Pretty predictable as to who the villain was, but enough plot twists and false leads to make it fun getting there. The author introduced a couple characters and plot lines and then just dropped them, which did not enhance the overall read. Pacing is not quick but moved along enough to keep my interest.

Thanks to the author and LTER for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really like Such a Fun Age, so I was looking forward to this. Total disappointment. I did the audiobook and felt throughout that it was just bad teenage TV.

This is a nice book. A very pleasant book. It will never be a classic, but what a joy to read. It is funny, clever (sometimes too clever), warm, touching. The plot is silly and contrived at times, but that adds to the pleasure of the read. The last section or so is very preachy, but I think that's the point -- and it works.

Don't miss this one.

I have enjoyed Stewart O'Nan's work for many years so it was a disappointment that [Ocean State] was so -- lackluster -- to put it gently. Teenagers, teenage romance, jealousy, violence, family, single moms, sisters - and I often enjoy those themes, but here it was just flat. A couple sparks, but then nothing.

Everyone is entitled to a couple duds, so I am looking forward to O'Nan's next time around.

I am enjoying this series, although this one not my favorite.

I have read these books via audiobooks and was disappointed and distracted by the new narrator, Suzanne Toren. Her style is so different from the previous narrator, Callie Beaulieu. Toren's voice portrayal of Frank Malloy suggests an almost totally different character -- much more gruff, rough; less sensitive, thoughtful. I think Toren is the narrator for the rest of the series, so I hope I get used to her.

I am enjoying this series. I particularly liked the additional development of the characters of Sarah's parents in this installment. What struck me as very odd, and I didn't really care for it, were the several totally farcical scenes with the VanDyke family. They were funny, yes, but too suggestive of people just yelling and running on and off a stage. I hope we don't see that too often.

When this series started I read that the author intended three books. When I was reading the third one, [The Bullet That Missed] I thought that was about right: that the series was great, but it had run its course, the characters were becoming too caricatured, the plot twists too silly, the dialogue too cute. So I was disappointed to later read that the author now intended several more. Not hard to imagine why. It is a very popular series. People love it. I am sure a lot of money is being made.

So I started reading this fourth installment with pretty low expectations. I am very glad to say that I was wrong. Some of the plot twists are very silly and some of the dialogue much too cute (but hilarious). But Osman is broadening the characters a little bit, as well as introducing a couple new ones. It also tackles issues of love and loss with sensitivity and heartbreaking warmth. It does get a little too sappy for me at the very end, but Osman has pulled me totally back into the fold with this one and I now look forward to his next installment.

I really like these Maggie Hope books. They are not deep or heady, just totally enjoyable. The fundamental premise: it's WW II and a young American woman living in England gets a job as secretary to Winston Churchill and then quickly becomes a spy may be a bit far fetched. It is a further stretch of imagination when you learn the details of her complicated parentage and sibling -- but I can live with all that because I like her, and her friends and colleagues and the settings of her adventures, etc., etc. But this installment was just too much -- totally over the top. No spoilers, but be prepared for some serious eye rolling as you read this one. The story doesn't need this many twists and turns with Maggie always figuring it out and saving the day in less than believable ways. It totally detracts from the story to the point of being silly. I look forward to the next one in the series being a lot less silly, although the setup at the end of this book worries me it may be too similar. Loved the Coco Chanel cameo.

An enjoyable summer read, but so predictable! Of course the Paris apartment shattered for 70 years with instructions that it not be opened until the owners are dead is full of Nazi plunder; of course the classy art dealer goes for the bad boy; of course the disgraced family is redeemed. The way the author gets us to these results is really fun, with several very clever twists, but it's more process than mystery.

Very well done, but totally pretentious -- like most of McEwan's last several works.

I have read several of these Thomas and Charlotte Pitt novels before (as well as other Anne Perry) and generally enjoyed them. I believe this was the first in this series, and while I also enjoyed this one, I am glad to say that later volumes are more closely edited and less ponderous than this seemed at times. This story was somewhat unusual for the high profile role given to the Pitt's maid, Gracie, who shines throughout.

This book started out strong: an unconscious man rescued from an ocean drowning during a storm in a small New England town and flashbacks to events of years ago involving ancestors of an interesting ensemble cast. But then it deteriorates, in this reader's view into a lot of somewhat disjointed and almost gratuitous violence -- and all this happens in a rush -- and then the book is over. I often think with Member Giveaway books that the work would have benefitted from more editing, and should often have been much shorter in length. This book suffers from the opposite problem: I wish the author had given us another 50 pages or so. Perhaps the violence would have served a real storytelling purpose if the story was developed further. Certainly, deeper character development would have been welcome.

But in any event, thanks to the author and the Library Thing Member Giveaway program for the chance to read and review this book.

This your classic rich girl - poor girl story, or maybe rich girl - poor girl, rich boy-poor boy-nerdy boy story with an expected amount of pre-teen friendship between the girls, the crush on poor girl's brother, then romance, sex, distance between the friends as life takes them in different directions, with ultimately a happily ever after finish (except for rich boy). It includes many very nice descriptions of Nantucket Island and notable places and events there which will no doubt be a pleasure for those familiar with the area. What troubled me however was the relative lack of accountability of Emily (rich girl) for her deception that impacted so many lives, including her own. While circumstances explain why she may have behaved the way she did, I am troubled that the author never truly required her to come to grips with this. A privileged, somewhat spoiled child, Emily looks like she will go into the next phase of her life with minimal acknowledgement of how she has impacted so many other lives and choices.

But I do not think this is a book about one is supposed to think too deeply, and that is perfectly ok. This is a great light, beach read. Enjoy.

Thanks to Library Thing Early Reviewer and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

This was a cute little story about a cat who is a member of a network of animal covert operatives. A silly, but charming concept, although I am not sure it has much lasting power beyond this "Book One". The author introduces a number of other characters, perhaps with the thought of future stories, but in am not sure how we'll that will work out. But thanks to the author and Library Thing Member Giveaway for a pleasant read.

If you enjoyed the first three Jackson Brodie books, I suggest you read this one “to complete the set”. In my opinion it is not nearly as interesting as Case Histories or When Will There Be Good News but it is classic Atkinson with surprising twists of plot and unexpected humor. I did not find the characters as complex as the earlier volumes, but definitely an interesting cast.

I have read that Atkinson says this might be her last Jackson Brodie novel, a least for a while. That is probably good because I think the character is getting a little tired, as was this reader. Jackson was very contemplative and philosophical throughout this one, perhaps settling down in Edinburgh is his next chapter.

While on the Chautauqua lecture circuit in 1917, Marian Elliott Adams literally stumbles into the town of Emporia, IL, bringing with her unconventional ideas about women’s clothing, a passion for women’s rights, an intolerance for injustice and a loneliness she has suppressed for years. Before we are through Unmentionables, we see love, passion, death,racism and rebellion in Emporia, the ravages of war in France and take a couple trolley rides in Chicago. There’s a lot going on in this book – too much, perhaps, but although none of the many themes are adequately developed, the characters are sufficiently appealing that it is easy to overlook this shortcoming. You want things to work out for these characters, and they do – mostly. I recommend this for young adult readers and for mother-daughter book groups, noting that there is some sex (among the unmarried middle agers !!!!) and sexual references.
Thanks to Library Thing Early Reviewers for the chance to read and review this book.

Who wouldn’t want to be Ray Walker: successful finance career which he is able to give up to pursue his dream of becoming a wine maker; loving and supportive wife and family; incredible good luck; always at the right place at the right time; an indefatigable spirit in pursuit of his life goal; and from the sound of it, a pretty decent guy (even if not the best writer). A very pleasant, “good for him” kind of read – enjoy it with your favorite red.

Thanks to Library Thing Early Reviewers for the chance to read and review this book.

There is nothing not to like about this short volume. The author takes the premise that we all at times hide or are relictant to admit that we don't know something and demonstrates how the fear that we have of such an admission is often misplaced (although she does offer some antedotes of situations where people admitted their ignorance and were humiliated) and how an honest admission of not knowing serves you best in the long run. Suggesting that people should be straightforward and honest is not a novel concept but the author presents it in an easy to read (but not dumbed down), noncritical way. This is a very pleasant, thoughtful book.

Thanks to Library Thing Early Reviewers for the chance to read and review this book.

This collection of essays by mothers of soldiers deployed to the Middle East is heartfelt and genuine. There is no question of the love and concern of these mothers. They are proud of their children's service, counting the days, and the hours until their soldiers return, but fill the void of absence with prayer and community and support of other military families - along with a lot of cookie baking and posting packages to their sons and daughters halfway around the world.

There's a lot of repetition in these essays - but a lot of catharsis too, one imagines. Nothing wrong with that.

Elizabeth Berg readers may be disappointed in this one. Between its unrealistic plot and its self absorbed characters, there is little to keep the reader's interest, except the hope that it will improve. Spoiler alert: it doesn't.

The only thing that keeps Elise from killing herself following the accidental death of her eleven year old son is her duty to care for Pursie a/k/a Persephone, the cat she and her adopted when he was six. Elise is devastated by this loss and spends months locked in her grief, sleeping 18 hours a day and spending her few waking hours drugged up watching DVDs. Elise loved her son very much; he was the center of her life. The loss of him has left her helpless, and hopeless. But over time, she slowly mends and rejoins society. She will never get over the loss of her child, but she is stronger now and able to build a new, perhaps healthier life.

The Cat is a sad story as it concerns the death of a child, but a hopeful one, too, as a story of one woman’s redemption and new life.

Thanks to the Library Thing Early Reviewers program for a chance to read and review this book.

This is the second in Howard Owen's Willie Black series. Black, a seasoned newspaper reporter in Richmond struggles, mainly against himself, to keep his personal and professional lives on track. When he senses a new injustice against Richard Slade who was recently released from prison after twenty-eight years for a rape he did not commit, Black can't help getting involved, despite resistance from his employers who wants to maintain the insulation of the old white families, and not too troubled by an occasional black man being falsely convicted. Along the way, Black discovers truths about his own family and shameful secrets long hidden about other families. We see the same cast of side characters as in the earlier, Oregon Hill, including Willie's mother, former wives, daughter and friends. The eccentricities of some of these characters are exaggerated, with no point in the story. This and Willie's self-criticism get tiresome at times.

This is a very enjoyable collection of thirty-one essays by women writers about their relationships with their mothers. The “what” their mothers gave them ranges from a family picture to a quilt to household tips and recipes to good manners and a sense of fashion style to special memories to fine example to inexorable strength. Even those women who seem not to have had a strong, positive relationship with their mothers reflect favorably on them, often realizing that as adults they see their mother in a different light and with an adult perspective.

The contributors include familiar authors such as Joyce Carol Oates, Ann Hood, Lisa See and Elinor Lipman as well as journalists including Susan Stamberg (NPR) and Dahlia Lithwick (Slate).

Thanks to Library Thing Early Reviewers for an opportunity to read and review this book.

New Yorker Thomas Tessler hasn’t left his bedroom in over three years following the accidental death of his young son, for which Thomas blames himself. His wife, Silke, is desperate to get her husband back so she retains Megumi as a “rental sister” to try to coax her husband out of his room. Megumi, too, is grieving over her lost brother and alienation from her family. The story is very interesting but after Thomas and Megumi are intimate (like you didn’t see that coming) and a confused emotional bond develops, it loses its earlier uniqueness and becomes another love triangle with the various characters’ struggle among love, guilt, honor, duty, the past and the future. But it is a good story and definitely worth the read.

Thanks to Library Thing Early Reviewers for the chance to read this book.

This is a story of three generations of women: mothers, sisters, daughters, all at a critical time of their lives. Elizabeth, the matriarch, is old, mean and dying, and to the end she maintains the anger and resentments that have isolated her and her family for decades. Bonnie is torn between being a single parent to two teenagers while she also takes care of Elizabeth. She feels guilty, but doesn’t know why. Bonnie’s sister, Vivian distanced from their mother years ago, but feels this loss and struggles in her relationship with her own daughter, Meg, a free spirit who is engaged to a man out of her social strata and with a disapproving, controlling mother. Bonnie’s daughter, Jane, is much like many teenagers, insecure and just trying to figure it all out. We watch these women through a summer of adversity and change.

Although not identified as such, this would be an excellent young adult read, although very enjoyable to the adult reader as well.

Kaye Gibbons does not disappoint in this heartwarming story of three generations of strong, loving women. Set in North Carolina in the 30's - 40's, we watch Margaret growing up under the love and encouragement of her mother, Sophia, a woman who although so far unlucky in love, remains open to its possibility, and her eccentric grandmother, Charlie Kate, known throughout the area as a healer, of the the body and the spirit. These women work together, and fight with each other, but through it all they demonstrate their strengths as individuals and the strength of the bond among them.

Nothing worthwhile here, move along.

This is a cute, quick story of teenage friendship and romance, with a little witchcraft thrown in.

I appreciate receiving this ebook from the author, Jenifer Rubloff, through the Member Giveaway program. It is the first of the Betsy Butters series, of which I understand there is now a second installment.

After about the first 20% or so, I wanted to put this in my very small pile of "unfinished books". The story got more interesting (at least the subplot about the lost Van Gogh), but then tore off into a totally unnecessary sex slave subplot.

This is targeted toward teen or preteen age girls and perhaps those readers would not care about the factual and logical inconsistencies throughout (or they might very well notice even more than I did), but it is the author's writing style that I found most distracting. She uses very choppy sentences, weird idiomatic expressions and strained dialogue. However, she also provides detailed, sometime mouthwatering descriptions of food.

I sincerely commend anyone who completes a book. This author has completed two. This is an accomplishment. Perhaps as her writing continues to progress her writing style will smooth out and her story progression tighten up.

Following the implosion of life as she knew it, Helen Armstead, starts fresh as a single parent, who is rejoining the workforce and struggling with mixed feelings about her marriage and her ex-husband. Along the way she reunites with an old boyfriend who is now a movie star. While the story focuses mainly on Helen, the other characters: her daughter, ex-husband and Hamilton Barth, the movie star, fill out the story perfectly. Professionally, Helen is all about asking for forgiveness, and there is a lot of that here (hence the title, I guess), but it works, at least until the very end where the rush to a tidy and happy conclusion leaves fundamental issues unresolved. I was previously unfamiliar with Jonathan Dee, but I will look for other work by him. Thanks to Library Thing Early Reviewers for the chance to read this book.