Women's Fiction Archives - Page 2 of 6

Naked in Death by J. D. Robb: Book Review

Lieutenant Eve Dallas is assigned to lead a high-profile murder investigation into the death of a Senator's granddaughter. But the granddaughter was a "licensed companion," i.e. prostitute, and she was murdered in a pretty graphic way. Working mostly alone, Dallas must find the murderer before he kills again. I had such a love/hate relationship with this book at times. Mostly, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. But then Roarke, the drop-dead gorgeous bazillionaire and number 1 suspect (with an Irish accent, no less!), would do something that was supposed to be all hot and dominating, I assume, and irritate the absolute hell out of me. As a completely made-up example, let me offer this: "No, I'm not trying to seduce you right now, Lieutenant. When I do decide to seduce you, I won't be trying, I'll be doing it. And you'll like it more than you've ever liked anything in your life." Again, that is completely my own fabrication but it is true to how I perceived Roarke. I was hoping Eve would kick him in the balls a few times, just to bring his ego down to size. Either he got better as the book progressed or I resigned myself to him, but either way it didn't bother me as much by the end. I actually liked him a lot when he gave all that crap a rest. Roarke's ego aside, I have to admit that I couldn't wait to get in my car and continue listening to this book. I don't really read romance novels, I guess because I assume it's all "heaving bosoms," etc. and my sense of humor would get in the way of all that mess. So I started this with some trepidation. I was hooked in the first half-hour. I really…

Don’t Look Down by Jennifer Crusie: Book Review

Lucy Armstrong is a director who makes dog food commercials--by choice, not lack of talent. Her ex-husband has asked her to come in and finish directing an action flick that he's coordinated the stunts for. The real director has just died with only four days of shooting left to go. She reluctantly agrees. Things get interesting when she shows up on the set and finds out that her star has hired a stunt double. But not just any stunt double. Meet Captain J. T. Wilder of the Green Berets. Wilder is smokin' hot and attracted to Lucy. Despite obvious distractions, the pair are still aware that something weird is happening on this movie set. They set out to find out what it is, and to find out more about each other. This was a quick, mindless read featuring gorgeous people. But this was an odd hybrid of chick lit and military novel that didn't exactly work for me. I don't really read military books, so why do I want my chick lit served up with military stuff? There was too much of the men focusing in on the women's chests and legs, and I never really understood what was going on, even at the end. Maybe I read through too fast, but it felt like a lot of loose ends were left. Lucy's niece, Pepper, was cute, and I liked that Lucy was a strong character. Other than that, this book was pretty forgettable. Reviewed February 26, 2009 Side note: Jennifer Crusie's book, Bet Me was one of my top ten reads of 2012. Read an excerpt. Find author Jennifer Crusie on her website, Facebook, and Twitter. Find author Bob Mayer on his website and Facebook. Buy Don't Look Down at Malaprop’s | Better World Books Friday Flashback Reviews are…

The Fountain of St. James Court by Sena Jeter Naslund: Book Review

In a dual narrative, author Sena Jeter Naslund explores the lives of a modern-day fictional author, Kathryn Callaghan--a "woman of a certain age,"--and artist Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, famous for painting portraits of Marie Antoinette. Both women are looking back over their lives, evaluating their choices and reflecting on their losses. I am not the greatest audience for this book. I hesitated before requesting a review copy. I really, really, really disliked Ms. Naslund's last book, Adam & Eve, and I disliked Portrait of the Artist of a Young Man when I read it in college. I've never done well with stream of consciousness. If I'm going to follow random thoughts down the rabbit hole, I'd rather follow my own; they're more interesting. But. I really, really, really loved Ahab's Wife, also by Ms. Naslund. It has a firm place in my personal top ten list. It was a toss-up so I decided to go for it. The modern-day story just dragged on and on and on. I mean it when I say I don't do well with stream of consciousness. I could not care less about every little thought that crosses a character's brain. That said, it felt right. I have the feeling that if I were closer in age to either of these two characters, I might have loved this book. The reflections, the difficult choices that are made about aging parents, children as children and when they're adults, marriages, it all rang true and I feel that Ms. Naslund captured it perfectly. As a 35-year-old married woman with no children and parents who are still (knocking on wood) working and in decent, if not perfect, health, I couldn't find the kind of bone-deep connection I think I would have needed to really appreciate this novel. I did…

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman: Book Review

Synopsis from GoodReads: Steel Magnolias meets The Help in Beth Hoffman’s New York Times bestselling Southern debut novel, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt Twelve-year-old CeeCee Honeycutt is in trouble. For years, she has been the caretaker of her mother, Camille, the town’s tiara-wearing, lipstick-smeared laughingstock, a woman who is trapped in her long-ago moment of glory as the 1951 Vidalia Onion Queen of Georgia. When tragedy strikes, Tootie Caldwell, CeeCee’s long-lost great-aunt, comes to the rescue and whisks her away to Savannah. There, CeeCee is catapulted into a perfumed world of prosperity and Southern eccentricity—one that appears to be run entirely by strong, wacky women. From the exotic Miz Thelma Rae Goodpepper, who bathes in her backyard bathtub and uses garden slugs as her secret weapons; to Tootie's all-knowing housekeeper, Oletta Jones; to Violene Hobbs, who entertains a local police officer in her canary-yellow peignoir, the women of Gaston Street keep CeeCee entertained and enthralled for an entire summer. A timeless coming of age novel set in the 1960s, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt explores the indomitable strengths of female friendship, and charts the journey of an unforgettable girl who loses one mother, but finds many others in the storybook city of Savannah. As Kristin Hannah, author of Fly Away, says, Beth Hoffman's sparkling debut is packed full of Southern charm, strong women, wacky humor, and good old-fashioned heart." I wish I had reviewed this closer to the time that I read it. I loved little CeeCee--brave and tough and asked to be too strong too early. I've written a whole blog post about how I loved her. I think the rest of the book suffered from my personal Southern lit overload. I do love my Southern books and my Southern authors but between another lady and me, our book club was reading a…

The Big Beautiful by Pamela Duncan: Book Review

Cassandra Moon, firmly in her 40s, is finally getting married. She's been taking care of others all her life and now she's looking forward to having someone else take care of her for a change. All she has to do is walk down the aisle and say "I do." So why does she find herself in her wedding dress, driving like a bat out of hell in the honeymoon limo and heading for the coast, still a single woman? She must be crazy. She ends up staying with her Aunt May and Uncle Walton in Salter Path, NC. She loved visiting there as a child and she's hoping to get some time to herself to figure out what she really wants. Everyone else is always telling her what she should want and she's tired of it. She just needs some downtime to get things straight in her own heart and mind. I have enjoyed all of Pamela Duncan's books but this one is my favorite. Cassandra first showed up in Moon Women. In my review of that book, I wrote, "Poor Cassandra. I wasn't entirely happy with her story, but there's a glimmer of hope for her. I'll have to dive into The Big Beautiful soon to see how she ends up." I am much happier with her story now. She does a lot of growing up and thinking and gets a stronger backbone. I want to start praising her to the skies but I don't want to spoil anything. Her development and her reactions all felt real and right. She has a great big heart and I think she finally starts to focus on her strengths and blessings rather than her shortcomings. I just love books where women make that journey successfully. The other characters in the book were…

Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! by Fannie Flagg

Dena Nordstrom is on the verge of making it big as a female newscaster in 1970s New York, but she’s not dealing well with the stress of the job and some unresolved issues from her past. This was enjoyable enough. My favorite parts featured the extended family living in Elmwood Springs, Missouri. I kept reading Aunt Elner’s speeches out loud to my husband. She just cracked me up! And I loved the little chapters that featured “Neighbor Dorothy’s” radio show. They sound so homey, cheerful and nice. If you find yourself reading this and enjoying these parts the best, pick up Standing in the Rainbow. That book is more about Neighbor Dorothy’s family. There were whole chunks of this book that could have been included in an essay entitled, “What’s Wrong with the News Industry Today.” I agreed with them, but they got preachy and old. The book sort of settled into stereotypes. The big city people were mean and money- and power-hungry. The small town people were friendly, neighborly, gossipy, and not all that bright. The one Southern lady didn’t seem to realize that the Civil War was over and could tell you your family’s history and Civil War genealogy based on your last name alone. The big secret felt a bit anti-climactic at first. Luckily, the author switched the point of view and showed exactly why the big secret was so terrible and so secret. So I did eventually understand. I can’t believe I missed how significant it was in the first place, to be perfectly honest. But I was definitely surprised when I found out what it was. The times, places, and points-of-view did shift pretty frequently, but everything was clearly labeled at the beginning of each chapter, so it was easy to keep up with. There…

The Novel in the Viola by Natasha Solomons: Book Review

Elise Landau is a Jew living in Vienna before World War II. Her parents realize the danger they are facing and make plans for the family to leave the country. They must all go separate ways and Elise ends up working as a housemaid on an estate in England. Being from an artistic family in the upper middle class, Elise finds it hard to adapt to life as a housemaid. It doesn't help that she desperately misses her family and barely speaks English. But things start to change when the master's son, Kit, comes home from college and starts tutoring her. The book was charming and delightful but there were some things that just weren't perfect for me. I felt that there was a bit too much of an influence from Rebecca and Jane Eyre. I love both books, but I don't want new books to feel like them; the new books will only suffer in the comparison. "When I close my eyes I see Tyneford House." Compare that to, "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." It wasn't just language, it was faint echoes in the scenes as well. It's hard to explain but it's there. I also saw exactly where the book was going from very early on. I had moments where I thought I might be wrong but I wasn't. I wish it had been more of a surprise. Otherwise, I did like this story of a house in World War II. I enjoyed seeing Elise go from an immature nineteen-year-old to a formidable woman. Her growth felt very natural. As she grew into her potential, I liked her more and more. Tyneford is loosely based on a real village called Tyneham. The things that happen to Tyneford closely shadow events at Tyneham. I had…

Mermaids in the Basement by Michael Lee West: Book Review

Renata DeChavannes is reeling from personal loss. She runs home to her grandmother in Alabama, seeking answers to questions about her mother. I don't have a lot to say except that I can't help but feel like this has been done before. Younger generation, digging in the past, looking for parents' secrets. Sound familiar? I'm thinking of Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, and this book is nowhere near as good as that one. I liked most of the present-day characters. Renata was pretty funny, but apparently pretty dense, but Honora, Gladys, and Isabella were tons of fun. Unfortunately, they weren't really the focus of the story. The focus is on Renata's mother Shelby and her broken relationship with Renata's father, Louie. Everyone talks about Shelby like the only reason she didn't walk on water was because she didn't want to, but once the past starts coming out, I couldn't stand her. I really don't get what was up with Renata. She's about 30 years old, but you would think that she was five. She seems to know absolutely nothing about family history, even when she's directly involved. An explanation was given, but it was pretty weak. And everyone's supposed to be telling her these old family stories, but when they start talking, it's like Renata's not even there. Instead of, "You weren't a very pretty baby," it's "Renata wasn't a very pretty baby." What's up with that? The chapters float around between several of the present-day characters. Some of them are titled, "Honora says..." and that made it pretty clear who was talking. But sometimes that was left off and I would think Renata was telling a story only to find out that it was her father. Confusing. I'm making this sound bad, and it really wasn't. It was…

Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews: Book Review

Old friends Ellis, Julia, and Dorie have rented a beach house on the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a month. They've realized that their lives are moving along quickly and they want to spend some time together again. Ellis makes the arrangements and they all show up for a lazy vacation for the month of August. But they're all in tough places in their lives. Ellis was recently downsized, Julia's disenchanted with her modeling career, and Dorie's just not her normal perky self. With Ellis and Dorie worried about money, Dorie seizes on the opportunity to rent out the extra bedroom on the top floor of the house to a perfect stranger she meets in a diner one day, Madison. But Madison has troubles of her own. So this wasn't one of my favorite MKA novels (that would have to be one of the Savannah books), but it was still a fun little escape. It was wonderful to hear about August on the Outer Banks as I drove around in the last gray days of winter, wondering if there was really a sun up there somewhere. I loved Ellis, Julia, and Dorie--from a distance. Ellis is a control freak and she was pushing my buttons at the beginning. Julia is pushy in her own way and too nosy for her own good. Dorie is a sweetheart though. And Madison is so bristly and quiet that I even felt like she was pushing me away--and we find out her story very early on. But they felt like a real group of old friends in the way that they laughed and fought and told it to each other straight. Ty, the next-door neighbor, is a dreamboat of a man. He's not perfect either, being entirely too stubborn for his own good,…

The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna van Praag: Book Review

Alba Ashby is mortified. On the cusp of a brilliant career as a historian, she's lost everything, including her hope. Then she finds herself at the house at the end of Hope Street. Peggy, the eccentric caretaker of the home, invites Alba in and starts to regale her with stories of the house's more famous residents. It seems that every woman who has ever been anyone has stayed at the house at a time in their lives when they desperately needed hope as well. Peggy invites Alba to stay, but she only has 99 nights to resolve her issues and leave the house. With a comparison to Jasper Fforde, Lev Grossman, and Sarah Addison Allen in the book blurb, I had high hopes for this. I don't know exactly how all of those authors fit in, but I thoroughly enjoyed the book anyway. The book mostly centers around Alba but it's also the story of Peggy and two other women staying at the house, Greer and Carmen. There were aspects of each woman that I think will resonate with all of us. I couldn't help but root for them, hope they worked out their problems, and wish them all their happily-ever-afters. I want to live in this house, let me tell you. It readily dispatches advice (asked-for or not), has a knack for supplying exactly what you need, and giving you the tools you need to succeed. The walls are lined with photos of past residents who also form a sort of Greek chorus, commenting on events and offering their opinions. When Dorothy Parker, Agatha Christie, or Vita Sackville-West speak up, a wise woman listens. There's also a resident ghost but the only person who sees her is Alba. They form an instant friendship, something sadly lacking in young Alba's…