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Category: Women’s Fiction

Review: Objects of My Affection by Jill Smolinski

[ 2 ] May 16, 2012

Reviewed by Alysia George

If you’ve ever watched one of those reality shows about hoarding or about interventions, you probably have quite a bit of insight into both of these situations. And you’ve probably thanked your lucky stars that you haven’t had to deal with either of them. But even though reality television is undoubtedly sensationalized, there  is some truth behind it which forms its basis, at least in these cases. Jill Smolinski takes us on a fictional journey involving both hoarding and addiction and intervention in her novel, Objects of My Affection.

The main character, Lucy, is on a bad luck streak. First she loses her job, then her boyfriend leaves her, and finally she is compelled to arrange an intervention for her teenage, drug addicted son. To pay for his rehab, she has to sell her house and most of her belongings. Feeling completely desperate to start a new life, Lucy takes a job helping a hoarder clean out her house.

The job is more challenging than she imagined, and so is helping her son overcome his addiction. But nonetheless, Lucy is determined. Unlikely friendships form, and Lucy comes to understand that she has a lot of self-growth to do along the way as well.

I love that Objects of My Affection touches on current issues in a fresh and interesting way. Smolinski writes real, likeable characters, just as she did in her last book, The Next Thing on My List. This is a quick and fun read that I would definitely recommend.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Alysia lives in Metro Detroit with her husband and four children. She writes about family life, parenting issues, and other things of interest to her on her blog, Michigal.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Touchstone. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Dancing on Broken Glass by Ka Hancock

[ 4 ] May 8, 2012

Reviewed by Amanda Schafer

When Lucy and Mickey met, he was in the hospital during one of his episodes and she was there visiting her sister. They knew their relationship would always be difficult because he had bipolar disorder, but Lucy was determined not to walk away from Mickey. She knew instantly that she was meant for him.

Mickey’s doctor told Lucy once that her marriage to Mickey would be like dancing on broken glass…there would be pain, but she would either flee that pain or hold tighter to him until the next smooth place. The women in Lucy’s family have been plagued with cancer, so when Lucy has her own bout with cancer a few years into their marriage, she and Mickey decide they will not have children and take the necessary medical steps to ensure that fact.

During their marriage, Mickey has to stay in the mental hospital during several of his bipolar cycles. It’s during one of these times that Lucy finds out that against all odds, she and Mickey will indeed have a baby. While this thought is exciting for both of them, it’s also very terrifying for Mickey because he doesn’t want his child to grow up in the sort of home he did.

One day during a routine baby checkup, Lucy’s doctor finds an abnormality in her breast tissue. She runs some tests and then sends Lucy to a specialist. After a short time, it is discovered that Lucy’s cancer has spread and is very advanced. Only chemo and radiation will give her some sort of hope. Lucy refuses any treatment until after the baby is born, but it’s clear to all that she won’t make it that long. When Mickey realizes that he will be solely responsible for the baby when Lucy dies, he panics and tells Lucy he won’t be able to do it. Despite the fact that Lucy believes in Mickey, she devises a plan to make sure the baby is taken care of by all of her family.

Ka Hancock provides us an enlightening and very real look at what life is like for someone living with not one debilitating illness, but two. She does such a great job describing the way Mickey’s disorder cycles and how it affects those around him. As we read about Lucy’s undying belief in Mickey and her willingness to sacrifice everything for her baby, we see what truly selfless love really is.

I found Hancock’s writing style to be smooth and easy to follow, yet full and rich and deeply emotional. There were so many characters to develop in this novel and Hancock did a fine job with all of them. Dancing on Broken Glass is the kind of book that will cause you to take a closer look at yourself and think about how you would act under these circumstances.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Amanda lives in Missouri with her engineering husband, two sons, and one daughter. In between homeschooling and keeping up with church activities she loves to read Christian Fiction, Women’s Fiction, and any Chick-Lit. She never goes anywhere without a book to read!

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Gallery Books. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Faith Bass Darling’s Last Garage Sale by Lynda Rutledge

[ 2 ] May 5, 2012

Reviewed by Melanie Kline

On the last day of the millennium, Faith Bass Darling wakes up with a plan to have a garage sale. Five generations of heirlooms, all the memories she has accumulated throughout her life, every last piece of furniture, dishes, pictures, priceless Tiffany lamps, everything must go. Why? God told her to.

Strange as this may sound, it is even odder to the people who arrive at the garage sale and begin snatching things up as fast as they can and as much as they can carry. Faith has been a recluse for many years, after the bank that she owned foreclosed on her own home and she was forced to sell the bank in order to keep her home. Faith has known much hardship in her life despite being rich and lost her own faith in the world. One day she went into her house and never came out.

Faith’s estranged daughter just happens to choose this day to arrive at her mother’s home and is beyond shocked to find everything on the front lawn. All the precious objects she was never allowed to touch as a child are selling for “whatever you can afford.”

No one truly believes Faith when she tells them that this is her last day on earth and that God has spoken to her because she zones in and out of awareness with the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

Faith Bass Darling’s Last Garage Sale alternates between hysterically funny and extremely boring. She experiences flashes from the past which aid you in understanding not only the story, but also the worth of the possessions on the lawn. Unfortunately, the book also drags on and on with sale after sale and flashback after flashback until you begin to wonder if it will ever end. This was a great concept for a novel, but I feel that it needed much more work before going to print.

Rating: ★★½☆☆ 

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Giveaway: The Singles by Meredith Goldstein

[ 58 ] May 2, 2012

Just in time for the wedding season, I have 3 copies of The Singles by Meredith Goldstein to give away! 

Check out my review on SheKnows.com

About the book

In Meredith Goldstein’s anticipated debut novel – The Singles (currently in script development with actress Jami Gertz’s production company Lime Orchard Productions) – five single people experience their uniquely entertaining trials of heartbreak, loneliness and relationship disasters amongst a joyous occasion: Hannah is the dejected bridesmaid pining over her ex; Vicki is an addict of V.C. Andrews’ novels; Rob lives a lonely life in Austin…with a dog; Phil is the type of mama’s boy women don’t like; and Joe – the brides estranged uncle – thinks a chance meeting with a one-night-stand could change his life for the better.

With the looming nuptials as their backdrop, these singles’ stories are cleverly weaved together as the couple says their “I-Dos”. Extremely funny, kinda romantic and so unpredictable, The Singles, will take readers into the wedding festivities where the guests take center stage.
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Review: More Than You Know by Penny Vincenzi

[ 2 ] April 26, 2012

Reviewed by Ann Liu

Historical fiction that takes off in the 1950′s, More Than You Know describes how different the lives and expectations of the wealthy and working class were and what happened when someone tried to break out of the mold. The privileged were expected to marry the privileged and the men had the financial control in the household while the women stayed home and took care of the kids.

Eliza Clark, the main character, is more of a feminist, choosing to pursue her dream career in fashion instead of getting married. She comes from a privileged family and all her mother wants is for her to marry the man who can give her everything money has to offer. Enter Matt Shaw, a working class citizen. The two are introduced by Eliza’s brother, and become involved in a relationship. When she becomes pregnant, she quits her job, marries Matt – despite her mother’s wishes – and becomes a stay at home mom.

The marriage becomes challenged as Eliza’s dissatisfaction with being a stay at home mom grows. She misses the fast paced career life, and has difficulty dealing with a demanding daughter. Her relationship with Matt becomes more and more strained over time, especially when they lose their second child at birth.

Matt’s very sexist beliefs about the role of a woman in the house, his views on money, and traditional views of a woman’s place in the marriage are dispersed throughout the story. He controls the money, and he refuses to allow Eliza to work even when she has great job offers. Eventually, Matt becomes successful through his business ventures and suddenly feels powerful, forgetting where he started from. This shift in dynamics makes it hard to relate to him at all. As Matt and Eliza eventually distance themselves from one another, Eliza is caught in a one-night affair and divorce proceedings begin.

And that is where the book suddenly becomes engaging! I could feel the emotions of both sides and their custody battle was a very traumatic process. I felt very disconnected from both Eliza and Matt, not believing in their marriage, only because the view of marriage nowadays is so different than what it seemed to be for them. I lost even more respect for them when the divorce started.

Penny Vincenzi does give insight as to why Eliza fell in love with Matt in the first place; the era where women took a back seat to men seems foreign yet real at the same time. The only person I really felt bad for was the little daughter who was caught up in the tumultuous battle. I learned quite a bit about how things were back in the old days and despite growing up in an era where women have equal rights, it is infuriating to think how limited roles were in generations past. More Than You Know definitely reminded me of how far women have advanced since the ’50s!

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Ann Liu loves to read women’s fiction, chick-lit, romance, and self help books. She lives in sunny Southern California, where she can enjoy her time reading outdoors.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Doubleday. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: The L.A. Commandments by Gillian Duffy

[ 2 ] April 24, 2012

Reviewed by Rachel Mann

At first glance, The L.A. Commandments, by Gillian Duffy, is a light-hearted twist on traditional chick lit. The heroine, Jo, and her friend Suzie, take time out from their bad economic situations in Ireland to blow off steam in Los Angeles. Practically as soon as they hit LA, they end up in a situation that seems almost too good to be true. They get jobs right away (as a bartender and shopkeeper), find a place to live, and locate some cute guys to hook up with. It doesn’t hurt that at least one of the cute guys, Marc, is in a rock band that’s about to go big.

The more you read, the more serious the book becomes. Yes, Marc is hot, talented, and famous, and he and Jo seem to be forming a real connection. Bonus: he’s from Ireland too. Suzie has trouble with finding the right guy, even though she’s got a great alternative right under her nose, and she, Jo, and Marc spend a lot of time drinking. (So does Jo’s father.) The relatives of several main characters encounter serious health problems, which brings the action back to Ireland. In the last quarter or so of the book, the action gets even more dramatic—just when you’d wish it to—although it does seem like the characters have a mixture of excellent and horrible luck. Some plot twists seem rather predictable (can’t reveal them without spoiling), while others may take you totally by surprise.

For instance, the very end of the book includes a twist that may shock readers looking for traditional chick lit. In fact, at first I thought the moment was a narrative fake-out, and had to reread the scene to make sure it wasn’t a joke. It’s hard to go into too much detail without ruining the book for someone else: without getting into the final plot points, I was shocked and disappointed about one male character’s fate.

Rating: ★★½☆☆ 

 (for this reader, the ending kept this book from being a 3)

Rachel, who has a Ph.D. in English, is a freelance writer/editor and a voracious reader. You can talk to her about books at http://twitter.com/writehandmann.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by the Gillian Duffy. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Glow by Jessica Maria Tuccelli

[ 3 ] April 24, 2012

Reviewed by Alysia George

Characters from several generations combine their voices and stories to form the epic novel Glow, by Jessica Maria Tuccelli. Their personal histories run amidst the days of slavery, the Civil War, the turn of the 20th century, and all the way up to the time just before World War II. Turn by turn, they tell of love, heartache, family, social injustice, and supernatural gifts.

In 1941, a young girl named Ella is sent on a train to Georgia but never reaches her destination. She is attacked and left on the side of the road, where two old women find her and take her home. When Ella’s mother, back in Washington D.C., realizes something is amiss, she heads back to her hometown in Georgia to find her daughter and get to the bottom of the situation. As she travels south she is immersed in memories of her childhood. Here the book starts shifting, chapter by chapter, between Ella’s point of view and her mother Amelia’s.

Pretty soon Willie Mae Cotton, one of the women who rescues Ella, begins a narrative of her own. A few other characters have the chance to tell their stories as well. This could get confusing quickly, especially because the chapters dip and maneuver throughout 100 years of history, but the beginning of each chapter is labeled with the name of the character who is currently in the narrator seat. Also there is a very helpful family tree at the beginning of the book, which I referred to frequently as I read.

Glow is rich in southern history and character detail. Reading about topics such as slavery and Ku Klux Klan lynchings from several different view points provides a unique vantage point. Because there are several narrators, all from the same town and dealing with the same families throughout different points in history, the reader gains a better understanding of the bigger picture. This is a book that requires diligent attention, but it’s worth the effort.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Alysia lives in Metro Detroit with her husband and four children. She writes about family life, parenting issues, and other things of interest to her on her blog, Michigal.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Viking Adult. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Heft by Liz Moore

[ 2 ] April 23, 2012

Reviewed by Carrie Ardoin

Arthur Opp is 58 years old, well over 500 pounds, and has not left his home in Brooklyn in ten years. Kel Keller is an 18 year old high school senior who excels at baseball. What could these two men possibly have in common? Kel’s mother, Charlene, was once a student of Arthur’s and has been his pen pal for the last 20 years.

Kel goes to a school where he only fits in because he is great at sports. None of his rich friends know that at night he must come home and take care of his alcoholic mother, who doesn’t do much besides sit on the couch and drink all day. Arthur Opp is also stuck on the couch all day–his weight has made it difficult for him to do very much of anything. But in a moment of clarity, Charlene reaches out to Arthur…and this sets off a chain of events that changes both Kel’s and Arthur’s lives completely.

I liked Heft a lot. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I was really hooked from the first chapter and I ended up finishing it in just a couple of days. Liz Moore’s writing style flows easily and is real–there aren’t a lot of wasted words or superfluous adjectives.

I actually went through the range of emotions that both of the main characters did. When Arthur described his situation and reasons for his life as it is now, I felt such pity for him. In a way, I wanted to scream, “You could have changed this!” but I came to understand his fragile state of mind and the front he put on. His escaping from the weight of his life was not possible to do alone. Kel was also a great character. As an 18 year old kid, yes, he made a few stupid decisions, but with the way his life was going you can hardly fault him for it.

I think the main reason I liked Heft so much was that while I was reading it, I just kept thinking, “Yes, this is real life.” Moore has a gift for creating very real, raw characters and telling their life stories in a way that makes you feel for them. I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars only because by the end I was hoping for something, ANYTHING good to happen, and a bit more of closure and a happy ending. But, of course, that’s not always real life.

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Carrie runs the blog Sweet Southern Home, and is a stay at home wife and mom to one little boy. When she’s not reading, she’s usually watching Netflix with her husband, playing outside with her son, or baking. Her family would describe her as sometimes annoyingly sarcastic, but mostly lovable. 

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by W. W. Norton & Company. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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