The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams

A special thank you to Edelweiss, William Morrow, and HarperCollins Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Budding journalist Lulu travels to the Bahamas in 1941 to investigate the Duke of Windsor—the former King Edward VIII—and his wife, whose love affair caused the Duke to abdicate the British throne. Her assignment becomes complicated when the Duke's shady politics become apparent and when she falls in love with Thorpe, a scientist, who disappears without a trace.

From the opening chapter, Beatriz Williams captivates her reader. This sweeping novel is beautifully written with elements of mystery and intrigue. She effortlessly weaves together dual plot lines each richly crafted with meticulous details. With her elegant and awe-inspiring prose, Williams is one of those authors whose writing completely transcends.

The difference between four and five stars was simply because I wanted more scenes with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and more from the other historical cast. Is that even a criticism, wanting more? Give this slow burn a read, you will not be disappointed.

BEATRIZ WILLIAMS is the New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author of The Summer Wives, The Secret Life of Violet Grant, A Hundred Summers, and several other works of historical fiction, as well as the screenwriter for the television adaptation of The Summer Wives, currently in development.

She is a graduate of Stanford University with an MBA in Finance from Columbia University, and her books have won numerous awards, have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and appear regularly in bestseller lists around the world.

Williams was born in Seattle, Washington, and now lives near the Connecticut shore with her husband and four children.

Breathe In, Cash Out by Madeleine Henry

A special thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Allegra Cobb is a straight-A Princeton grad, a former national yoga champion, and is a second-year analyst at a top bank. Working on Wall Street fresh out of college would seem to be a dream come true, but the reality is that Allegra spends long days with charts and graphs, pretending to drink the corporate Kool-Aid, and dreaming about quitting to pursue her passion of being a full-time yogi just as soon as her year-end bonus is secure in her bank account. But doing so is easier said than done—she is constantly being pressured from her father and has unknowingly slept with the man who is now leading her department on their biggest deal to date.

When Allegra forms a fast and intense friendship with the Insta-celebrity yogi guru that she looks up to, she thinks that the life she's always wanted is a double-tap away, only she's not sure she can hold it together until bonus day. Allegra needs her chakras aligned ASAP!

This was sharp, original, and savvy. What Henry accomplishes in her debut is nothing short of amazing. I loved what appears to be the juxtaposition of the ruthless and competitive world of investment banking against the rejuvenating and peaceful realm of yoga when in fact, it turns out to be just as cutthroat.

Allegra is an interesting character with incredible persistence and quick wit. She is determined and fearless with a resolve to strengthen her connection to yoga and her body as well as to make connections with those who also share her passion. The supporting cast is just as strong and developed as the main characters with the right amount of humour and sass.

Henry will surprise and delight her readers. This is a smart and cheeky read with complex and interesting characters. A must read this summer!

MADELEINE HENRY worked at Goldman Sachs and in investment management in New York City. She graduated from Yale in 2014 where she wrote comedy for The Yale Record, America’s oldest college humor magazine.

Breathe In, Cash Out is her debut.

Chicken Girl by Heather Smith

A special thank you to LibraryThing Early Reviewers and Penguin Teen for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Poppy has always been close to her twin brother, Cam, and the two share a fondness for blending words (clever writing on Smith's part). But lately they haven't been as close because they are each dealing with their own struggles. Cam has recently come out and is trying to adjust to life as an openly gay teen. Poppy used to be happy with her vintage style and curves until a photo of her dressed as Rosie the Riveter with a hamburger photoshopped in her hand surfaces online and she is mocked for her size. Now she is unsure of herself and is struggling to see the good in things.

Deciding to be as invisible as possible, Poppy accepts a job at Chen Chicken restaurant where she dresses up as a chicken and waves a sign to attract customers. It is here where she meets a six-year-old girl, Miracle, who introduces her to a group of misfits living under a bridge: Buck, a cute British photographer who isn't very cute when he is drinking; Thumper, an elderly homeless man; and Lewis, a teen who is caring for his only living parent while struggling to reach the final stages of his gender transition.

But just as she comes to terms with the fact that there is good and bad in everyone, she is tested by a deep betrayal.

While there were some great passages, overall I was completely overwhelmed, and not in a good way. Poppy is not a character that readers will warm up to easily. There are parts of her personality that were completely cringeworthy (why does she watch those videos on YouTube?). She's also selfish and judgemental. And while this is a coming-of-age story and part of her trajectory, there are just too many obstacles to make this plausible. I can't help but feel that Smith was trying to check too many boxes and the reader is left trying to unpack it all.

Heather Smith, I applaud you for writing marginalized characters and shining a light on some very real issues, but there's too much going on with not enough detail.

HEATHER SMITH is originally from Newfoundland and her east coast roots inspire much of her writing.

Smith now lives in Waterloo, Ontario, with her husband and three children.

The Love Solution by Ashley Croft

A special thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK/Avon Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

chem·is·try
/ˈkeməstrē/

noun
noun: chemistry

the complex emotional or psychological interaction between two people.

Although sisters Molly and Sarah share a close bond, they couldn't be more different. Molly wears a lab coat and is a scientist, while Sarah runs her own craft business making tiaras.

Molly has been assigned to a top secret project and is totally thrilled. Some of her excitement may also be because of her attractive new boss.

When Sarah suffers a humiliating and painful breakup, she turns to Molly—and science—for help. After all, what are sisters for?

Will Sarah find love where she least expects it, or is it really all in the chemistry?

First things first, the cover is adorable and totally sucked me in. However, this was a mixed bag for me. At times I found the story delightful and getting me right in the feels and other times, I was rolling my eyes.

The 'love bug' premise was cute and definitely had potential, but too far fetched that Molly would share this top secret project with her sister, no matter how close they are. Molly and Ewan were adorable as colleagues and their back-and-forth banter/relationship will have readers rooting for them to hook up. But Croft dismantles some of this with the bicycle race filler which was campy and unnecessary. I also struggled with the lack of depth that the love interests had, they were flat characters that could basically be interchangeable. They were without personality and dare I say, rather forgettable.    

I had high-hopes for this story, but it really was lacking the chemistry (no pun intended) that a romance novel should have. Ultimately I struggled with the plot—the conflict that is the driver of the narrative is incredibly frustrating, as is Sarah. Why would she want to be with such an absolute tosser? This book simply wasn't for me and I'm confident that it will find its audience.

ASHLEY CROFT is the pen name for bestselling women’s fiction author Phillipa Ashley. After studying English at Oxford, Ashley worked as a copywriter and journalist. Under her various guises, she has published over twenty novels, including the bestselling Cornish Café series.

She now lives in a Staffordshire village and has an engineer husband and scientist daughter who indulge her arty whims.

Jennifer Weiner: Mrs. Everything Tour

Photo credit: Girl Well Read and Simon & Schuster Canada.  Do not use without written permission.

Blue Heron Books and Simon & Schuster Canada celebrated the release of Jennifer Weiner's newest novel, Mrs. Everything. Jennifer was interviewed by Marissa Stapley—whose own new novel, The Last Resort, has just landed on all the hot summer reading lists for 2019. Marissa asked Jennifer about her writing process, inspiration, and themes of her newest work.  A question and answer period, as well as a book signing followed.

Jennifer Weiner’s most personal novel yet, Mrs. Everything, is a book that has been percolating for ten years, and is one that she's always wanted to write. Inspired by her mother and grandmother, it is a universal female story—being a woman, you don't come out unscathed.

It is a version of Weiner's own mother's story, and she modelled Jo after her. Jennifer's mother, Fran, came out as a lesbian in her 50s after raising her four children. Jennifer had a lot of questions for her mother about her marriage to her father that Fran wouldn't answer so she imagined it, “because that's what writers do.” Mrs. Everything was also born from the ashes of the 2016 election—where we are as women, where we have been, and where we could go back to.

Mrs. Everything has a good girl and a bad girl who both end up in pain. "Do you know women who live without pain, that everything works out?" Jennifer asked.

On the term "women's fiction"

We don't accord it to the same respect when we call it "women's fiction." When Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom earned him glowing praise as well as the cover of Time, Weiner coined the term "Franzenfreude," the divide between how white male authors are treated with such regard while successful female authors are dismissed.

Inspired by Little Women, her Jo's ambitions are more acceptable (except sexuality), and her Bethie not only lives, but Weiner writes about what happens to good girls, what the world does to good girls.

What did her mom say?

"My daughter has a very active imagination."  Her mother also thought that Bethie was her.

Weiner said that writers are cannibals, nobody is safe—family members are material. "Well-intentioned cannibals...kindables."

Response to Mrs. Everything

The response to Weiner's work has been "great, but scary." Jennifer is interested to hear what young readers think. "Some things have changed quickly, some slowly, and with the #MeToo movement, not at all," she says.

There is a lot about privilege, hierarchy, colour, freedoms, etc. If you're on top of a mountain and someone is climbing that mountain, they are perceived as a threat when in actuality, they are trying to be equal—it's all a matter of perspective.

Jennifer's writing process

Weiner mused that writing a book is like packing a suitcase with all the things you love, and you leave the suitcase on a corner. The smart thing to do is pack another suitcase. Stapley asked if she was packing another suitcase, and readers will be happy to hear that the answer was YES! Jennifer's next novel will take place over a weekend in Cape Cod, a far cry from a 70 year span that was Mrs. Everything. The heroine is a bridesmaid that was estranged from the bride. When something bad happens, she needs to clear her name. (Eep! Can't wait!)

After getting her daughters off to school, Jennifer walks her dog with her husband and it is during this time that she works through plot and characters. After they get back, she goes to an exercise class, showers, does her social media, and then writes between the hours of 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. or 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., "that's the sweet spot!" Weiner's writing takes place in her "cloffice" which is her walk-in closet that also functions as her office. Jennifer's desk is a vanity with her dog, Moochie, at her feet.

How did she break into writing?

Weiner started her career in advertising and then as a journalist. She worked her way up from a small paper, to a medium paper, and then to a large paper. She got dumped and then wrote Good in Bed.

Can I just say how fantastic it was to be sitting in the audience and soaking it all in? Jennifer is HI-LAR-I-OUS, warm, and smart. She graciously posed for pictures and chatted while signing copies of her books. Thank you, Jennifer, for coming to Canada on your Mrs. Everything tour.

Marissa was a wonderful interviewer and it was lovely to chat with her about her exciting book and baseball.

Mrs. Everything

Growing up in 1950s Detroit, sisters Jo and Bethie Kaufman lived in a picture-perfect house. Jo was a passionate tomboy, with a love of books; Bethie was the pretty, good girl, with aspirations of being a star. She enjoys the privilege that comes with beauty.

Things rarely end up how you imagine them to be. The sisters survive unspeakable trauma and life's tragedies. Coming of age in the time of free love, Vietnam, and women's lib, Bethie embraces the more free, hippy lifestyle, balking traditional roles. Instead it is Jo that becomes a mother, stuck on the sidelines of her life. Neither sister has the future they envisioned, but is it too late for them to live an authentic and purposeful life?

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JENNIFER WEINER is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of sixteen books, including Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, and her memoir, Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing.

She is a graduate of Princeton University and a contributor to the New York Times Opinion section.

Jennifer lives with her family in Philadelphia.

Forbidden by Destiny by Negeen Papehn

A special thank you to the author, Negeen Papehn, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

When Sara and Ben finally end things for good, she calls on Leyla to collect her things from Ben's apartment. Leyla reluctantly agrees. After all, that's what best friends are for, right? Wanting to cheer him up, Leyla invites Ben to lunch and the two end up spending an enjoyable afternoon together. Her loyalties are tested when she realizes that she's attracted to him. On one hand, Leyla has always liked Ben and she's bothered with how Sara ended things with him; on the other hand, even though she has moved on and is happy, Sara is still her best friend, and Ben is her ex.

To be with Ben could cost Leyla not only her best friend, but the support of her family because she would be going against what is expected of her. Ultimately she must decide if this love is worth the risk.

Although this is the second novel in the Forbidden series, it can read as a standalone book. Papehn provides enough information for those that didn't read Forbidden by Faith, yet isn't repetitive.

She has matured as an author with this sophomore effort. As a result the characters were more purposeful and the narrative was tight and well thought out. True to the series, this book is also a contemporary love story with a cultural twist. These types of stories are important to tell because they represent so many, yet are not widely read or written about.

This book does not shy away from some pretty sensitive subject matter. Papehn deftly handles the responsibility that comes with writing about sexual assault. She writes the victim with care and compassion all while giving them an authentic voice.

Thank you, Negeen, once again for trusting me with your book. You have really hit your stride and I'm anxious and excited to see how the trilogy ends.

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NAGEEN PAPEHN is a graduate of USC dental school and divides her time between her patients and writing.

She was born and raised in southern California, where she currently lives with her husband and two boys.

Someone We Know by Shari Lapena

A special thank you to Edelweiss and Penguin Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What would you do if you found out that your teenage son has been breaking into homes in your quiet, upscale neighbourhood? Olivia Sharpe has just learned that her son Raleigh has a new hobby. He swears he isn't stealing, just hacking into people's computers.

Thinking she's doing the right thing, Olivia sends anonymous letters to the neighbours who were victim to Raleigh's snooping. At the same time, a woman down the street that the neighbours assumed left her husband—when in fact he had filed a missing persons report—was found in the trunk of her car at the bottom of a lake. Olivia is shocked to learn that the woman is Amanda Pierce whose home Raleigh broke into.

Will the letters incriminate her family? Is her son as harmless as he lets on? Who actually killed Amanda and just how far are they willing to go to protect themselves?

What I liked about Someone We Know—that I found lacking with An Unwanted Guest—is that this thriller was more of a character study. Lapena fully developed this particular cast of characters, but it was lacking in execution. There seems to be a lot of repetition because the plot isn't very liner so you end being led in circles.

SHARI LAPENA worked as a lawyer and as an English teacher before turning to writing fiction. A Stranger in the House, as well as Lapena's suspense debut, The Couple Next Door, were both New York Times and international bestsellers.

A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell

A special thank you to NetGalley, Edelweiss, Macmillan, and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Caroline Stark is hosting a lavish housewarming party at her new beach house. When her husband, Jason, shows up not only late to the party, but followed by a Russian woman he claims is a business associate, the couple get into a very public and very ugly fight. She knows that Jason is lying and that the woman is really his mistress.

When her marriage falls apart and she is left with an empty bank account, and cancelled credit cards, Caroline has an impulsive fling with a bartender. Aidan also happened to be working her party that night and knows all about her husband problems. What she doesn't know is that Aidan has a history of violence.

As if things couldn't get worse, her college-aged daughter seems to be taking her father's side. Crestfallen, she turns to Aidan for comfort—but that comfort soon turns to revenge. The only problem is that their brief fling has left Aidan with a dangerous obsession with Caroline and her family. Meanwhile, Jason disappears and all eyes are on Caroline. Isn't it always the spouse?

Told from multiple points of view, Campbell confuses her reader (on purpose) by telling the same events from two very different perspectives. The dynamic is also interesting: Caroline is a wealthy, 43-year-old woman who is trying to keep up appearances to launch her career and social standing whereas Aidan is a 27-year-old bartender that served time for manslaughter. Both characters are unlikeable, untrustworthy, and unreliable.

There were a few plot holes that I ultimately struggled with, but I'll partially overlook given Campbell's strong writing and ability to deftly create suspense and tension. She pens some formidable characters and used the unreliable narrator as the perfect mechanism to execute her effusive plot. There wasn't the startling revelation that I was hoping for in that I did figure it out, but again, her writing was intricate and compulsive.

MICHELE CAMPBELL is a graduate of Harvard University and Stanford Law School. She worked at a prestigious Manhattan law firm before spending eight years fighting crime in NYC as a federal prosecutor who specialized in international narcotics and gang cases.

Her debut novel It's Always The Husband was a Sunday Times top ten bestseller.

Campbell resides in a New England college town with her husband and two children.

The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets by Molly Fader

A special thank you to NetGalley, Edelweiss, Harlequin, Graydon House, and HarperCollins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets is a narrative of four of the McAvoy women: Lindy, the wild sister, left home for a fresh start in the city and never looked back; Delia, the other sister, is run off her feet because she is juggling a moody teenager, a baby, the family business, and her mother's ailing health; Brin is the rebellious teenage daughter that's been feeling displaced ever since her baby sister was born; Meredith, the matriarch, has been suffering with some memory issues and struggles with lucidity at times.

The sisters used to be so close. They shared a room and would write in a notebook as to not disturb their mother who had to get up early for work. It was their book of secrets. Seventeen years ago, tragedy struck their family and the McAvoy sisters fell apart. With pressures mounting for Delia, she has no choice but to welcome Lindy back in the fold for much-needed help. As the two sisters try to put their family somewhat back in order, they finally have the chance to reclaim what's been missing: for Delia, a happy marriage, and for Lindy, a sense of belonging and a lost love—but most of all, the sisters are missing each other.

When a particularly turbulent night leads to a shocking revelation, the women must confront the past that they've been avoiding for more than a decade. Will an old secret bring the McAvoy women back together or is it too late?

Fader's narrative is told in alternating third person limited points-of-view between the four women. Lindy and Delia have a complex relationship that plays out over the course of the story. Delia is suffering from postpartum depression. That, coupled with her mother's recent stroke, is affecting her relationships with her husband, Dan, and daughter, Brin. Lindy is struggling with not only returning to her home, but with the prospect of a new job and rightfully finding her place in an industry that she excels in.

Strong women are what makes this story so great. Meredith raised the girls after her husband was lost at sea and the sisters turned out to be resilient both in spirit and will. Delia doesn't realize her own strength and perceives asking for help as a sign of weakness even though she is shouldering a huge load as well as a past trauma. I also think that Lindy's string of bad relationships is a sign of her fortitude, rather than a flaw—she hasn't found someone to compliment her yet.

The characters were relatable and multifaceted. Fader gives away just enough detail to keep her reader vested in their story—her pace is spot on. She also has an excellent ear for dialogue which translates incredibly well on the page.

The mystery of what happened 17 years ago is the driver and really turns this into a page-turner. I was pleasantly surprised at how good this story is. To be perfectly honest, the cover and title didn't really grab me and I think they actually detract from what is a really great book. Please do yourself a favour and give this one a go, you most certainly won't be disappointed. Fader really packs a punch—there's a lot to unpack and discuss. What was also so great was the mystery part of the story. And that ending...

MOLLY FADER is an award-winning author of more than 40 romance novels under the pennames Molly O'Keefe and M. O'Keefe. The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets is her first women's fiction novel.

She grew up outside of Chicago and now lives in Toronto.

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

A special thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Growing up in 1950s Detroit, sisters Jo and Bethie Kaufman lived in a picture-perfect house. Jo was a passionate tomboy, with a love of books; Bethie was the pretty, good girl, with aspirations of being a star. She enjoys the privilege that comes with beauty.

Things rarely end up how you imagine them to be. The sisters survive unspeakable trauma and life's tragedies. Coming of age in the time of free love, Vietnam, and women's lib, Bethie embraces the more free, hippy lifestyle, balking traditional roles. Instead it is Jo that becomes a mother, stuck on the sidelines of her life. Neither sister has the future they envisioned, but is it too late for them to live an authentic and purposeful life?

Jennifer Weiner's newest work is her most ambitious to date and it is a risk that pays off. When a novel spans decades—in this case from the 1950s to present—there is a risk of the author losing the plot and also getting swallowed up in pop culture references, but Weiner doesn't suffer these fates. What happens instead is a remarkable journey of self discovery through the ages. Her writing is rich and fluid with deeply developed, layered characters.

What is so remarkable is that in our ever-changing society, decade after decade, women are still facing the same issues. Especially with how we decide to live our lives—women are constantly berated for their own life choices whether it be to get married, to have children, or work outside the home when they are a mother. These are things that women are consistently being judged for and they are nobody's business. Let me repeat that for those of you in the back...your choices are nobody's business.

Told in dual narratives, Weiner explores the complexities of female relationships, the difficulties woman face, as well as the expectations placed on women. She tackles some heavy issues: sexuality, racism, abortion, religion, drug abuse, etc., and because of this, both Jo and Bethie's stories are engaging and important.

Jennifer, I applaud you for telling stories that so many can relate to. I understand that this book was also personal in that there is a little bit of your mother in Jo. This novel is not only timely, but incredibly moving and poignant. Appropriately titled Mrs. Everything, this book is a bit of everything for every woman. 

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JENNIFER WEINER is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of sixteen books, including Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, and her memoir, Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing.

She is a graduate of Princeton University and a contributor to the New York Times Opinion section.

Jennifer lives with her family in Philadelphia.