Secrets in Summer by Nancy Thayer - Reshelved Books

Hello fellow Dewey readers! 

Today we give you a review on Nancy Thayer's latest novel, Secrets in Summer.    Let me start off by saying that I (Jessica) absolutely loved and adored this novel.  I felt like it was my life- or rather the life that I live inside my head that was being told within these pages.  Maybe that's why I loved it so much.  

Reasons Why I Felt Like This Was My Life In a Book:
1) The main character, Darcy,  is a librarian. ✔ 
       I have my MLIS. 
2) Darcy lives by the beach. ✔
      Can I? Please?
3) Darcy married young and was left both heartbroken and free. ✔
      So I've never been married, but close enough.
4) Darcy finds someone new to love, who is a much better fit. ✔
      Bingo. 
5) The man Darcy falls in love with doesn't want to move into Darcy's house.  He would rather pick out a new home /  start a new life together.   ✔
       AND. 
6) To do this they must both learn how to compromise.  ✔

Did Nancy Thayer write this for me?  Nancy, if you're reading this, you don't know how much I needed a book like this right now in my life.  Thank you.

This book is fun, it is beachy, and it is impossible to put down!  I guess maybe I'm little bit biased because I felt like I could have very easily been Darcy, but nonetheless, I just want to take this book, hold it in the air, and shout "READ THIS BOOK!" at the top of my lungs. And really, you all should.  I promise you will not be disappointed.

I love this book so much, that I am giving it 5 out of 5 Coffee Beans!  

P.S. Jillian and Grandma loved it too. 
  
~Jessica 
   

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han - Reshelved Books

Hello fellow Dewey readers!

I just finished reading Jenny Han's highly anticipated and final novel in the Lara Jean trilogy, and I was NOT disappointed!  For those of you who aren't familiar with the series, the novels follow the storyline of Lara Jean, a young teenager who lives with her father and three sisters, and who's mother had tragically passed away.  In addition to love and loss, the novels tackle cultural issues (the girls and their mother are Korean but their father is Caucasian),  as well as change, growth, and coming to age.  You can view my review of the second novel in the series, P.S. I Still Love You, here.  

In Always and Forever, Lara Jean, Lara Jean is about to graduate from high school, leaving her little sister, Kitty, as the last sister living full-time in the family home.  Amidst this change, Lara Jean's father is also getting married to the woman across the street!  For Lara Jean and Kitty this is exciting, but for their older sister Margot it is troubling.  Not because Margot is jealous or upset, but more so because she realizes how much has changed in the short time she has been away from her family while overseas at a Scottish University.  

This novel explores first love and whether or not it can last and stand up to life's changes.  It explores the idea of sacrifice in the name of something that is and can be great, and it also explores the idea that while change is scary, with acceptance it doesn't always have to be.  

So Dewey readers, I leave you with a rating of 5 out of 5 Coffee Beans for this book and the overall series. If you're looking for a cute series defiantly pick this one up!  You won't be disappointed.   

~Jessica    

BookCon 2017 Haul

Hello For the Love of Dewey Readers.

This year BookCon was back in NYC, which means that I was able to attend!  I thought that I would share with you my #BookHaul.  

For those of you not familiar with BookCon, it's an event similar to ComicCon, held at the Javits Center in New York.   It's a place where publishers, authors, and most importantly, BOOK LOVERS gather.  A big draw is free ARC's and book signings with favorite authors.  

Jillian & I had attended back in 2015 and came home with quite the #BookHaul.  We even met Elin Hildebrand, Jodi Picoult, and Susan Mallery!  We also listened to an interesting panel about writing by Sloane Crosley, the author of The Clasp.  

2015 BookCon Haul. 

This year, I attended with my boyfriend.  He likes nonfiction.  

Day 1: Saturday was okay.  There weren't too many ARCs, but there were a lot of nonfiction titles.  I was a little disappointed.  In 2015 it felt like free books were EVERYWHERE and there were SO many popular authors signing both adult and ya titles.  

Saturday BookCon Haul. 

Day 2: Sunday was much better. I found and ARC of Elin Hildebrand's new book The Identicals, which I am super excited about!  Unfortunately, we did't get too many signed this year.  Unlike 2015, this year required tickets for individual authors that had to be reserved way in advance.   And even with tickets, those lines were LONG.  Maybe if more booths and popular authors were signing / giving away items at the same time it would cut down on the long lines because attendees would have to choose between them.  You wouldn't be able to see them all, but at least you would be able to see the few you really wanted to.  

Sunday BookCon Haul. 

My Boyfriend's BookCon Haul.

Happy Reading!
~Jessica 

About That Man by Sherryl Woods- Quick Review

Hi everyone!

Long time no post for me! Life has been a little hectic with balancing baby C and going back to work. 

Two weeks ago, baby C and I were strolling the aisles of the local Stop and Shop when I stumbled upon the book section. (Coincidence? Maybe...) Causally, I couldn't helps myself and I ended up reading back covers until I found a book that sparked my interest. 

I give you all my quick little review of About That Man by Sherryl Woods. 
The story follows Daisy Spencer and (Detective) Walker Ames in the fictional town of Trinity Harbor, Virginia. Daisy and Walker have a cross encounter when Daisy fosters Walker's nephew, Tommy. 

Walker and Daisy were instantly attracted to each other when they first met. And who could blame Daisy for getting swept away by Walker? Who doesn't love a man in uniform!?

I found About That Man to be a quick read, and one that was packed with a lot of emotion.  

Do Daisy and Walker become a couple? Does Tommy end up staying in Trinity Harbor with Daisy or move to Washing D.C. with Walker? 

Read About That Man and found out!

Happy readings and see you guys real soon!
~ Jillian

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon - Reshelved Books

Hello fellow Deweys! 

Today I finished reading Nicola Yoon's The Sun is Also a Star.  I absolutely loved her novel Everything, Everything so I was excited to see a copy her latest book on my library's ya shelf.  The Sun is Also a Star is a love story that tackles the scientific perspective of love against the romantic perspective, by finding ways to blend the two together in order to find an example of a love that is real.  This novel also goes beyond the typical ya romance by broaching tough issues such as deportation and family racism.  

Natasha and her family are from Jamaica.  Natasha's father came to America to pursue a dream of acting.  A dream that has not been able to support the family of four.  When the family's visa's expire and Natasha's father is in trouble for a DUI, the family faces deportation.  Natasha, who has dreams of going to college, tries to fight her own deportation but nonetheless fails.  At one point the reader feels sympathy for Natasha.  Is it her fault that her family came to America, allowed her to grow up here, and ultimately let her down?  Should she pay for her parent's mistakes?  In the novel, Yoon mentions that Natasha knew her family was illegal and that her mother was going to buy her a Social Security Card with real stolen numbers so she could go to college.  Knowing that her mother was going to do that for her, and now can't, makes Natasha's heart break a little.  However, Yoon also mentions through the voice of Daniel, the boy Natasha falls in love with, that Natasha shouldn't be blamed because "She was a kid.  She didn't have choice.  It's not like she could have said Mom, Dad, our visa expired.  We should go back to Jamaica now" (Yoon, 2017, p. 294).  This makes the reader wonder could Natasha have said something?  Or is this newly found love blind? 

The relationship between Natasha and Daniel forms within 1 day.  In fact, the entire novel minus the last 10 or so pages encapsulates that of a single day.  For me this seemed to diminish the credibility of their love.  Personally, I believe in love at first sight because I've experienced it. Is it a love that works and lasts forever?  Well, that's up in the air.  But it definitely is and can be a love that is real.  It's the amount of activities and conversations within the novel that take place within a single day that I don't believe in. Along with the relationship of Natasha and Daniel, Yoon ties in the struggle of familial racism.  Daniel, a Korean boy, is supposed to fall in love with a nice Korean girl.  Not Natasha. Yet they do anyway.

While the format of The Sun is Also a Star mainly bounces between the perspectives of Natasha and Daniel, other perspectives are also thrown in, such as Natasha's father, a server in a Korean restaurant, a flight attendant, and explanations of science.  For me this gave the novel a unique and well rounded spin.  However, that one day story line sort of irked me. So For the Love of Dewey Readers, I leave you with a rating of 3 out of 5 Coffee Beans.    

Copy Referenced: 
Yoon, N. (2016). The sun is also a star. New York: Delacorte Press.

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