "love,"where she got married and had a baby, only to be tragically abused and beaten by her husband.  One day, Cassie gets the strength to say that enough is enough and escapes her abuser with her daughter, files for divorce, and makes a fresh start all on her own.  Things seem to be working in Cassie's favor, as she qualifies for a home through Habitat For Humanity, she is a hairdresser at a salon and has her own set of loyal customers, is picking up an extra side-job, and volunteers by helping other women who are victims of domestic violence.  However, I wonder if by doing too many good things Cassie will end up spreading herself thin and regressing in her good fortune... I guess I'll go back to reading now so I can find out!

Comment below with what you're currently reading!  & don't forget to check out our Instagram for more reading suggestions and #bookish things! 

~Jessica  

Between Friends by Debbie Macomber: Reshelved Books

**Attention For the Love of Dewey Readers! 5 out of 5 coffee beans for this book!!!***

Between Friends is unlike any of the other Debbie Macomber books I have read, which at times can be a little sappy, homey, and Hallmark Movie-esc.  On the other hand, this novel is deep, powerful, and tear jerking in a way that touches your soul, makes you think about life, your values, the world, and the role you play in it.  The closest book that I have read which I can compare this novel to is Kristin Hannah's Firefly Lane.  (Which is one of my favorite books.)

      To give you a bit of a summary, this novel is written in the form of both letters and journal entries between two best friends, Jillian Lawton and Lesley Adamski.  I thought that a novel written in this format would make me feel disconnected to the characters, but I have never felt like I was present in a novel quite as intensely as this. The novel begins in 1948 with the birth of Lesley, and follows the girls up into 2010, showing them first as young girls and how they mature and grow.  Jillian is strong willed and independent, and is perhaps the character that I most identify with.  She very pro-women's rights, pro-choice, yearns to advance in her career, and follows her own heart and dreams - even if these dreams disagree with others.  (This next sentence may be considered a spoiler.) Jillian falls in love at a young age with a man named Nick, who tragically dies in Vietnam and leaves her heartbroken for many years.  This untimely loss of what she believes to be her soulmate, effects her deeply.  Part of Jillian's story is learning how to become whole again, to live her life, and not let life slide by wasted.
     Lesley may be considered to be the weaker of the two girls, and for me personally, Lesley symbolized the parts of myself and even of life that scare me.  I think that as women, we often feel pressured to be able to do it all.  From young girls, we are told that we can be anything we want to be.  We go to school to have a career, but we want a family of our own, and even sometimes feel pressured to have one.  There's a certain balance that we strive to find between independence, a successful career, and raising a family. And there's a lot of guilt that get's thrown into the mix.   Lesley grew up in a poor family with a mother who became pregnant at a very young age, only to marry the father who became an abusive alcoholic.  When Lesley becomes a teenager, she was raped by her boyfriend (newly ex-boyfiend), ends up pregnant, and marries him, thus sort of reliving her mother's mistakes.  While reading this novel I wanted Lesley to be strong.  At first I wanted her to get an abortion.  Then I wanted her to raise her child, go to school, and leave her husband.  However, she kept giving her marriage another shot, and giving her family all that she had and who she was. Lesley came close so many times to leaving her husband, but just about every time she did, she always returned.
     This novel tackles to many topics such as war and the importance of supporting men who dutifully go to war (even if you don't believe in the war yourself) so that loved ones do not pass away in vain, marriage, alcoholism, rape, Catholicism vs. Protestantism, female reproductive health, birth control & abortion, career & family, cancer, etc.  I honestly feel like I could talk about this book forever, and delve into all these topics so deeply it could take up the entire blog space.  But rather than do that I'm just going to beg you all to read it.  And when you do read it, let's talk!
~Jessica      

Between Friends by Debbie Macomber: Currently Reading

I am so in love with Macomber's Between Friends so far!  This novel is different from the other novels by her that I have read in the past, those of which I think can usually be seen as neat little happy ending stories inside cute Hallmark movie towns.  However, right from the beginning this novel appears to dive so much deeper, following the lives of two best friends, Lesley and Jillian, and their journey from young girls to grown/aging women.  This novel tackles topics such as woman's rights & birth control, the Vietnam War, love, cancer, and so much more.  This novel is also written in the form of journal entries and letters, which I found to be quite different.  I thought that this letter correspondence would make me feel disconnected from the characters, but I am actually so absorbed in their lives and thought processes, that putting it down to type this little blurb is painful!

I can't wait for this review! Happy Reading!

~Jessica 

Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner: Reshelved Books

      When I first started this book I had so many questions.  I had promised you answers, but now I wish I could take that promise back...because figuring out the answers were half the fun of reading it!  

     Who Do You Love is a coming of age novel, which encompasses the genres of both women's fiction and new adult fiction, with new adult fiction being part of the fiction genre with characters who are primarily in their 20's-30's.  This can sort of be thought of as an "older" version of the young adult genre because this book begins with the two main characters of Rachel and Andy meeting at 8 years old, and follows their growth up until their 30's, with a large amount of space devoted to their 20's. 
      So, for those who have been eagerly anticipating this review, having read our last "currently reading" post, Rachel and Andy do fall in love.  But do they marry and is he the one who broke her heart?  Yes and no.  I feel like saying more than that will spoil it for you.    
This novel reads like a mixture between a Nicholas Sparks love story and Kristin Hannah novel.  It explores love and heartbreak, both in the physical because of Rachel's genetic heart disorder, but also in the metaphorical, and for this reason, is very similar to How I Came to Sparkle Again.  However, what I think makes this novel stand out is Weiner's focus on exploring not only the difference between love and lust, but also the difference between true love / soulmates and a love out of respect and duty.  Rachel's first marriage was built on this later love.   She loved her husband, but not in the way needed for it to last.  Rachel's other love was first variety.  They were once best friends, but perhaps had met at the wrong time.  
    The ending of this novel opens with a new chapter of Rachel's life moving forward, but as I sit here reflecting on what I just read, I also wonder if Rachel is simply falling back into the comfort and her old practices.  Rachel has made a career out of social work, working with single mothers who often fall back into bad habits of drug use and domestic abuse.  Could the reopening of this chapter actually be Rachel falling back into her "bad habits," or is it genuine and real?

I am going to give this novel 4 out of 5 coffee beans! 
I'd also love for you to read this book and share with me what you think below in the comments!

~Jessica  

How I Came to Sparkle Again by Kaya McLaren: Reshelved Books

Hello Everyone! & Happy Thanksgiving! *gobble, gobble* 

      This week's book review is for How I Came to Sparkle Again by Kaya McLaren.  For those of you who had checked out our Currently Reading page, you know that I had purchased a copy of this book from the Newport Public Library's book nook when I was on vacation this past July.  Yes, I am one of those silly library assistants that visits libraries while vacationing.  I just can't get away...
    This is the first novel that I have read by McLaren, and I was surprised to learn that she has written other novels, whose covers I have seen and been drawn to, but never actually realized she was the author of. I know, I know.  You should never judge a book by it's cover, but I almost always do. In addition to having a gorgeous wintry themed front cover, the back of this novel boasts incredible reviews from some of my favorite authors, such as Kristin Hannah, Nancy Thayer, and Susan Wiggs, so I decided to give this book a shot. 

Such a pretty cover...

    This novel opens with a scene of heartbreak and betrayal, where the main character of Jill, who recently lost her baby to a miscarriage, catches her husband in bed with another woman.  McLaren describes this heartbreak as "so many things.  Panic. Heaviness. A giant hole. Constriction.  It felt like all of these things at once.  It felt like being shot, like lying on the ground while the life leaked out of her.  She could hardly breathe" (McLaren, p. 10).  Those who have been fortunately unfortunate enough to experience heartbreak know that this is exactly what it feels like.  Heartbreak leaves a physical pain in the center of your chest, where one feels both everything and nothing at all.  I say "fortunately unfortunate," because even though the pain is unbearable, the wounds do eventually scar over.  They never completely go away, as they stay there transforming us, our souls, and the way we think about love, life, and ourselves.  But these scars also give us a different perspective, a wisdom we didn't have before, and lead us down new paths which have the potential to be so much better than the ones we once mourned for.    
    This book then becomes a journey, where Jill flees the home she once shared with her husband and moves to a town called Sparkle, Colorado.  This is where Jill begins to reevaluate herself and learn to heal from the loss of the life she once had and to embrace one she now lives.  On this journey, the reader also meets a character named Lisa, a woman who didn't believe in marriage, but also didn't respect herself enough to find a love that was more than just lust.  The reader also meets the character of a ten year old girl named Cassie, who experiences a different kind of heartbreak.  The heartbreak of losing a parent.  
    While I enjoyed this book, and the attempts that McLaren made to compare heartbreak to the loss of a child, loss of a parent, and a breakup / betrayal of a husband, as well as the comparison of love of oneself and lust vs. love, I did feel that the novel fell short in some regards. The first thing that I noticed is that while the reader is introduced to the character of Lisa and her battle with love, lust, and herself, the story line isn't as strong as that of Jill or Cassie.  Because of this, Lisa, while present within the novel, becomes lost within the pages.  Another thing that I feel worth mentioning is that McLaren places a lot of secondary male characters who enjoy noncommittal sexual relations with numerous amounts of women.  While I know she does this as a way to show the difference between lust and love, this part of the book almost becomes too much, and causes the novel to lose a little bit of emotional credibility.  

Overall, for McLaren's attempt to relay a story centered around the broad topic of "heartbreak" that was both engaging and relatable, I am going to give this novel a rating of 3 out of 5 coffee beans (because we really do love our coffee.)   

~ Jessica   

Copy Referenced: McLaren, Kaya. How I Came to Sparkle Again: A Novel. New York: St. Martin's. 2012. Print.