Review: The Glass Wives by Amy Sue Nathan

 

Title: The Glass Wives

Author: Amy Sue Nathan

Published: St Martins Griffin May 2013

Status: Read from May 12 to 13, 2013 — I own a copy {Courtesy publisher/Netgalley}

My Thoughts:

I’ve been following Any Sue Nathan’s blog, Women’s Fiction Writers for a while, appreciating it’s focus on an often maligned genre that I enjoy. When I discovered her debut novel, The Glass Wives, available for review on Netgalley I jumped at the chance to read it.

In the Glass Wives, the unexpected demise of Richard Glass threatens to shatter Evie’s hard won, post-divorce equilibrium. While supporting her eleven year old twins, Sophie and Sam, as they mourn the loss of their father, Evie is forced to confront not only her changing circumstance but also Richard’s legacy, his widow (once mistress), Nicole, and her infant son, Luca.
Prompted by financial complications, her children’s affection for their half sibling and the young widow’s neediness, Eve reluctantly invites Nicole and Luca to live with her in a temporary but mutually beneficial arrangement.

Within the framework of this unusual set up, Nathan explores the idea of family and it’s changing definition in modern day society. While Evie initially thinks Richard’s death frees her from ongoing contact with Nicole, she hadn’t considered the bond between her children and their half sibling. It creates an interesting connection between the widow and the ex wife which Nathan dissects with compassion and keen insight into the situation’s unique challenges.
Friendship, trust, forgiveness and moving on are other themes explored in The Glass Wives. Evie is forced to reconcile her relationships and her hopes for the future with the baggage of her personal experience.

The characters of The Glass Wives are well drawn and easy to relate to. I greatly admired Evie and her decision to deal with a difficult situation as gracefully as possible. I doubt I could be so generous to my ex husband’s mistress, even under such desperate circumstances. I found it hard to develop much sympathy for Nicole, even when her tragic history was revealed. I do think her motivations were a little confusing at times and I never really developed a sense of who she was. Laney and Beth, Evie’s best friends, provided much needed levity and warmth through out the book whilst still playing devil’s advocate Evie’s decisions and opinions.

Well written, The Glass Wives is a thought provoking, enjoyable debut novel exploring the challenges of defining family and love in a time of social change.

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Review: Five Days by Douglas Kennedy

 

Title: Five Days

Author: Douglas Kennedy

Published: Hutchinson:Random House April 2013

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Status: Read from April 14 to 16, 2013 — I own a copy {Courtesy Random House Au/Netgalley}

My Thoughts:

On the day before I began reading Five Days, an article appeared in the weekend paper supplement titled the Silver Years Itch. This article examined the growing trend of mid life divorce, most commonly instigated by wives who, after twenty years or so of marriage and child-rearing, are leaving to rediscover who they are, or were, as individuals, as distinct from wives and mothers.

Five Days explores this phenomena by introducing 42 year old Laura who finds that contentment with her life’s path is becoming increasingly elusive. Her marriage is crumbling, her children are moving into adulthood and her work as an X-ray technician is no longer satisfying. She looks forward to temporarily escaping home and work to attend a weekend medical conference in Boston and that is where she meets Richard, an insurance salesman, and is stunned to rediscover joy, passion and hope for the future.

<i>”…we all know these women because they are, more or less, reflections of ourselves.”</i> comments Laura while discussing The Easter Parade by Richard Yates with her best friend Lucy, and I think this is what Kennedy hopes the audience of Five Days will find. That readers will empathise with Laura’s restlessness, with her rediscovery of happiness and the choices she makes. I do think that Kennedy displays real insight into the complicated nature of personal sacrifice made by women to nurture marriages and children. Laura has spent years putting her family’s needs before her own and being both emotionally and financially responsible for them has taken it’s toll.

Aside from generally finding adultery contemptible, I was less taken by the whirlwind relationship that develops between Laura and Richard which I thought shifted between wildly romantic and farcial. I had no problem figuring how it was all going to end though ultimately I appreciated it’s contribution to Laura’s growth.

Five Days is a contemporary story of life, love and second chances. I did enjoy the novel, which I found a reasonably quick and thought provoking read, though my cynical side prevented me from being swept away completely. Still, I am tempted by the premises of a number of the author’s backlist titles and may find time to read more from Douglas Kennedy.

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Review: The Best of Us by Sarah Pekkanen

Title: The Best of Us

Author: Sarah Pekkanen

Published: Washington Square Press April 2013

Status: Read from April 10 to 11, 2013 — I own a copy{Courtesy the publisher/netgalley}

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My Thoughts:

In The Best Of Us, Sarah Pekkanen explores friendship and marriage when college friends reunite for a week long vacation in Jamaica. It is Dwight’s thirty fifth birthday and his wife, Pauline, has arranged the all expenses paid trip to celebrate. Tina, a harried mother of four is worried about leaving her children behind but can’t resist the lure of temporary escape. Allie is confronted with an uncertain future while Savannah is still recovering from a broken heart after her husband left her.

The villa is a private piece of paradise, with Pauline ensuring their every whim is catered for and the group, which includes Tina’s and Allie’s husband’s, are eager to take advantage of the once in a lifetime experience. Initially, the good humour and college reminiscences flow as freely as the alcohol and good food, allowing the reader to develop a good sense of who these people are and what they mean to each other.

I found it easiest to relate to Tina but each of the women is familiar in one way or another. While I thought the women were well developed and realistically flawed characters, their path in the story is predictable. Allie, for example, who always puts others before herself, commits a selfish act while the sultry Savannah flirts outrageously to hide her own insecurities. The men are marginalised for the most part – even birthday boy, Dwight- though they provide context for the women’s everyday lives.

As a hurricane approaches Jamaica, unrest builds amongst the house guests and the camaraderie is slowly tainted with envy, guilt, secrets and lies. The women of the story are eventually forced to come to terms with the choices they have made and find a way to move forward in their lives.

The Best of Us is an engaging novel, I found it a quick and satisfying read and it is sure to be enjoyed by fans of ensemble women’s fiction.

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Review: The Mothers by Jennifer Gilmore

 

 

Title: The Mothers

Author: Jennifer Gilmore

Published: Scribner April 2013

Status: Read on April 09, 2013 — I own a copy {Courtesy Simon and Schuster/Netgalley}

My Thoughts:

A raw and honest examination of one couple’s desperate journey towards parenthood, The Mothers is, in part, inspired by Jennifer Gilmore’s own experience of navigating domestic open adoption.

After miscarriage, fertility drugs and multiple failed IVF attempts, Jesse and Ramon turn to adoption as a means to create the family they want. With international adoption all but ruled out due to Jesse’s medical history and long waiting lists, they decide to register with a agency to participate in an open adoption. As a well educated, heterosexual couple Jesse and Ramon expect their profile will be well received, but after the interminable process of paperwork is finally complete all they can do is wait, not for a child…but for a mother to choose them.

Jesse’s yearning for motherhood is achingly raw, and as I experienced a period of infertility myself, I was deeply sympathetic. Related in the first person it’s a gripping account of the ups and downs of Jesse and Ramon’s quest, it’s effects on their relationship and the

The process of open adoption seems incredibly brutal. Jesse and Ramon are forced to wrangle with petty bureaucracy, under-performing agencies and poor screening. I was rather horrified to learn that desperate couples are regularly preyed upon by fraudsters looking for money, attention or some combination of both. They are so incredibly vulnerable as they can do nothing but wait for a birth mother to choose them. Gilmore is not unsympathetic to these birth mothers, and raises interesting questions about the birth mother’s role in open adoption and the possible complications and benefits of the arrangement. There is some anger here, as well as heartbreak, resignation and hope and it is all completely believable.

As Jesse struggles through the process she worries over the questions of what it means to be a mother, what makes a good mother and what compromises she is willing to make in order to become a mother. She studies the mother’s she knows, while gazing wistfully at their bulging stomachs or swaddled infants. She considers the experiences of her own mother, who made her career a priority, and those of her over protective mother in law. She wonders what sort of mother she will be, she wonders if she will ever get the chance to find out.

The Mothers is a confronting and poignant story of family, motherhood and the yearning for both. If this echo’s Gilmore’s own experience with the process (and there are suggestions it does) this is a rare glimpse into the darker side of adoption, of what comes before the happy ending, and then is forgotten.

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Review: Follow Her Home by Steph Cha

 

 

Title: Follow Her Home

Author: Steph Cha

Published: St Martin’s Press: Minotaur Books April 2013

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Status: Read from April 04 to 05, 2013 — I own a copy {Courtesy St Martins Press/Netgalley}

My Thoughts:

Post-modern pulp mystery perhaps? I’m not exactly sure how to describe Steph Cha’s debut novel, Follow Her Home. It introduces Juniper Song, a Gen Y, Korean/American with little ambition and an obsession with Raymond Chandler’s hard boiled PI, Phillip Marlowe. When her best friend, Luke, asks her to follow the woman he suspects is having an affair with his father home from a party she is eager to emulate her idol’s investigative success. But when Song gets too curious during her stakeout she is knocked unconscious, then discovers a body in her trunk and finds herself at the mercy of a psychopath determined to protect his employer’s secrets.

Follow Her Home begins with a simple case of suspected adultery but slowly descends into a tangled web of family dysfunction, murder, blackmail and racial fetishism. This quirky mystery has plenty of dark twists to entertain the reader, though few are unpredictable. Still, the potential is there for Cha to go off script which she does on at least two memorable occasions, both of which I thought redeemed the plot. There is some elasticity in the credibility of events, not the least being Song’s reluctance to involve the police the moment she found a dead body in her car.

Told in the first person, Follow Her Home also establishes Juniper’s back story – her relationship with her immigrant single mother, her friendship with Luke and Diego and the tragic fate of her sister, Iris. The flashbacks are sometimes disruptive but are the only means we have to learn about Song and her drive to act as an amateur sleuth, despite being so woefully out of her depth.

The ending of Follow Her Home is as bittersweet as any of Marlowe’s cases, Song may solve the mystery but not without a personal cost. While I didn’t fall in love with this story or it’s protagonist, I liked it’s unusual edge and I’m interested to see how Steph Cha builds on it.

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Review: From Midnight to Guntown by John Hailman

 

Title: From Midnight to Guntown: True Crime Stories from a Federal Prosecutor in Mississippi

Author: John Hailman

Published: University Press of Mississippi April 2013

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Status: Read from March 31 to April 01, 2013 — I own a copy {Courtesy Netgalley/publisher}

My Thoughts:

From Midnight to Guntown is a true account of various cases encountered by retired Federal prosecutor John Hailman during his thirty year career in the Mississippi justice system.

The cases Hailman relates are interesting and cover a wide range of criminal activity from bank robbery to corruption and terrorism. The focus is on the workings of the justice system and specifically Hailman’s role in the investigation and prosecution of the cases he dealt with.

Occasionally the cases are amusing, detailing bungling robbers for example, but more often they are simply tragic, such as in the case of the Natchez Trace shooting which resulted in the death of a young boy. I was horrified to learn that in Hailman’s district an amateur local hitman will usually kill for less than $5000, often for less than $1000 and saddened to learn that racial tensions still flourish in the South. While some cases are mentioned only in passing several are the focus of in depth reporting including the murder of Emmett Till, an African American boy who was murdered aged 14 in 1955 for flirting with a white woman and whose case was reopened in 2004.

Hailman’s writing has a lot in common with a detailed legal brief. It is rich with procedural detail, perhaps too much for the average reader though the minutiae of he said/she said/he did/she did will probably be appreciated by someone who works in the legal or justice system.  The text isn’t entirely dry however, Hailmain is candid and personable and even humourous at times.

Usually I am content to ignore formatting issues in e-galley’s but in this instance I found it affected my reading experience. A line and a half of text, was followed by a blank line, then a line and a half of text, then a blank line and so on, and this became a real issue for me as it was very distracting.

From Midnight to Guntown shares fascinating insights into the complexity of crime and justice in Mississippi. This is a book true crime and legal thriller buffs are sure to enjoy.

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Review: Cora’s Heart by Rachael Herron

 

Title: Cora’s Heart

Author: Rachael Herron

Published: Random House Australia March 2013

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Status: Read on March 26, 2013 — I own a copy {Courtesy the publisher}

My Thoughts:

When I saw the cover of Cora’s Heart in the Netgalley catalogue I assumed it would be an Australian rural romance by a new author and I made the request without even reading the blurb. It was only later that I discovered that despite the Australian publisher, this title is neither by an Australian author nor set within Australia, instead it is a contemporary romance by an American author and one of half a dozen or so books by Rachael Herron set in the fictional USA small town of Cypress Hollow.

This title introduces Cora Sylvan who has just been scraping by since the untimely death of her husband, Logan, selling homemade jams, preserves, candles and hand knitted items. When her workshop catches fire, the loss of more than half of her stock pushes her to the brink of financial ruin but Cora is determined to hold on to the only home she has ever been able to call her own, no matter what tempting offer Mac Wildwood is willing to make.

Cora’s Heart is a story of unrequited love and second chances. As teenagers Logan, Mac and Cora were close friends but circumstances resulted in Cora marrying Logan, despite the simmering attraction between her and Mac. With Mac’s return to Cypress Hollow both are confronted with their regrets and their guilt. I think Herron develops the relationship between Mac and Cora well, showing how their adolescent attraction has never really faded despite time and distance.

I really liked Cora and thought her neuroses were endearing, rather than annoying. I love the idea of her What If.. book, (What if… there is an earthquake etc…) something Cora uses to give her peace of mind. Having had such an itinerant childhood as a foster child her need for stability and control makes perfect sense, but her fierce independence also leaves her closed off from intimate interactions. Risking her heart with Mac is difficult and Herron shows Cora’s struggle to let go and risk everything for happiness.
Mac is a little more of an enigmatic character. Though he has a plausible reason for missing Logan’s funeral and failing to visit over the years, I did think it was a little weak. Still he is an appealing hero, protective of Cora, the memory of his cousin and willing to do what he thinks is the right thing despite the cost to himself.

I breezed through Cora’s Heart in an afternoon and found it a light, sweet and satisfying romance. And if you knit you will adore the pattern for a pretty sweater included in the last few pages.

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Review: The French Promise by Fiona McIntosh

 

Title: The French Promise

Author: Fiona McIntosh

Published: Michael Joseph: Penguin Australia March 2013

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Status: Read from March 24 to 26, 2013 — I own a copy {Courtesy Penguin/Netgalley}

My Thoughts:

The Lavender Keeper, set primarily in France during World War 2, introduced Luc Bonet, a lavender farmer who joined the Resistance after his family was dragged away by Nazi collaborators and their farm in Provence was seized, and Lisette Forestier who was recruited by the London Home Office, tasked to infiltrate the Reich and aid the downfall of the Nazi regime.
The French Promise continues their story as they rebuild their lives after the war has ended. Luc, haunted by all he has lost, is struggling with his new life in England. Though he loves Lisette, and their son, Harry, he is unable to lay the ghosts of his past to rest. Lisette, increasingly concerned about her husband, believes they need a fresh start and the family sets sail for Tasmania where Luc can return to Lavender farming. Luc’s grief recedes as they establishes themselves in Australia, adding a daughter, Jennifer, to their family but when tragedy strikes Luc is overwhelmed by despair until a letter from the son of a war time friend provides him with the opportunity to finally fulfill his sworn promise to avenge those he loved.

I had been looking forward to this sequel after having enjoyed the blend of action, adventure, romance and intrigue in The Lavender Keeper. While Lisette is the dominant character in first novel, The French Promise features Luc and is a quieter story that focuses on emotion and human drama in the aftermath of the war. I love how the author connects the characters and events of The Lavender Keeper with The French Promise, and for that reason wouldn’t recommend this as a stand alone novel. I feel the experience would be lacking without knowledge of the history of Luc and Lisette’s history.

The novel begins by sharing the fate of Luc’s family at Auschwitz-Birkenau where Rachel and Sarah are the only family members to survive the initial purge on arrival. While Sarah labours in a German factory, Rachel’s musical talents provide her with some advantages when she is chosen to teach music to the camp supervisor’s children. Unfortunately it is there that she comes under the notice of Commander Herr von Schleigel, an enemy of Luc’s, who takes perverse pleasure in condemning Rachel and her sister to death. McIntosh deals with the subject of the Holocaust sensitively but it is it’s aftermath and it’s impact on the survivors that is featured in the novel.

Not knowing exactly what happened to his family after they were taken by the Nazi’s has been a festering source of grief for Luc. Though he was certain they died in a German death camp it’s not until he is contacted by Max Vogel seeking information about his own father, Colonel Killian, with whom Luc and Lisette share history, that Luc is able to mourn his family. Through Luc, McIntosh explores the ethics of vengeance and it’s cost, as he decides to confront Commander Herr von Schleigel for his wartime atrocities. I found it interesting that though my sympathy was wholly with Luc, and my hatred for the Nazi officer complete, I hoped Luc would surrender his drive for revenge in favour of moving on with his life and finding the happiness he deserved. The characters of The French Promise are so finely and realistically drawn that I became invested in their well being and cried and laughed along with them.

The French Promise is a captivating saga of love, loss, and the triumph of the human spirit, providing closure for Luc and Lisette’s story. Fiona McIntosh is an extraordinary storyteller (I can also recommend her DCI Jack Hawksworth crime series and her fantasy stand alone, The Scrivener’s Tale) and this historical fiction duology is a stunning example of her talent.

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Review: Heart Like Mine by Amy Hatvany

Title: Heart Like Mine

Author: Amy Hatvany

Published: Washington Square Press March 2013

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Status: Read from March 19 to 20, 2013 — I own a copy {Courtesy Netgalley/Simon and Schuster}

My Thoughts:

Amy Hatvany’s Heart Like Mine is a moving novel of grief, love and family. When Grace fell in love with Victor she was relieved to learn he didn’t want any more children, content with the fortnightly weekend care arrangement of his children from his previous marriage. But when his ex wife, Kelli, dies suddenly, Grace is forced to make room for his shattered thirteen year old daughter, Ava, and seven year old son, Max in their lives.

Heart Like Mine unfolds through the perspectives of Grace and Ava, with flashbacks into Kelli’s troubled past. I feel the author’s strength lies in her honest portrayal of her characters. They are sympathetic as they struggle with realistic internal conflicts and attempt to cope with their confusion and pain.

Grace desperately wants to support Victor and his children in their grief but is unsure of what her role is in the new family dynamic. She is wary of Ava’s hostility, even though she understands the girl’s behaviour and is prepared to make allowances, but it feeds into her own insecurities, especially when Victor fails to back her up. I think Hatvany handled Grace’s conflicting emotions particularly well as a woman who had no desire to become a mother thrust unexpectedly into the role of caring for two grieving children.

Ava is shattered by her mother’s death, having essentially become responsible for her mother’s emotional well being for the three years since her dad left, she feels guilty that she couldn’t save her mother. Hatvany captures Ava’s pain and confusion beautifully, her impulsive bursts of hostility and poor judgement are believable as the teen struggles to cope with her loss. Ava’s curiosity about her mother’s hidden past is a way to connect with her now she is gone.

It’s difficult to dislike Kelli, despite her weaknesses, when the secret she has kept hidden is revealed through alternating chapters. I could only find pity for a damaged woman that never really grew up and was unable to overcome early tragedy.

Hatvany explores the pain of loss and the difficulty of change as the family adjusts to Kelli’s death and their new situation. While I think the author deals with the complex emotions of the characters the novel well, I didn’t feel the plot was predictable and the story failed to offer any unique insight.

I think Outside the Lines was a stronger book but Heart Like Mine is a heartfelt, poignant story that is a quick, engaging read.

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Review: What’s A Witch To Do? by Jennifer Harlow

 

Title: What’s A Witch To Do?

Author: Jennifer Harlow

Published: Midnight Ink March 2013

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Status: Read from March 07 to 08, 2013 — I own a copy {Courtesy Midnight Ink/Netgalley}

My Thoughts:

I couldn’t resist the promised combination of cozy mystery, paranormal and snarky humour in What’s a Witch To Do?, the first in Jennifer Harlow’s new series, a spin off, of sorts, from her F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad Investigation series.

Mona McGregor is 35 and single, living in the small town of Goodnight, Virgina. She is running her own small business, raising her wayward sister’s two young daughters, organising a wedding and she so doesn’t have time to deal with a demonic assassin, or an overprotective werewolf. It seems someone wants Mona removed from her position as the High Priestess of the local coven, permanently, and unless she can figure out who, she might never get a date with the handsome Dr Guy.

I loved Mona, who is closer to my own age than many heroines, a little on the plump side, selfless, smart, savvy and has a full life that happens to include a little magic (but not the Bewitched kind). Each chapter of What’s a Witch To Do? begins with an exhausting list of tasks that isn’t all that different from any working mothers’ and similarily, Mona’s needs come somewhere after the reminder to take the garbage out. Even with a contract out on her life, Mona’s priority is the ones she cares about and I love how she refuses to be intimidated by the threat, getting on with what she has to do.
It’s lovely then that Mona, a (perhaps not quite)ordinary, mid-mid life, hard working, successful woman also finds herself with two gorgeous suitors, the suddenly attentive Dr Guy and her self declared bodyguard (and werewolf), Adam Blue. It creates an interesting romantic dynamic, especially when the motives of the men are undisclosed and Mona, inexperienced and self deprecating, is baffled by their interest.
Goodnight has the familiarity of any small American (fictional) town despite the population including vampires, werewolves and witches. The characters of What’s A Witch to Do? are ordinary, authentic people going about their lives – holding down jobs, raising families and contributing to the community, even if they do happen to turn furry once a month or create spells in the kitchen.

Harlow blends romance, action and humour seamlessly in this fun novel. The mystery takes some clever twists and turns as Mona narrows the identity of her enemy down to four candidates. The outcome is fairly predictable but with magic involved you can never be quite sure and so the denouement, if not a surprise, is satisfying.

I really enjoyed What’s a Witch to Do?, the characters are engaging and the mix of genres appeals to my taste for escapist reading. I will definitely be picking up the next title and tracking down the F.R.E.A.K.S series as well.

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